Standards for Responsible Global Citizenship

In May, John Naughton blogged about a global citizenship workshop we held in Shenzhen. On September 25, we sponsored another event in China at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Shanghai.

More than 50 attendees participated overall and 20 suppliers sent Human Resources and Operations executives who have responsibility for implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in support of the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct (EICC).  Dick Conrad, our vice president of Worldwide Procurement, welcomed suppliers and reinforced Dell’s commitment to EICC compliance within our supply chain.


Three keynote guests provided their CSR views for safer and healthier work environments: Mr. Zhang Junfeng, vice director of the National Labor and Information Research Institute of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security; Mr. Li Tao, founder and director of the Cultural Communication Center for Facilitators and Rev. David Schilling, program director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).



During the workshop, participants received a workbook with step-by-step instructions for continuous improvement. In the break-out sessions, participants discussed and ultimately presented recommendations on the following three focus topics:



  • Worker Feedback Mechanisms: Improve dialogue between workers and managers.

  • Non Discrimination Practices: Become an equal opportunity employer.

  • Child Labor Avoidance: Ensure children aren’t recruited by mistake, and protect young workers (ages 16-17).

Some participants thought the workshop was a good refresh of CSR practices to prevent complacency in their own operations, while others plan to disseminate this information to their suppliers.  One suggested that Dell convene a series of quarterly workshops which we will consider moving forward


This workshop occurred the day following the special Chinese MidAutumn Festival celebration. Most participants traveled the day of the festival to attend the workshop and were unable to celebrate with their families.  We appreciate their dedication. Moving forward, our team will take these Chinese cultural events into consideration when scheduling future activities.


These workshops complement a variety of EICC member activities such as third-party audits of our common supply base. Sixteen supplier sites will complete an audit over the next few months by third party auditors using EICC audit tools per an agreement with the EICC Joint Audit Work Group.  To avoid duplicate audits and audit reports the audit results are shared on a confidential basis with the appropriate EICC member customers.  This activity is one of many that the EICC has planned and executed throughout the year.


I would like to again thank all those who attended. Your participation helps all of us to advance important topics that will continue to impact our industry . As we continue working with suppliers on improving our Global Citizenship initiative as well as EICC initiatives, I’ll provide you with more updates on the blog.

About the Author: Jannie Bailey