We partner with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) in China to enroll all Kontoor Brands Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers in China in IPE’s portal for environmental policy violation monitoring. This partnership enables real-time monitoring of environmental law violations and increases visibility of issues, accelerates remediation processes and deepens our understanding of our supply chain.

---- Kontoor Brands Sustainability Report 2020

The Responsible Sourcing team uses this information to monitor our China-based suppliers. Since partnering with IPE, we have resolved 122 violations with corrective action, including two cases in FY22. We have extended the IPE program to our suppliers’ sub-tier and vendor management, providing them with guidance and training. We have also given them a self-assessment tracking checklist, which includes 11 key checkpoints to enable suppliers’ to build their own IPE program.

---- Microsoft Devices Responsible Sourcing Report FY22

To be a BESTSELLER supplier, new suppliers are required to remediate all violation records on IPE’s public database. If factories want a higher rating, they are encouraged to share their pollutant data (PRTR data) and demonstrate that they are monitoring their overall environmental footprint and setting targets to reduce their impacts...
BESTSELLER is part of IPE’s Global Brand Map initiative, a publicly accessible map where you can see our suppliers’ environmental performance in real-time, as well as our suppliers' remediation history...
We also encourage our direct suppliers to use IPE's Blue Eco-chain to monitor the performance of partners in their own supply chain.

---- BESTSELLER SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2021

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 use the Blue Map to effectively track the environmental performance of our owned projects in real time. The push notification via the Blue Map APP and emails also helps improve the efficiency of supply chain management which enables suppliers to undertake their primary responsibility for pollution management more proactively, and publicly respond to stakeholder enquiries regarding our compliance performance in a timely manner. The Blue Map has indeed become a platform for us to improve supply chain management.

---- Grandlbue ESG Report 2021

Continuing our sustainability work in China we have also collaborated with IPE which specialises in green supply chain mapping to increase the level of transparency with the factories we work with and ensure public accountability for energy consumption and waste generated.

----Communication on Progress | 2020/2021

We pilot employing IPE's Blue Map Database in supplier environmental compliance management in the industrial processes responsible for the production of clothing, footwear and other textiles (e.g. sleeping bags)... we plan to expand the pilot to other industrial processes. We also encourage suppliers to conduct self management using IPE's database.

--- 2021 Non Financial Reporting Declaration 2021

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

In 2020, 444 Carrefour supplier factories were audited based on IPE standards in the different sectors (clothing, small household goods and home appliances), including 339 tier 1 suppliers and 105 tier 2 suppliers. We note an improvement in results compared to last year: in 93% of factories inspected, no alerts were issued. In 2021, Carrefour is aiming for 100% compliance and it has moved up from 33rd to 17th place in the rankings of the brands inspected by the IPE (for all sectors). This improvement has been driven by the publication of the production sites of key integrated tier 1 and tier 2 textile suppliers, the PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) environmental impact reports completed by 20 suppliers and shared with the IPE, and the results of the first assessments performed on tier 3 suppliers.

---- CARREFOUR UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2020 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT

In addition, we monitor C&A’s position on respected transparency ratings and indices, such as ... the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI) Ranking, conducted annually by IPE, a non-profit environmental research organization based in China covering 20 industries with a presence in China, including apparel ... C&A China ranked the highest of all evaluated companies — both within and outside the apparel industry — for the IPE CITI ranking.

---- C&A GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020

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 2021, we assisted 47 suppliers with environmental violations in removing their records. We also extended environmental management to our upstream suppliers. In 2021, we required 6 pilot suppliers to continue enhancing their own environmental performance, track environmental risks in their supply chain, review the environmental compliance of their supply chains, and remove violation records from the Blue Map website. To protect the public’s right to know about their surrounding environments, the Group guided 124 suppliers in filling out PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) data for public disclosure on the IPE website in 2021.

---- 2021 Hon Hai Sustainability Report

Based on supply chain information published by the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Chinese environmental NGO, we help secondary and tertiary suppliers and other Chinese businesses located in the upstream of the supply chain to reduce environmental risk by making recommendations and carrying out improvements. By sharing information regularly and communicating with the IPE on best practice, we contribute to reducing environmental risk throughout the supply chain.

---- CANON SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2022

Facilities in China should conduct environmental legal compliance screening and monitoring using this IPE screening tool to ensure environmental legal compliance requirements are always met. This also applies to facilities’ upstream suppliers and contractors. As a best practice, the facility should conduct a violation screening quarterly...... If an environmental violation record is found the facility must communicate the violations to the relevant government agency, IPE, and VF within 10 calendar days. Facilities must immediately identify corrective actions and complete all necessary remediation efforts until the violation is delisted by IPE. The same would apply to all facilities upstream suppliers and contractors.

---- VF Facility Compliance Standards

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 2021, we carried out regular checks on the environmental records of 900 key suppliers and helped more than 10 suppliers rectify problems.

---- Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd. 2021 Sustainability Report

Ranked No. 1 out of 662 companies across all industries and 48 information technology companies. Developed by IPE in 2021, this assessment focuses on brands’ performance on corporate and value chain-level climate action performance.

---- DELL TECHNOLOGIES FY22 ESG REPORT

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

Since 2015, Lindex’s sustainability team in China has worked closely with IPE to monitor environmental performance data of direct suppliers in China and significant upstream suppliers. This is done through the Blue Map database developed by IPE, as well as the PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry) system. Lindex is one of the few brands in China that incorporates PRTR into our supply chain management requirements.

---- Sustainability Report 2021 Lindex

We have fully launched supplier access standards and thresholds in 2021...... We also promoted green suppliers’ self-assessment, and monitored the environmental information of 30 suppliers through the supply chain management platform of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE).

---- 2021 Sustainability Report

Seagate also conducted environmental compliance screenings of 41 Chinese supplier sites via the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) database. Two of these 41 suppliers (<5%) were found on the database for issues pertaining to effluent/wastewater quality. We are working with the two suppliers to address the non-compliance.

---- Fiscal Year 2021 Global Citizenship Annual Report

In China, where we have a large number of suppliers and commitment by suppliers to environmental issues have been highly demanded in the society, we have requested our suppliers—now reaching a total of about 7,000—to use our CSR Self-Assessment Checklist since fiscal 2016... The above efforts are being made under a collaboration with the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Chinese environmental NGO. In IPE's Suppliers Green Supply Chain responsibility (CITI Index), which has been published since 2014, Panasonic has been listed in the top raking companies every year. In fiscal 2021, Panasonic were ranked the third in the home appliances category.

---- Environment: Collaboration Across the Supply Chain

During 2021, we continued encouraging our suppliers to submit inventories of substances released through IPE's public pollutant release and transfer register system, and cross-checked supplier sites representing 95% of our spend against IPE’s public database of environmental violations.
We also collaborated with first-tier manufacturing suppliers in China to determine whether sub-tier suppliers complied with local environmental laws. This review of 730 sub-tier suppliers identified 27 reported violations in 2021. Of these, 18 had been corrected as of November 2021, 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.

---- 2021 HP Sustainable Impact Report

Intel is working to better understand our supply chain’s compliance to environmental laws in China. In support of this goal, we are working with the non-profit environmental research organization, the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) to provide Intel with pertinent environmental compliance information... If Intel receives notification of any open non-compliance issues from IPE for a given supplier, Intel will notify the supplier in writing with detailed instructions. Intel expects Supplier to address or close the issue within 6 months. Failure to close identified issues with IPE within 6 months of Intel notifying the supplier will impact supplier report card scoring.

--- Intel SPARC Environmental Footprint

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

In order to implement the green procurement concept, create a green supply chain, avoid the disruption of material supply from environmental violations as well as reputation damages, Avary Holding have employed IPE's Blue Map Database and related tools to comprehensively monitor our suppliers' environmental performance.

---- Avary Holding Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2021

Primark has worked with China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) since year 2016 to improve the environmental performance of all suppliers and facilities beyond our first tier in the region... Primark adopts IPE’s Blue EcoChain to encourages suppliers to take ownership of their own supply chains and manage their impact on the environment... Primark is also recognized one of the leading brands who encourage suppliers to publicly disclose their environmental data on IPE platform, which includes water and energy consumption, wastewater discharge and air emissions as well as to set GHG emission reduction goals...

---- Environmental Performance Report 2020

To supplement our responsible sourcing strategy, we leverage the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to screen our suppliers in China for environmental compliance. IPE is a nonprofit environmental research organization that collects and analyzes government and corporate environmental information to provide transparency on supplier compliance. On a regular basis, we screen our suppliers within IPE’s Blue Map website to identify violations and, if found, create a corrective action plan for the respective vendor and facility to remediate within an assigned timeframe.

---- Kohl's 2021 Environmental, Social & Governance Report

Starting in 2015, OJI China established a supply chain screening system using the Blue Map developed by the NGO Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to inspect OJI’s key suppliers and invested enterprises in China. Since 2017, OJI has been sending letters of inquiry to enterprises with violation records asking them to publicly explain the outcomes of their corrective action to contribute to a more environmentally-friendly society.

---- Oji China Sustainability Report 2021

DWC adheres to an open and cooperative attitude. In 2016, we have established cooperation relationship with the lnstitute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), and apply its database to retrieve suppliers environmental compliance regularly (quarterly). After that procurement, quality and sustainability departments of DWC will jointly promote the improvements that is detected by the retrieval of suppliers.

---- Danone Waters China OPOH Progress Report

We identify and assess significant environmental and social risks in our supply chain regularly through...NGO platforms e.g.environmental supervision records of Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (“IPE”)

---- CRYSTAL GROUP SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2021

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

GAC TOYOTA has constructed a comprehensive supplier environmental risk monitoring system by incorporating suppliers' emissions data, environmental supervision records and ratings from IPE's Blue Map database. Both GAC TOYOTA and suppliers would be notified for potential risks, and GAC TOYOTA will follow up on suppliers' corrective actions following a "early detection and early resolution" principle.

------ GAC TOYOTA CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT

OPPO is investing more on the product side, introducing life cycle environmental management, continuously developing green products and greening enterprise operation so as to contribute to global carbon neutrality target ...... OPPO was ranked as TOP 49 across all industries in IPE's Green Supply Chain CITI evaluation. 

---- OPPO 2021 Sustainability Report

As a cross-industry group, TCL Technology Group monitors the ESG risks of the company and its subsidiaries through on-site audit, online monitoring tools and other management measures, identify risks and require corrective actions. We also conducted online monitoring of environmental violation in our subsidiaries and supply chain via the Blue Map Database, which is ran by IPE, a well-known environmental non-profit organization in China.

---- TCL Technology Group Corporation 2021 ESG 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

In 2020, in collaboration with IPE, an online reporting platform for the Green List was established to highlight suppliers with outstanding performances in energy saving and emission reduction. In 2021, the Green List for procurement was further enlarged to a total of 22 suppliers.

---- VANKE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2021

Since 2021, the Company has been using IPE's Blue EcoChain tool to track the environmental performance of its suppliers and encouraging the disclosure of carbon data and greenhouse gas reduction targets.

--- Lenovo Group Limited 2021/22 Environmental Social and Governance Report

LS&Co. uses the IPE Blue Map environmental database to monitor our suppliers in China, all of which are registered to the database. We have also shared our supplier factory list and data with the IPE Green Supply Chain Map, which provides real-time performance data and historical trend information related to air emissions and wastewater discharge.

---- Levi Strauss & Co. 2020 Sustainability Report

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 – Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE). 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.

----- 2021 Landsea Green Properties Environmental, Social and Governance Report

We also share our supplier factory list with the Institute of Public and 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.

---- 2021 Target Corporate Responsibility Report

IPE is a leading non-profit environmental research organization based in Beijing dedicated to collecting, collating, and analyzing government and corporate environmental data.Through its platforms and partnerships, IPE works to achieve environmental transformation, promote environmental information disclosure, and improve environmental governance mechanisms.

As the first recipient of IPEs CorporateInformation 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 help others in the industry do the same.

---- People and  Environment in Our Supply Chain: 2022 Annual Progress Report

Inditex works with the Chinese Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) on the continuous improvement of environmental management in our supply chain in that market. The IPE publishes the results of factories’ wastewater analyses and has acknowledged Inditex’s endeavours to improve the environmental performance of its supply chain. In its global ranking of brands, Inditex ranks fourth in the textile sector (fifth globally). In addition to textile facilities, the IPE oversees upstream chemical suppliers and centralised effluent treatment plants.

---- Inditex Collaborating to Transform 2021

To this end, we have an ongoing partnership with the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs(IPE). As a result of our work to mitigate environmental risk from supplier sites in mainland China, we were ranked #1 in the IT industry on IPE’s most recent Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI). Ongoing engagement with suppliers includes virtual training seminars and coaching to help suppliers correct pollution violations. By building the capability of suppliers we can influence better environmental performance and transparency further down in the supply chain and across our industry.

---- 2021 Cisco Purpose Report

Since FY2019, DyStar has been utilising a tool developed by the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) to evaluate the environmental performance of its key suppliers and to have visibility over suppliers environmental violation. The tool creates a 'Blue Map' of shortlisted suppliers and enables DyStar to monitor the environmental performance and instances of non-compliances of these suppliers. Suppliers who have been identified for any form of non-compliance will be prompted by DyStar to address these violations and take the appropriate corrective action.

--- Integrated Sustainability Report 2021-2022