Supplier Environmental, Health and Safety Management
Xerox extends environment, health and safety requirements across its supply chain. Since 1998, Xerox has asked its materials and components suppliers to meet specific environment, health and safety requirements. These requirements were broadened in 2004 to better manage the chemical content of our products. By adopting the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition’s Code of Conduct, Xerox has further strengthened its commitment to ensure that its suppliers are operating according to accepted industry standards for environmental management. Starting in 2003, Xerox extended requirements to companies that provide paper to Xerox for resale. More information on these standards can be found at www.xerox.com/environment.
Audit Program
To maintain and achieve regulatory compliance, a well-established internal audit program measures our success in implementing corporate standards and guidelines. To identify environment, health and safety risks and potential areas of non-compliance, Xerox audits research, manufacturing and service operations on an average of once every three to five years. The duration is based on the type of operations and the inherent risks associated with the operations. Xerox audit teams evaluate operations against Xerox standards, regulations and industry guidelines, and with the assistance of the audit teams, local managers develop action plans to correct deficiencies. Senior management pays particular attention to situations with the potential to pose a high risk of environmental damage, serious injury to employees, or regulatory non-compliance. In 2007, Xerox met its goal of resolution of these issues within 90 days, and has demonstrated that the audit program has become an important mechanism for identifying and correcting performance gaps.
Employee Training and Education
Through training and internal communication, Xerox makes its employees aware of how our operations affect the environment. Manufacturing employees who can have a potential impact on the environment receive training annually on topics such as hazardous waste management, spill prevention and response, recycling and ISO 14001. Customer Service Engineer training covers safety hazards, exposures and processes for risk mitigation. We post our environmental policy in our facilities, and we deploy environment, health and safety goals for our products through our product development process. Through our ISO 14001 environmental management, employees are routinely involved in identifying the environmental aspects associated with their responsibilities.