Environmental management

Environment

There is an increased focus on environmental issues globally, where Climate Change is the most emerging one. The industry is a key player to be able to solve these issues. Hence, Ericsson has set up high expectations on the products and services that we offer.

Consequently, Ericsson expect you as our supplier to set the same high standards. In general, we expect that our Suppliers work with environmental issues from a strategic perspective and in a systematic manner. We expect that our suppliers shall identify their own Environmental risks and implement actions to mitigate these. However, as a minimum, we expect that our suppliers adhere to the requirements set in the Code as well as in our Ericsson Environmental Requirements for Business Partners.

Complete information found at: Supplier requirements related to responsible sourcing.

Dangerous goods, hazardous materials and hazardous waste

In most operations, hazardous materials and dangerous goods are used and transported, and sometimes hazardous waste is generated. We require that such materials and products are identified and labelled accordingly. If you as a supplier are providing Ericsson hazardous chemicals, a Safety Data Sheet must be provided with the shipment. The same applies for dangerous goods or products, where a description must be accompanied where the hazards can be identified.

Transport

All transportation has big environmental impact. Therefore, you as a supplier are expected to reduce this impact by using the most environmentally friendly means of transport whenever possible.

You are expected to use fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles, or when possible, vehicles powered by non-fossil fuels, when transporting goods or providing services for Ericsson. If possible, use land- or sea-based shipping methods as much as possible instead of flying your products and components.
You must be prepared to provide information about environmental impact aspects of transportation of goods to Ericsson, for example mode of transport, emissions of the modes of transport, packaging material, and production locations.

Manufacturing

If you are a supplier producing products that you sell to Ericsson, you must be able to demonstrate environmentally sound manufacturing practices. This means that you must not use any chemicals included in the Ericsson Lists of Banned and Restricted Substances. You shall also have installed proper equipment for treating any emissions or effluents from your operations and to secure that this equipment is properly maintained and is always functioning as intended.

Hyperscale Datacenter 8000 Optical backplane w cables

Products and services

The hardware products and components we procure from our suppliers, will in most cases become Ericsson branded products. We as a company need in our turn show that our products fulfill the requirements of our customers and legislations as well as to fulfill our ambitions within environmental sustainability. Important topics are what substances are included in the products we source and how much energy they are consuming and how these shall be handled at end-of-life.

You as a supplier must be able to demonstrate design and supply chain activities which enable reduction of the adverse environmental impact of your products and services.

You must comply with the requirements in the Ericsson Lists of Banned and Restricted Substances, among all covering substances that are prohibited to be used in Ericsson’s products. Further on, all our hardware component suppliers must be prepared to declare the full material content of the products delivered to Ericsson.

Climate change mitigation

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of today. To solve this challenge, we believe that the industry needs to take a vital role. However, we also face increasing regulations and requirements related to energy reduction and climate mitigation. As an example, many of Ericsson’s customers have implemented requirements for climate neutrality in their entire value chains, meaning that all operations shall be neutral regarding greenhouse gas emissions.

Within Ericsson´s Code of Conduct for Business partners, Ericsson state that all suppliers and other business partners needs to develop and implement plans to reduce their carbon footprint according to the 1.5-degree scenario presented by the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. Meeting the 1.5-degree scenario, means that we as companies need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to what science deem enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees against pre-industrial level.

The first step of being able to become better in reducing carbon emissions is to calculate your carbon footprint that includes all greenhouse gas emissions re-calculated to Carbon Dioxide Equivalent´s [1] (CO2e), using the Greenhouse Gas protocol standards.

Ericsson requires all its Business Partners to set targets to be able to meet the 1.5-degree scenario. We therefore require to set science-based targets. This can be supported through submitting company emission reduction targets to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to get the support needed.

When the targets are set and official, you should, as a company develop plans and roadmaps to phase out all your carbon emissions. During the coming years, we will gradually increase our requirements related to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Guide towards Science Bases Targets:

Measure and calculate your carbon footprint by using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The emissions are then divided into: emissions from owned or controlled sources (scope 1), as well as indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy (Scope 2), and if applicable your indirect emissions (scope 3).
Decide a base year no less than 2 years back, where you measure your emission reductions and progress against.
Decide on an absolute target in the future to at least halve your emissions within 10 years against your baseline year. This means an annual 7 % reduction in emissions. Your target can be officially registered through the Science Based Target initiative.
Implement mitigation measures and plans to reach your target.
For further guidance and information on how sectors and companies can reduce emissions you are most welcome to go to the Exponential roadmap
When the targets are set and are published, you should, as a company develop plans and roadmaps to phase out all your carbon emissions. We have set a target to decarbonize our supply chain, to become carbon Net-Zero until 2030.

Water management

Fresh and clean water is a scarce natural resource. Due to changes in precipitation caused by a changing climate, it is expected that this resource will be even more scarce. You as a supplier are expected to monitor, control and measure your water usage, water treatment and discharges. You must also assure that your waste-water treatment equipment is fully functional to ensure optimal performance.

Solid waste

Suppliers must minimize the waste from their operations. To achieve a reduction of waste streams, the Supplier must identify its impact as well as define and implement targets and plans for waste reduction. If available, all waste streams from the operations of a Supplier must be separated for recycling or reuse as appropriate.

The Supplier must, upon request, inform Ericsson about the waste reduction targets, plans and achievements.

Air emissions

As a supplier you must be able to monitor, control and treat air emissions of volatile organic chemicals, aerosols, corrosives, particulates, ozone depleting substances, and combustion byproducts generated from your operations. You must also assure that your treatment equipment is fully functional to ensure optimal performance.

Reporting incidents

Even if you as a supplier take precautionary methods related to your operations, incidents can happen. We require you as a supplier to report such incidents to us, to better understand and work together how to avoid these in the future. An incident can be large as well as small. Examples of incidents are:

Leakage of chemicals in a warehouse or spillage of fuels at a telecom site.
If any substances on our Banned & Restricted list have, by mistake, been added to any product or component to be delivered to Ericsson.
Unintentional discharges to air, water or land from production facilities.
Larger accidents or natural disasters affecting the environment, e.g. fire, flooding, earthquakes.

Incidents must be reported to Ericsson, in the Global Incident Reporting Tool that can be found here: Global Incident Reporting Tool – OHS GIRT - Ericsson

Questions

The following questions give you an idea of what you may need to secure in your Management System in relation to these requirements. You should see the questions as a guideline with selected examples and not a comprehensive list of items.

Does your company have an environmental policy?
Does your company have an implemented procedure for identifying and grading the different ways in which you affect the environment (your “environmental aspects”) – including risks?
Does your company have a system for identifying relevant environmental laws and regulations, and for keeping the information accurate?
Does your company consider environmental factors in relevant business decisions, for example when purchasing vehicles, products, travels or selecting process chemicals?
Are you considering your environmental management work to be proactive and efficient as it is today?

Go to the quiz