Working for a Better Future: Growing Stakeholder Value Through Investment in Sustainability
By Sheana Chen, Vice President, General Counsel, Sustainability Steering Committee
On March 4th, UNESCO’s World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development will again highlight the crucial role engineering plays in sustainability. Sustainability is a topic that receives attention at the highest levels within Diodes Incorporated (Diodes). That is why we have aligned our initiatives with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which are designed to offer a blueprint for building a better future.
Our sustainability-oriented approach to our global operations is built around six pillars:
1. Commitment
We take our Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) commitment seriously, engaging in various initiatives to enhance environmental operation, social responsibility, responsible sourcing, business ethics, and compliance. We are also vigilant and continuously assess and address risks that may influence our activities, results, or financial performance in the light of sustainability. We monitor and benchmark ourselves against globally acknowledged metrics, like the ISS Quality Score and ISO 14001 environmental management system. It is vital to understand how we are performing to know how to improve. We report on our progress, for example, through our Sustainability Report to ensure our stakeholders can keep track of our commitments.
2. Environment
Conserving our environment is prominent in the way we operate. We have an Environmental Policy and a Climate Change Policy to ensure that our operations are environmentally responsible. In practice, our environmental efforts take different shapes, from something as simple as equipping our office meeting rooms with light sensors to conserve energy, to responsibly managing materials used in the semiconductor manufacturing process, including waste management of hazardous substances.
3. Supply Chain
We have committed to sustainable operation, and we expect the same commitment from our suppliers and business partners. We align to the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct, a set of standards that we meet and expect our suppliers to implement in their operations. Environmental and social responsibility are crucial to the way we select and handle materials (including any conflict minerals) used in our products to safeguard our employees, customers, and the environment around us.
4. Social Responsibility
We are proud to be able to contribute to the well-being of our communities, and our environment, through our product innovation. Our semiconductor devices are used in many applications that reduce the impact on the environment, save energy, or reduce pollution, such as electric and hybrid vehicles, smart homes, and LED lighting. Sharing our knowledge is fundamental to how we view social responsibility. That’s why we collaborate with customers to help them optimize the sustainability of their products, helping their customers reduce their carbon footprint.
5. People
Our people are our greatest resource. We foster relationships with local communities through volunteering opportunities, from disaster relief to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education, to build a resilient society and a greener future. We also take steps to ensure that our employees have opportunities to improve their well-being both at work and outside it. A good example is a recent collaboration between our OFAB facility in the UK and Transport for Greater Manchester, which sponsored showers and drying cabinets installed at the facility to encourage employees to walk and cycle to work.
6. Governance
Effective corporate governance is the backbone of our sustainability efforts. To successfully enforce this agenda, we must be accountable and transparent. This is critical to gaining, and retaining, the trust of our stakeholders and delivering value in the short and long term. Our board and executive management teams play a crucial role in outlining the corporate strategies that guide our approach and incorporate our core values of innovation, integrity, and commitment. We further encourage this by incentivizing initiatives and ensuring that CSER is a measurable element in the bonus plan to drive management commitment.
Working towards a more sustainable future is a global effort, and we are pleased to play our part in it. Recognizing our environmental responsibility is integral to producing world-class products and delivering long-term value and prosperity to our customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers, and communities.
To find out more about our efforts, visit our sustainability site.
