Leading the change towards a healthier, safer and more ethical supply chain

Helping to bring about a structural improvement in the health and safety of the workers employed in our supply chain is a cornerstone of our sustainability endeavors. We encourage open and constructive worker-management dialogue as the fastest and most effective means of making progress in this vital area.

Supplier training and capacity building

Capacity building, consequence management and structural attention from management are crucial to realizing and lasting changes at supplier production sites.

We provide classroom training sessions for suppliers, Philips sustainability experts regularly visit suppliers to provide on-site consultancy and training, and we invite suppliers to participate in trainings provided by the EICC.

To address emerging issues we also provide in-depth capacity building programs to our suppliers on specific topics. Recent examples include our China Health & Safety program, Dust Explosion and Prevention program, Fire Safety program, and the Supplier Sustainability Communication Platform.

IDH

We have also teamed up with peers in the industry and civil society organizations to work on capacity building at Chinese factories. To this end, we promote worker-management dialogue through the IDH Electronics Program, an innovative multi-stakeholder initiative sponsored by the Sustainable Trade Initiative (Initiatief Duurzame Handel). The program currently works with a total of 54 electronics suppliers in China (21 of which supply to Philips) to support innovative workforce management practices, sustainability and improved business performance. The goal is to improve working conditions for more than 100,000 employees in the electronics sector.

IDH Electronics Program Worker Management Dialogue

IDH Electronics Program reports