Brand owner: Sony
Head office: London, United Kingdom
Sector: Electronics
Categories : (Mobile) Phones
Free Tags: Cell, mobile phone, telephone, GSM, smartphone, bluetooth, wireless system, Walkie Talkie
| 1. Does the brand (company) clearly support global mandatory cuts of carbon emissions of at least 50% by 2050 or 30% by industrialized countries by 2020? |
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Sony Ericsson has signed the Copenhagen Communique. This statement mentions the goal of global mandatory cuts of at least 50% by 2050. | Source |
| 2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual carbon footprint of its 'own operations' and of the supply / production chain? |
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Sony Ericsson has published the carbon footprint for its own operations, production and supply chain for 2009/10/11 (see link PDF). | Source |
| 3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce its ‘own operations’ carbon footprint by at least 20% within the next 5 years? |
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Although Sony Ericsson has set a target to reduce 20% of their carbon emissions by 2015, this is compared to 2008. This means the target period is 7 years instead of 5 years which is not sufficient for a 'yes' (see link "carbon footprint"). | Source |
| 4. Has the brand (company) already reduced or compensated its 'own operations' carbon footprint by at least 10% in the last 5 years? |
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In 2008, Sony Ericsson had a total footprint of 36,582,670 kg of CO2/yr (scopes 1-2), compared to 31,177,037 kg of CO2/yr in 2010 (scopes 1-2). This represents a 17% reduction in its own operations. | Source |
| 5. Do all new products of the brand meet the latest Energy Star requirements (where applicable)? |
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All new Sony Ericsson chargers meet the Energy Star 2.0 requirements (see link "Energy Efficiency"). | Source |
| 1. Has the brand (company) eliminated PVC and BFRs in all new products? If not, does the brand give a timeline for achieving this by 2012? |
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Sony Ericsson banned PVC in all its products since 2010 and BFR is not present in all its new developed products. (see link "Substance Control") | Source |
| 2. Has the brand (company) already eliminated PVC and BFRs in all new products? |
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Since the end of 2009 Sony Ericsson's whole range of products is completely free from PVC. Sony Ericsson also reports that BFRs will not be present in its new developed products. (see link "Substance Control") | Source |
| 3. Has the brand (company) already eliminated at least 2 of the 3 groups of suspect chemicals (beryllium, antimony and phthalates) in all of its new products? If not, does it give a timeline for achieving this by 2012? |
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Except for some parts of antimony, all products are free of the three substances. (see link "Substance Control") | Source |
| 4. Has the brand (company) already eliminated at least 2 of the 3 groups of suspect chemicals (beryllium, antimony and phthalates)in all of its new products? |
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Except for some parts of antimony, all products are free of the three substances. (see link "Substance Control") | Source |
| 5. Does the brand (company) support the principle of Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR), meaning that brands are responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their own products, including take back and recycling? |
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Sony Ericsson supports IPR and takes full responsibility for the recycling of its products (page 10-11 of the Sustainability Report). | Source |
| 6. Does the brand (company) provide free and easy take back and recycling services for its discarded products in many of the countries where its products are sold? |
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Sony Ericsson provides a website with information on recycling and the Global Take Back Programme. The Sustainability Report (page 10) furthermore states that there are 500+ recycling points in 36 countries with a specific website with recyling information for each country. Since S.E. is sold worldwide, 36 countries don't represent >90% of its market. | Source |
| 7. Does the brand (company) source at least 5% of its plastics from recycled plastic streams and does it give a clear timeline to increase this percentage to at least 25% by 2025? |
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Sony Ericsson launched a productline called "GreenHeart" where it uses a minimum of 50% recycled plastics for these products. S.E sold over over 5 mln "GreenHeart" products, from a total of 43 mln phones in 2010. This means that 11% was sourced from recycled plastic. However, S.E does not state whether they will increase this to 25% by 2025 (see p. 3 and 4) | Source |
| 1. Does the brand (company) have a policy that excludes smelters of conflict minerals by only sourcing minerals from conflict free areas or by only sourcing minerals from conflict areas when human rights are respected and where contributing to conflict is avoided? |
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Sony Ericsson parent company's states that it supports the EICC Program and the OECD Guidelines, but does not state that it is implementing this program (see page 18). | Source |
| 2. Does the brand (company) have a Code of Conduct (CoC) for both its own factories and those of its suppliers, which includes the following standards: No forced or slave labor, no child labor, no discrimination of any kind and a safe and hygienic workplace? |
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All standards are mentioned in Supplier Social Responsibility Code (see 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3 and 3.3.1). (see link PDF "Supplier Social Responsibility Code") | Source |
| 3. Does the brand’s (company’s) CoC include at least 3 of the following workers rights: 1. a formally registered employment relationship 2. a maximum working week of 48 hours with voluntary paid overtime of 12 hours maximum 3. a sufficient living wage 4. form and join labor unions and bargain collectively; and in those situations where these rights are restricted under law, to develop parallel means? |
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1. Yes, all employees are entitled to a written employment contract; 2. Yes, maximum working week is defined by ILO Convention 1; 3. No, living wage is not mentioned (see 3.2.2 on link PDF "Supplier Social Responsibility Code"). 4. No, Freedom of association is mentioned, but nothing found about situations in which this right is restricted by law (see 3.2.2). | Source |
| 4. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume? |
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Sony Ericsson does not provide a significant list of direct suppliers on its website. | Source |
| 5. Is the brand (company) a member of a multi stakeholder initiative (MSI), wherein independent NGO’s or labor unions are represented, that collectively aims to improve labor conditions and that carries out independent audits? Or does the brand (company) significantly purchase its supplies from factories certified by such MSI’s? |
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Sony Ericsson is a member of GeSI and EICC, but civil society organizations do not have a decisive voice in these initiatives (see p. 15). | Source |
| 6. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? |
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Sony Ericsson acknowledges the importance of auditing. (see link, page 15). However, the results of the audits are not made public. | Source |
| 7. Has the brand’s labor conditions policy resulted in a ‘compliance level’ of at least 30% of the purchase volume, or a ‘monitored level' of at least 80%? |
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See remark for labor conditions question 6. | Source |