This common audit scheme for sustainability in electronics was been introduced by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), now known as the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA).
The scheme is intended to save suppliers and Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) members the time and expense of multiple audits. The RBA was formerly known as the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), and is a non-profit organisation in the IT industry which promotes social and environmental responsibility and efficiencies in the global electronics supply chain. They are committed to upholding strong standards for labour, ethics, health and safety, environmental impact, and management systems.
This common audit scheme developed by RBAis designed to save companies the time and expense of multiple audits. Suppliers are audited once and can share the findings with all RBA member companies.
ATC Professional has been engaged as a partner to provide a certification and regulatory framework for training and certification of auditors in this sector. The ATC Professional EICC Auditor Certification Scheme offers certification at three grades: Associate Auditor, Auditor and Lead Auditor.
Please visit the Responsible Business Alliance website for more information about the RBA.
Important note: This scheme only has three grades – Associate Auditor, Auditor and Lead Auditor. The generic criteria still apply.
Scheme specific (additional) requirements
The certification grades applicable to this scheme are limited and fall into two scopes, as below:
Grade | Scopes |
---|---|
Associate Auditor | An Associate Auditor must meet the requirements for at least one of these: · Labour and ethics scope and/or · Environmental, health and safety scope. |
Auditor | An Auditor must meet the requirements for at least one of these: · Labour and ethics scope and/or · Environmental, health and safety scope. |
Lead Auditor | It is mandatory that Lead Auditors meet the requirements for the labour and ethics scope. They may also meet the requirements for the environmental, health and safety scope. |
Scope Requirements | Labour And Ethics Scope For All Grades | Environmental, Health And Safety Scope For All Grades |
---|---|---|
Qualifications/ experience | Five years’ general work experience, including either: • Two years of relevant labour and ethics work experience or • Qualification(s) in a closely related field | Five years’ general work experience, including either: • Two years of relevant environmental and health and safety systems work experience or • Qualification(s) in a closely related field |
Auditor training | Either • EICC (RBA) Labour and Ethics Lead Auditor course or • EICC (RBA) Environmental, Health and Safety Lead Auditor course, plus EICC (RBA) Labour and Ethics Conversion course. | Either • EICC (RBA) Environmental, Health and Safety Lead Auditor course or EICC (RBA) Labour and Ethics Lead Auditor course, plus EICC (RBA) Environmental, Health and Safety Conversion course. |
Auditors are required to demonstrate the following knowledge and competencies:
Auditors are required to have the ability to:
The EICC (RBA) Scheme is based on the following audit criteria key documents:
The EICC (RBA) Code of Conduct establishes standards to ensure that working conditions in the electronics industry supply chain are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that business operations are environmentally responsible. The EICC (RBA) Code of Conduct encourages broad adoption of CSR best practices by all ICT companies and suppliers, through guidelines for performance and compliance with critical CSR policies. The EICC (RBA) Code of Conduct is the primary reference document for the EICC (RBA) Audit Criteria. EICC (RBA) provides the tools for audit compliance with the code and helps companies report progress, hence the significance of the following two key criteria documents;
Guidance on who this scheme is intended for
Certification to this scheme is specific to social systems audits performed within the electronics industry, and therefore requires industry sector-specific competencies. If an auditor doesn’t meet this requirement and their experience is in other industry sectors, they will find the ATC Professional Social Systems generic scheme more suitable for their needs. The purpose of this EICC (RBA) Auditor Scheme is to provide confidence that auditors who are certified to it are competent to audit for a variety of stakeholders: