Why is data about specific production sites being requested?

Public buyers affiliated to Electronics Watch request that their contractors provide them with the legal names and complete physical addresses of the production sites where a subset of the product models they procure are assembled and where their strategic components are manufactured. This data is necessary to accurately identify and assess human rights risks, which vary by location and supply chain tier and function, among other factors. Although some companies publish public supplier lists, these are not product model-specific. As such, public buyers cannot ascertain which of the facilities listed are linked to the specific products that they procure. Within the EU, social and environmental requirements included in public tenders, including transparency and traceability, must be reasonable, proportionate, and linked to the subject-matter of the contract.

How and by whom is the data used?

The data is shared with Electronics Watch, who first uses it to establish links between affiliated public buyers and individual production sites, and to verify suspected such links established via data from other public sources, such as public supplier lists. Electronics Watch shares the data with affiliated public buyers who are linked to those production sites. It also shares the data with its monitoring partners, who are bound by confidentiality. Together with its monitoring partners, Electronics Watch uses the data to assess and compare collective leverage across production sites, based on the number of affiliated public buyers linked to each and their combined spend. Among other factors (e.g., the presence of vulnerable groups, worker grievances), collective leverage informs decisions about which production sites to monitor. The linkages between affiliated public authorities and individual production sites enable Electronics Watch to report on risks and violations identified through the monitoring process to the affected public buyers. They also determine whom to engage (e.g., affected public buyers, suppliers, the Responsible Business Alliance) in the remediation process, in the instance of rights violations.

How is the data processed and stored and who can access it?

The data is stored in the Electronics Watch Supply Chain Database, an excel spreadsheet stored on its server. Electronics Watch staff members manage and may access the data to perform their work tasks. They may also share it with the parties listed above for specific purposes, and with members of the Electronics Watch Board of Trustees when relevant to strategic decisions about monitoring and remediation. Our data processors (e.g., IT support) have access to the data under a data processing agreement. The data is not shared publicly.

How long does Electronics Watch retain data in the supply chain database?

Electronics Watch retains disclosed production sites in the supply chain database for two years unless it is resubmitted by the supplier. If Electronics Watch becomes aware that a particular production site has ceased operations or is no longer in the supply chains of any of its affiliated public buyers, the data may be removed sooner.

What happens to historical data?

Historical data is removed from the database and retained in a separate file to be used for the following three purposes:

• To understand changes in the supply chains of public buyers over time.

• To document which facilities Electronics Watch has and has not chosen to monitor and the rationale for these choices.

• To quality check new data before it is entered into the supply chain database. For certain production countries, national address formats are not reported consistently. Having a bank of addresses that have been verified by suppliers allows Electronics Watch to independently resolve questions about newly disclosed locations, thereby reducing the number of follow-up exchanges with resellers and brands.