Acer
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Computer hardware and electronics
Founded in 1976, today they are the world's #4 PC maker, behind Lenovo, HP and Dell. In 2007 Acer bought Gateway for US$710 million.
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Company Assessment
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This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 87/100 in the Computers & Peripherals and Office Electronics category of the 2019 SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
[Source 2019][More on Sustainability Reporting]
In 2019, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of B.
[Source 2019][More on Climate Change]
B+ grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's Behind the Barcode 'Ethical Electronics Guide 2016', which grades companies on their efforts to mitigate the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation throughout their supply chains. Assessment criteria fall into four main categories: policies, traceability & transparency, monitoring & training and worker rights.
[Source 2016][More on Workers Rights]
Milieudefensie and Friends of the Earth have assessed how open manufacturers of smartphones, tablets, laptops and game consoles are about the use of materials, water, land surface area and greenhouse gas emissions. Assessment also covered whether manufacturers are honest about the use of tin from Indonesia and whether they are prepared to address the abuses in the tin mines on Bangka in Indonesia, such as by participating in the IDH project (Sustainable Trade Initiative). This company received a 'green' rating, indicating they provide ample information on the use of raw materials and is helping to improve the situation in the tin mines on Bangka Belitung.
[Source 2015][More on Human Rights]
Engineers from ifixit.com disassembled and analysed a range of smartphones, tablets and laptops, awarding each a repairability score between one and ten. Ten is the easiest to repair. A device with a perfect score will be relatively inexpensive to repair because it is easy to disassemble and has a service manual available. Points are docked based on the difficulty of opening the device, the types of fasteners found inside, and the complexity involved in replacing major components. Points are awarded for upgradability, use of non-proprietary tools for servicing, and component modularity. A tablet and a laptop released by this company in 2017 scored 8 points.
[Source 2020][More on Product Safety]
As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 76.6% (Strong).
[Source 2019][More on Human Rights] |
The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including brands owned by this company. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 2020 report estimates (somewhat conservatively) that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps.
[Source 2020][More on Workers Rights]
Greenpeace's 2017 report 'Clicking Clean' looks at the energy footprints of large data centre operators and popular websites and applications, and calls on these companies to power their data centres on renewable energy. Companies are graded (A,B,C,D,F) on their commitment to and procurement of renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency, transparency and advocacy. This company's final grade was D.
[Source 2017][More on Climate Change]
This company received a grade of D+ in the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics (Oct 2017), which assesses companies from the electronics industry across three impact areas: energy use, resource consumption, and chemical elimination. Of the 17 companies ranked, this company came seventh.
[Source 2017][More on Climate Change]
This 2016 investigative report by China Labour Watch reveals poor work conditions for Chinese workers making products for this company. Labour rights violations include excessive overtime, forced labour, low wages, inadequate training and working 3 months without a single day off.
[Source 2016][More on Workers Rights]
This company scores Ethical Consumer's worst rating for the likely use of tax avoidance strategies, and has at least two high risk subsidiaries in tax havens.
[Source 2018][More on Finance] |
The Electronics TakeBack Coalition's Recycling Report Card evaluates takeback and recycling programs for computer, TV, printer and game console companies. The report card focuses on the programs available to consumers in the US, and relies on publicly available information, as of Sept 2010. This company received a grade of D for its recycling efforts in the USA.
[Source 2010][More on Habitats]
The Poisonous Pearl is a 2016 report by Good Electronics which focuses on the experiences of (former) workers in the electronics industry in China who are victims of chemical poisoning. The health of all the workers in the report was damaged by exposure to hazardous chemicals such as benzene and n-hexane. All were working in large or small factories in the Pearl River Delta-region of China, an area well known as being a global hub for the production of consumer electronics (ICT). This company is supplied by factories in the region.
[Source 2016][More on Workers Rights]
As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: responsible corporate engagement in climate policy.
[Source 2017][More on Climate Change]
This company is a participant in the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA), a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder initiative to support supply chain solutions to conflict minerals challenges in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region (GLR) of Central Africa. The PPA provides funding and coordination support to organizations working within the region to develop verifiable conflict-free supply chains; align chain-of-custody programs and practices; encourage responsible sourcing from the region; promote transparency; and bolster in-region civil society and governmental capacity.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]
This company is a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (formerly the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition), a non-profit coalition of electronics companies which supports the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities worldwide affected by the global electronics supply chain. RBA members commit and are held accountable to a common Code of Conduct and utilize a range of RBA training and assessment tools to support continuous improvement in the social, environmental and ethical responsibility of their supply chains.
[Source 2017][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]
This company is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (formerly the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative), which helps companies address conflict minerals issues in their supply chains. The RMI provides information on conflict-free smelters and refiners, common tools to gather sourcing information, and forums for exchanging best practices on addressing conflict minerals. Membership is open to companies that use or transact in tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold (3TG). Founded in 2008 by members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
[Source 2019][More on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives]
This company has sustainability claims on its website including the areas of environment, supply chain and community support.
[Source 2014][More on Sustainability Reporting]
This 2016 scorecard by SOMO compares electronics companies on their policies and efforts regarding responsible mining and the elimination of child labour, with special attention to the mining of gold. This company is above industry standard on 4 out of 7 criteria.
[Source 2016][More on Human Rights]
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
[Source 2016][More on Human Rights] |
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Company Details
| Company Structure | Public company |
| Revenue | US$12 billion in 2013 |
| # Employees | 7,292 in 2014 |
| Subsidiaries | Acer Computer Australia Pty Ltd |
Contact Details
| Address | New Taipei, Taiwan |
| Website | www.acer.com |
Products / Brands
Acer Australia|
Acer Desktop Computers Acer Laptops Acer Tablets |