Case study: How Wistron promotes sustainable water use
Wistron Corporation is a leading global technology service provider (TSP) supplying innovative ICT (information and communications technology) products, service solutions, and systems to top branded companies worldwide. Effective use of water resources is a key priority for Wistron Tweet This!, which adheres to national water resource laws, reduces water pollution, and simultaneously seeks to protect water resources and the ecosystem.
This case study is based on the 2017 CSR Report by Wistron published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Wistron seeks to raise employee awareness of water conservation by devising water conservation plans to enhance the efficiency of water resources and, by 2020, aimed to use 10% less water per revenue unit than in 2015. In order to promote sustainable water use Wistron took action to:
- reduce plant water consumption
- implement water conservation plans and projects
- use a smart water meter
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Wistron has identified;
- How Wistron proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Wistron to promote sustainable water use
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2017 CSR Report Wistron identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, environmental and socioeconomic compliance, product development, customer privacy, occupational health and safety. Among these, promoting sustainable water use stands out as a key material issue for Wistron.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Wistron engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Customers | · Regular business review meetings |
| Employees | · Business overview meetings · Quarterly welfare committee meetings · Wistron Employee Relations Committee · New supervisor training · Orientation to new employees · New employee seminars · Performance reviews |
| Customers | · GP, CSR, RBA, QPA/QSA audits · Customers’ GP/environmental protection requirements Customer satisfaction survey · Customers’ supplier conferences · Questionnaire survey for CSR topics · Product RFQ |
| Suppliers | · Green Product Management (GPM) System · SQP system · Onsite inspections · Supplier workshops · Vendor conferences · |
| Shareholders/ Investment Institutions
| · Company (quarterly/annual) financial reports · Annual reports · Investor seminars · Annual shareholders’ meetings · Investor meetings · Material information on the Market Observation Post System · Corporate social responsibility reports · Company website |
| Competent authority for securities | · Official documents · Company website · Market Observation Post System · Questionnaires and related briefings |
| Environment and charity groups | · Project meetings · Semi-annual/ annual report |
| Media
| · Financial report · Online investor conferences · Company website · Press conferences · News release |
| Directors (including independent directors) | · Board of Directors
|
| Independent directors | · Audit Committee |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Wistron carried out a questionnaire survey among its stakeholders, collecting a total of 217 questionnaires.
What actions were taken by Wistron to promote sustainable water use?
In its 2017 CSR Report Wistron reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainable water use:
- Reducing plant water consumption
- A number of plants and offices at Wistron typically use tap water, except for its Mexico plant, where groundwater is used. The Mexico plant is located in an industrial park which is not a preservation zone or water supply reservoir, so water usage does not affect the local environment or biodiversity. The production lines at Wistron, except for those in Taizhou plant and Kunshan OPT plant, are primarily composed of the assembly line, which does not require the use of water. The plants primarily use water resources in domestic activities and cooling towers and water replenishment for air conditioners. Large volumes of pure water are used in the processes of the Taizhou plant, accounting for 12.81% of total water consumption. To effectively manage and reduce water usage Wistron takes the following actions:
- Making promotional posters and strengthening water conservation advocacy among employees
- Taking records on the water meter on a daily basis, tracking water levels, and responding immediately to any leakages or irregularities
- Retrofit old and water-consuming equipment
- Using equipment with water conservation labels
- Cleaning water towers every year
- Inspecting the quality of drinking water every year
- Implementing water conservation plans and projects
- To achieve its goal in water conservation, Wistron has devoted robust efforts to promoting all types of water-conserving projects, including: The Taipei Headquarters and Hsinchu plant plan to use a raft foundation water collection engineering to collect rainwater for reuse in cooling towers, thereby reducing the use of tap water and lowering overall water consumption. Wistron’s Mexico plant is also planning and constructing a water treatment facility to process domestic wastewater for reuse in irrigation. Wistron introduced water recycling measures to several plants, to reduce their water consumption. They recycled 173,650 tons of water in a single year, which accounts for 3.27% of their total water consumption. Compared with 2016, this reflects a reduction of 2.55% based on water consumption per revenue unit (km3 water consumed/NTD billions of revenue). Furthermore, Wistron has also started to develop a product water footprint inventory method with reference to ISO 14046, to monitor the influence of its products on water resources.
- Using a smart water meter
- For a more effective water management, Wistron’s Chengdu, Kunshan, and Chongqing plants have initiated a smart water meter project, which integrates smart water meter signals into the energy billboard management system to display the plant’s water consumption status, thus enabling administrators to monitor and analyse the consumption of water in different regions, identify the cause of irregular consumption, and devise a proper solution.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 303-1 Water withdrawal by source
2) Disclosure 303-2 Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water
3) Disclosure 303-3 Water recycled and reused
Disclosure 303-1 Water withdrawal by source corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
- Business theme: Sustainable water withdrawals
Disclosure 303-2 Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
- Business theme: Sustainable water withdrawals
Disclosure 303-3 Water recycled and reused corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
- Business theme: Water efficiency, Water recycling and reuse
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Business theme: Water efficiency
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
- Business theme: Water efficiency
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Wistron, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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