E-TASC

E-TASC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is E-TASC?
2. What is Corporate Responsibility (CR)?
3. What is the Vision for E-TASC?
4. Who is GeSI?
5. Who is the EICC?
6. What is the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector?
7. Who can sign up and use E-TASC?
8. What languages will E-TASC be available in?
9. What are the different membership types?
10. What happens if the cost of registering multiple facilities exceeds the cost for that organisation as a Full Subscriber?
11. Can my company upgrade from a partial to a full subscriber?
12. What is the Partial Subscriber Fee?
13. What is the Full Subscriber Fee?
14. Is there an initial discount for EICC or GeSI member companies?
15. What is the definition of a facility?

What is E-TASC?

E-TASC (Electronics - Tool for Accountable Supply Chains) is a system for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies to manage corporate responsibility (CR) throughout their supply chains in an efficient manner.

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What is Corporate Responsibility (CR)?

CR is the voluntary commitment of enterprises to account for the social, environmental and economic impacts of their business.

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What is the Vision for E-TASC?

The sponsoring organizations vision for E-TASC is to build awareness and capability throughout the electronics supply chain to achieve consistently high standards of social and environmental responsibility.

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Who is GeSI?

GeSI, the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (www.gesi.org), was established in 2001 to further sustainable development in the ICT sector. GeSI aims to influence the sustainability debate, inform the public of its members' voluntary actions to improve their sustainability performance, and promote information and communicate technologies that foster sustainable development.

GeSI has established a number of working groups including a Supply Chain Working Group. The objective of this group is the development and deployment of a consistent set of tools and processes to measure, monitor and improve supply chain labour, environmental, health and safety and ethical performance across the ICT sector. The GeSI Supply Chain Working group is working with the EICC to deliver this objective.

Learn more about the GeSI mission and vision, the GeSI relationship to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), current members and activities at www.gesi.org .

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Who is the EICC?

The Electronics Industry Code of Conduct (EICC) Implementation Group is a coalition of over 26 companies in the electronics sector. These companies have come together in their common interest to voluntarily improve working conditions and environmental stewardship throughout the electronics supply chain. This group aligned around a common "code of conduct" for electronics companies - the EICC. The code covers expectations for performance across a range of issues including labour, health & safety, environmental practices, ethics and management systems. The group is working with the GeSI Supply Chain Working Group to create and implement a comprehensive set of tools and methods with the aim to ensure the code is upheld across the widest possible portion of the electronics supply chain.

Learn more about the EICC group mission and vision, the EICC relationship to Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), current members and activities at www.eicc.info .

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What is the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector?

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector includes industries primarily engaged in producing goods or services, or supplying technologies, used to process, transmit or receive information. Companies in the ICT sector or ICT supply chain include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), electronic manufacturing services (EMS) firms, original design manufacturers (ODMs), component and part manufacturers, ICT R&D companies, service providers and network operators.

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Who can sign up and use E-TASC?

E-TASC has been developed through collaboration between GeSI and the EICC group on behalf of ICT companies. However any company who desires to utilize the tools and processes in E-TASC to enhance supply chain performance in labour, ethics, health, safety and environmental aspects, may sign up.

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What languages will E-TASC be available in?

Initially E-TASC will be available in English, the product development roadmap currently prioritizes future releases in simplified Chinese, Spanish and Japanese.

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What are the different membership types?

There are two types of membership, Partial Subscriber and Full Subscriber.

• Partial Subscribers
  • Partial subscriber membership is best for companies who:
  • need to respond to a customer's request to complete the self assessment questionnaire
  • have 1 or 2 facilities
  • are early in the process of developing a social and environmental supplier compliance management approach
• Full Subscribers
  • Full subscriber membership is best for companies who:
  • strive to enhance brand value through transparency and accountability in the social and environmental aspects of their business
  • seek to evaluate their own facilities performance to identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities
  • have a medium or large number of facilities
  • are actively developing a social and environmental supplier compliance management approach

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What happens if the cost of registering multiple facilities exceeds the cost for that organisation as a Full Subscriber?

The applicant will automatically be presented with the cost to register as a Full Subscriber. This policy is intended to offer the subscriber additional functionality and avoid unnecessary costs.

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Can my company upgrade from a partial to a full subscriber?

If a Partial Subscriber wishes to change to a Full Subscriber an assessment is made of all the fees paid for currently registered facilities (i.e. within a 12 month period) and a balancing payment is made (in either direction, credit or debit). The subscription period remains the same.

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What is the Partial Subscriber Fee?

A Partial Subscriber pays an annual fee according the number of facilities it registers. The annual fee per facility is $470 (US dollars).

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What is the Full Subscriber Fee?

A Full Subscriber pays an annual fee (US dollars) that is based on the annual revenues of the business entity it registers. There is no limit on the number of facilities it registers.

Subscriber Revenue Full Annual Fee

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Is there an initial discount for EICC or GeSI member companies?

Yes.

• Companies that are members of GeSI or the EICC at the date of Release 1 Go-Live will have a 50% reduction in their initial annual fee if they register within 16 months of Release 1 Go-Live date or within 12 months of Release 2 Go-Live date, whichever is the earlier. Non GeSI/EICC member companies will pay the normal subscription.
• If any GeSI or EICC member companies wish to subscribe to E-TASC when Release 1 goes live they will still receive a 50% reduction on the first year fee, but their subscription will not come up for renewal until either 16 months following Release 1 Go-Live date or 12 months from Release 2 Go-Live date, whichever is the earlier.

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What is the definition of a facility?

Production unit, administration unit, service unit or any combination thereof under common corporate management, located on a single plot of land or multiple adjacent plots of land. With regard to service units only, it will be acceptable to consider as a facility discrete units located on multiple non-adjacent plots of land within the boundaries of a single administrative (government) entity possessing a uniform legal system, no smaller than state/province or its equivalent and no larger than a country. Terms "facility" and "site" shall be used interchangeably.

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