The Electronics Impact (ei) Reporting Program
There are many reasons companies request electronics impact data, including risk mitigation, ESG reporting, and greater transparency in vendor selection. While existing reporting frameworks like SASB, GRI, and CSRD have been widely adopted for general reporting, they have not yet implemented reporting specific to the electronics value chain. This leaves material disclosures unique to the electronics value chain without standardization.
This current gap creates real challenges. Customers don’t always know what to ask for and may request metrics that aren’t meaningful. Electronics facilities report in inconsistent ways, making them difficult to evaluate or compare. It’s also extremely inefficient for facilities to produce these reports in an unstandardized way.
Further, to date, most electronics impact data is self-reported, with no established universal verification method.
THAT’S WHY SERI IS DEVELOPING THE ei REPORTING PROGRAM – a reporting standard and verification system built specifically for the electronics value chain that harmonizes what customers ask for with how facilities report, resulting in a consistent and repeatable process for both reporters and their customers. The ei Standard is designed to supplement broader reporting standards with material disclosures and measurements for the electronics value chain.
How the ei Reporting Program works
Developing the ei Standard
The ei Standard has been developed by a multi-stakeholder Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which means ei is built by and for the entire electronics value chain. Involvement in the ei Program will be voluntary and flexible. Facilities report the disclosures in the standard and depending on the business case and customers’ requirements, may have all or some of the reported disclosures audited for assurance. This flexible structure aligns auditing costs with the organization’s specific needs, not imposing undue time and costs where it is not beneficial.
For electronics facilities, the ei Standard offers a way to meet customer information requests more efficiently, use benchmarking data to understand and monitor performance, and differentiate from non-reporters.
FOR CUSTOMERS OF THOSE FACILITIES, THE ei STANDARD PROVIDES CLARITY ON THE MATERIAL DISCLOSURES MEASURED IN THE ELECTRONICS VALUE CHAIN, A CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK FOR COMPARING DATA AND EVALUATING DIFFERENT FACILITIES IN THEIR RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, AND A STANDARDIZED WAY TO INCLUDE ELECTRONICS IMPACT METRICS INTO THEIR LARGER ESG REPORTING STRUCTURE.
ei STANDARD DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP – BEGINNING FEB 2024
A Vision For ei Reporting
ADDING A QUALITY ELEMENT
To participate in the ei Program, organizations must be certified to an approved electronics reuse and recycling standard such as R2 or e-Stewards. This certification serves as the governance foundation, adding a quality component to reported data.
SERI PLANS TO OFFER THREE LEVELS OF REPORTING. ORGANIZATIONS CHOOSE WHICH LEVEL FITS THEIR BUSINESS CASE AND CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS.
LEVEL 1:
DISCLOSURES
Facilities submit an annual report with standardized disclosures. SERI stores the data, checks that disclosures are complete, and provides a benchmark report to individual reporters comparing their disclosures against industry averages. No third-party assurance required.
LEVEL 2:
ASSURED DISCLOSURES
For organizations that want additional credibility, a SERI-approved independent auditor can audit and assure any or all disclosures. The independent auditor issues limited or reasonable assurance on their letterhead, and SERI records those audited disclosures in the system.
LEVEL 3:
VERIFIED CLAIMS
For organizations making specific impact claims, a SERI-approved independent auditor verifies the claim. SERI does quality control on the audit and issues a verified claim mark.
HOW SERI HANDLES ei DATA
All reported data is stored confidentially by SERI. Facility-level information will never be sold or publicly disclosed. Only the reporter can share their disclosures. SERI intends to provide industry-level benchmarking to help organizations see how they compare and track progress over time. SERI will only share aggregated impacts and industry benchmarks with the public.
