"Female STEM Workshop" to Share Corporate Sustainability Experiences

Material Topics：Talent Attraction, Retention, and Development   
Stakeholders in Communication：Educational and Research Institutions

In November, 2022, Acer's Chief Sustainability Officer, Grace Liu, represented Acer to participate in the "Female STEM Workshop" held by Chung Yuan Christian University. In addition to sharing Acer's commitment to corporate sustainability,she also shared Acer's culture and its employee composition. Acer has a high percentage of female employees at both the entry level and management level, as well as in positions related to STEM fields. 37% of the total number of female Acer employees and 37% of female executives were employed in 2021. In addition, Chief Sustainability Officer also shared the Acer STEM award program launched by Acer UK in partnership with the Tablet Academy. This program is designed to respond to today's educational needs by providing the tools necessary to provide students with more engaging ways to learn and to enable them to acquire the skills to succeed in the future. Additional rewards will be given for recycling old computer equipment on campus. Finally, the Chief Sustainability Officer encouraged the young female workers and students to develop their potential and contribute through the lens of technology and diverse creativity.

Information Technology Industry Council Environment & Sustainability Affiliate Group

Material Topics：Circular Economies and Product Life Cycle  
Stakeholders in Communication：Industry Associations

In 2022, Acer continued its membership with the Information Technology Industry Council, Environment and Sustainability affiliate group. As a member, Acer has access to industry-leading staff expertise on regulatory compliance and product and corporate standards development and implementation. The organization’s influence enables connections to key government officials, industry experts, intelligence, and industry benchmarking through involvement in working groups and face-to-face meetings. ITI Environment and Sustainability also provides access to compliance calendars, tools, and collective reporting services to improve compliance efficiency for members.   

Acer continued to participate in three main working groups within the ITI Environment and Sustainability group that address green procurement, product stewardship, and energy efficiency, where members discuss emerging and existing tech policies and standards and provide industry expertise to guide the development and maintenance of these policies and standards.。   

Acer also continued its participation in the Right-to-Repair task group, which was convened to get feedback from membership and to develop a strategic approach to the many proposed laws and stakeholder pressures to address product lifecycle, spare parts availability, independent repair, etc. of electronic products in the United States and the European Union. The group developed an industry consensus on a pathway to enable legislators and industry to develop fair, safe, & sustainable repair program legislation and saw the first of its kind passing of the New York Digital Fair Repair Act, which requires original equipment manufacturers to provide spare parts, diagnostic and repair information to independent repair providers and consumers.

Responsible Business Alliance (RBA)

Material Topics：Supplier Environment and Social Management     
Stakeholders in Communication：Industry Associations

Acer continued its involvement in the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the largest multi-sector industry coalition dedicated to corporate social responsibility in global supply chains. Acer observes or participates in RBA’s various initiatives and working groups, such as the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), Responsible Labor Initiative (RLI), Environmental Sustainability Working Group, and its various subgroups, including the RMI Smelter Engagement Team (SET), Chemical Management Working Group, and Due Diligence Practices Team. 

In 2022, Acer continued its involvement in the RMI Smelter Engagement Team, on the Global Level 1 Research team. The primary responsibilities of the group are to reach out to alleged smelters to determine if they are true smelters and to provide details for inclusion the RMI’s smelter database. This provided the necessary information to prepare the next SET team level for initial smelter outreach with the goal of gaining the smelter’s participation in the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP). In 2022, the SET team expanded into emerging minerals, such as lithium, and held an education session with a representative from the Lithium Association to inform SET team participants about lithium processing methods and stages, as well as the uses and markets for lithium. This knowledge enabled the team to better identify true processors of lithium and provide a basis of knowledge during discussions with processors.

Private Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA)

Material Topics：Supplier Environment and Social Management      
Stakeholders in Communication：Advocacy Organization

Acer continued its involvement in the PPA, a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder advocacy group that aims to publicize the issue of conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the African Great Lakes Region and propose supply chain solutions. In October of 2022, Acer attended the annual multi-stakeholder membership meeting, which was held in a hybrid model due to the easing impacts of Covid-19. A total of 45 members met in-person and virtually to learn about and discuss the outcomes of the PPA’s work in 2022, celebrated the soft launch of the next phase of the PPA, heard findings and takeaways from recent PPA grantee activities, learned of opportunities to work in tandem with the U.S. Government initiatives around a just energy transition, and engaged in horizon-scanning to inform 2023 work planning. The Secretariat shared a proposed PPA Next Generation MOU with organizations seeking re-enrollment to support early coordination with legal teams and other relevant personnel. Acer has expressed its interest in joining the next phase MOU for 2022-2027. Acer continues to believe that working together as an industry and in partnership with all stakeholders is the most efficient way to enable success at driving meaningful improvement in the social and environmental conditions associated with raw materials extraction.