To underscore the positive impact of our supply chain environmental practices, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) in China ranked Dell Technologies as a Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI) Master. We are one of only two brands to earn this recognition.

To qualify as a CITI Master, a company must:

• Rank as a top performance brand in the annual CITI ranking
• Maintain high performance standards in their supply chain environmental management
• Show that all key suppliers track their environmental performance through data systems

---- 2020 Supply Chain Sustainability Progress Report

It is worth highlighting our collaboration with the Chinese Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) in the improvement of environmental management in the China supply chain and the disclosure of the results of wastewater analyses on the IPE website. In addition, at Inditex we have invested more effort in the environmental management of the supply chain beyond textile facilities, having included upstream suppliers such as chemical product suppliers and centralised effluent treatment plants.

---- Inditex Group Statement on Non-Financial Information Financial Year 2020

To supplement our core approach, Cisco engages with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to screen suppliers based in mainland China for environmental violations or risks. We work with our suppliers to correct any issues identified. Our areas of focus include wastewater management and pollution mitigation, as well as tracking and addressing reports of illegal pollution.

---- Cisco Supplier Guide 2021: Sustainability, Risk, and Security

PUMA therefore requires those suppliers based in Mainland China to adhere to the following reporting policies: track their own environmental performance on IPE’s platform (via website or app). In the case of any violation, the Factory shall communicate with IPE to report follow-up actions; publish their environmental KPIs and other relevant data on IPE’s RPTR platform as requested by PUMA.

---- The Puma Forever Faster Sustainability Handbooks Environmental Standards

Toyota actively communicates with stakeholders to conduct green procurement. Supplier compliance were verified by using the database of Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE). In 2019, Toyota continued to be ranked first in the automobile industry in the CITI Index 2019 Annual Evaluation Report.

---- Toyota China 2019～2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Since 2011, Huawei has participated in the Green Choice initiative, which was launched by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE). To encourage suppliers to better manage themselves, promptly fix any problems, and maintain environmental compliance, we continue to use the IPE's Blue Map environmental data search during supplier audits and supplier self-checks. In 2020, we carried out regular checks on the environmental records of 900 key suppliers. In the IPE Green Supply Chain CITI Index, we ranked fourth among all IT companies and first among those from the Chinese mainland. 

---- Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd. 2020 Sustainability Report

As the first recipient of IPE’s Corporate Information Transparency Index Master’s Level Designation, Apple is committed to actively engaging our suppliers in China to help achieve our climate resource conservation goals, and to support others in the industry do the same.

---- People and Environment in Our Supply Chain, 2021 Annual Progress Report

In 2020, Grandblue became one of the Top 50 brands in the annual Green Supply Chain CITI Evaluation. As No.1 in the Environment and Waste Management Industry, Grandblue was also the first in the industry to be invited to give a keynote speech at the annual Forum. These illustrate the positive initiatives Grandblue has undertaken in responding to public inquiries, motivating affiliate companies to enhance environmental compliance and increasing data transparency.

---- Grandblue 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

In order to better address and monitor this, we joined the Green Supply Chain initiative in 2018, a publicly available online transparency tool that ties companies to their suppliers’ environmental performance... As a result of the collaboration with IPE and being committed to transparency in our supply chain, we do not only publish our direct tier 1 suppliers but also indirect suppliers or upstream suppliers in China which hold a higher risk in terms of environmental impact due to the nature of their operations like wet processing, wastewater treatment and hazardous waste treatment.

---- Corporate Responsibility Report 2020

Since 2016, we have comprehensively screened our suppliers in China using the Blue Map Database, a platform developed by the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE). This showed that speed of reaction, clear internal communication and risk prevention processes are key to improving compliance in our supply chain.

---- ASICS Sustainability Report 2019

As a cross-industry group, TCL Technology Group monitors CSR risks of the company and its subsidiaries through on-site audit, online monitoring tools and other management measures. In 2019, we carried out on-site inspections of five subsidiaries, 126 risks were identified and corrective actions were taken. We also conducted online monitoring of environmental violation in our subsidiaries and supply chain via the Blue Map Database, ran by a well-known environmental non-profit organization in China.

---- TCL Technology Group Corporation 2019 CSR Report

Every year, Carrefour publishes the list of clothing suppliers on the IPE platform and collects the environmental data from its subcontractors to identify potential issues of environmental non-compliance. These are followed by corrective action plans.

---- Carrefour 2020 CSR Report

Our Responsible Sourcing strategy is grounded in our commitment to supply chain transparency and our embrace of opportunities to drive positive change. One way we do both is by sharing our supplier factory list and data with the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) Green Supply Chain Map. IPE’s Map provides real-time performance data and historical trend information related to air-pollution emissions and wastewater discharge for thousands of major Chinese manufacturing factories.

---- 2020 Target Corporate Responsibility Report

The Bank applied big data and artificial intelligence technology to integrate ESG factors into the whole process and all links of credit granting with the aim of strengthening ESG risk management. The Bank took the lead in cooperating with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to integrate the environmental protection data of the Blue Map into the “Jinjing” (Gold Eye) credit risk monitoring system, enhanced climate risk management and actively promoted environmental credit restoration with customers by leveraging the Bank’s advantage of proximity to customers to communicate green development philosophy. It incorporated borrowers' environmental and social risk commitments and declaration in the contract clauses, enhancing the rigid binding force.

---- Results Announcement for the Year Ended December 31, 2020

At the same time, we are engaged in environmental improvement for suppliers through communication with the Chinese environmental NGO, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE). In the Green Supply Chain ranking of suppliers to major business corporations (CITI Index) published since fiscal 2015 by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), Panasonic has been rated in high ranks every year. In fiscal 2019, Panasonic was ranked as the fourth in the IT industry (one place higher than previous year) and the 1st in overall ranking in Japanese companies.

---- Sustainability Data Book 2019 Panasonic Corporation

Since 2016, Landsea has been assessing upstream suppliers’ environmental compliance and included it as a requirement in the “Request for Proposal”, which specifies that bidders should provide supporting documents for their environmental regulatory information on Blue Map, a third-party environmental information website. Meanwhile, it has also been urging unqualified enterprises to make rectifications. When breaches of the relevant environment regulations are identified, suppliers are requested to submit public statements to Blue Map and take timely corrective measures. In 2020, Landsea continued to follow up the environmental compliance condition of 205 supply chain enterprises, among which 58 failed to comply with relevant regulations. Forty-nine of them submitted the public declaration or took actions to correct the findings and Landsea revoked the inconformity record of these enterprises. Landsea will cancel the qualification of any bid winner who makes no rectifications.

---- 2020 Landsea Green Properties ESG Report

This year marks Primark’s 3rd year of supporting China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) environmental portal to drive industry-wide improvements. The institute is a non-profit environmental research organisation which encourages suppliers to take ownership of their own supply chains and their impact on the environment. IPE hosts a world-renowned online platform which asks suppliers to publicly disclose their environmental data, including water and energy consumption, wastewater discharge and emissions. Brands may then take the initiative to help their suppliers improve on their environmental practices. Primark’s China team of environmental experts continue to actively engage with suppliers and sites with issues, through training and on-site remediation.

---- Primark Environmental Sustainability Performance Report 2019

In China, Lindex also engages closely with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to monitor suppliers’ environmental status and ensure their legal compliance.

---- Sustainability Report 2020 Lindex

The Group conducted testing and inspection of the wastewater data of the core material suppliers and facilitated the disclosure of IPE data by all suppliers. In 2019, we aided the rectification for environmental compliance by 24 suppliers with poor IPE record.

---- Lining 2019 Annual Report

In order to monitor compliance emissions, CV has partnered with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to establish a monitoring mechanism of problem identification, problem solving and continuous improvement. Based on IPE's Blue Map environmental data, CV follows up on all corporate violations since the establishment of CV, and ensures that companies promptly disclose rectification measures.

---- Collaboration for Sustainable Development of Viscose (CV) 2019 Sustainability Report

During 2020, we continued encouraging our suppliers to submit inventories of substances released through IPE’s public pollutant release and transfer register system.

Also during the year, we cross-checked supplier sites representing 95% of our spend against IPE’s public database of environmental violations. We identified one violation, and confirmed closure with the supplier. We also collaborated with first-tier manufacturing suppliers in China to determine whether sub-tier suppliers complied with local environmental laws. This review of almost 900 sub-tier suppliers identified 39 reported violations in 2020. Of these, 16 have been corrected, and we continue working with the relevant first-tier suppliers and IPE to address and resolve the remaining issues. Business with several sub-tier suppliers has been suspended due to unaddressed environmental violations.

---- HP 2020 SUSTAINABLE IMPACT REPORT

DyStar implemented an Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) tool in order to assess the environmental performance of its key suppliers. The tool maps shortlisted suppliers on a ‘Blue Map’. The tool then helps monitor suppliers’ environmental performance and screens for non-compliances. Suppliers will then be prompted to address any violations with timely and effective corrective action. Suppliers who had its correction verified by local government will be required to submit their correction verification documents in order to erase their violation record from the Blue Map.

---- Integrated Sustainability Report 2019-2020

We explicitly state in our Vendor Compliance and Operating Standards that all suppliers are required to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations of the regions where they operate, including, but not limited to, the local environmental standards. We have the right to terminate our business relationship should the supplier fail to comply with the applicable laws and regulations. In addition to that, we are screening our supply base for any potential significant environmental impacts through the Higg Index Facility Environmental Module and IPE Supervision platform (the latter is specific to China-based facilities). If an issue is found, we require the supplier to take corrective action and put in place preventive measures to avoid recurrence. Specifically, on any violation record found on the IPE platform, we also require the facilities—at a minimum—to publish enterprise feedback onto the platform, which details the corrective and preventive measures taken.

---- 2021 Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report

We also leverage the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) system to track environmental noncompliances in our supply base. IPE collects and analyzes government and corporate environmental information to provide transparency on supplier compliance through their online database. Every month, the Responsible Sourcing team uses this information to screen our China-based suppliers’ environmental compliance. Identified violations are logged in AMS and assigned a severity level of “major.” Suppliers are then required to submit a corrective action plan within seven days and show progress within 60 days...

---- Devices Sustainability at Microsoft Fiscal Year 2019

In China, BESTSELLER cooperates with the Institute of Public Affairs (IPE), a non-profit environmental research organisation based in Beijing that monitors many aspects of environmental supply chain management and records suppliers’ performance on a public database.

---- Sustainability Report 2020

The Group fully understands the importance of public monitoring for environmental compliance relating to supply chains. Therefore, we actively collaborate with external parties such as IPE. We use the IPE Blue Map application to monitor supplier environmental compliance performance and provide improvement counseling for suppliers that incur environmental violations. Violation records are removed from the Blue Map website for suppliers following environmental reviews and verification of rectification effectiveness. In 2020, we assisted 40 suppliers with environmental violations to remove their records.

The Group continues to encourage suppliers with high environmental risks to report and disclose Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) data on the IPE PRTR platform. 

---- HON HAI Corporate Sustainability Report 2020