IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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42 I P C L E A D I N G T H E W AY E lectronics manufacturers build electronics bet- ter by balancing reliability, performance, cost, innovation, and sustainability. Sustainability is criti- cal—that is, with increased resource efficiency and decreased impacts, intentional life cycle manage- ment (e.g., design for recyclability), and awareness of concepts, approaches, and metrics for continu- ous improvement. How It's Being Addressed Some electronics manufacturers are doing this by identifying and reporting on the most relevant sustainability topics to their business operations. We see that leading organizations inside and out- side the industry, both independently and some- times collectively, are establishing or expanding sustainability-related requirements for their opera- tions and their value chains. However, this results in multiple requests of value chain members to respond to numerous compre- hensive, complex, and discordant surveys and con- tract requirements. The outlay of resources to track requirements from policymakers, or their value chains to manage these requests—and the diverse exper- tise to respond to these surveys and requirements— is expected to grow. We see that electronics manufacturing com- panies are prioritizing reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle management of products, diversity and inclusion, supply chain risks (such as responsible sourcing, human rights and worker rights), and pollution prevention. IPC recognizes that we can expand our standards, education, and advocacy efforts to be more inclusive of these con- cepts and topics. "Some of these issues and topics IPC has worked on with industry for years, but there are opportunities to address additional industry-relevant sustainabil- ity topics. IPC's sustainability efforts include proj- ects that will help IPC to build a strategy enabling the industry to understand, influence, and meet the sus- tainability requirements com- ing very soon," says John W. Mitchell, IPC presi- dent and CEO. 42 By Kelly Scanlon, IPC Lead Sustainability Strategist ADVOCACY