The Chinese Electronics Standardization Association (CESA) has hosted a seminar exploring strategies to promote social responsibility in the booming electronics/IT sector. Electronics/IT is China’s number 1 export sector, with more than $500 billion US dollars export value in 2010. CESA is a business association affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

On December 21, 2011, the Launch Conference of the Social Responsibility Committee of the Chinese Electronics Standardization Association (CESA) and the First Members Assembly was held in Beijing. The focus of the seminar was to explore strategies to promote social responsibility in China’s electronics/IT sector.

Electronics/IT is China’s number 1 export sector, with more than $500 billion US dollars export value in 2010. CESA is a business association affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

43 participants attended the seminar, mostly leading electronics/IT companies such as Lenovo, Huawei, China Electronics, Nokia, Sony etc.

At the seminar, CESA launched a CSR Committee consisting of 27 members. It also signed a MOU for collaboration on CSR promotion with the CNTAC (China National Textile & Apparel Council, representing China’s no. 3 export sector), which developed the CSC9000T, China’s first sector-wide management system on CSR. This MOU lays a foundation for bilateral cooperation, and it also signals China’s first cooperation plan in the field of social responsibility conducted between different industry organizations.

A CESA working group has developed draft Guidelines on Social Responsibility for the Electronics and Information Industry, with reference to  ISO26000 and SA8000®. This CSR Committee plans to finalize the draft in 2012 and develop assessment and training tools to help the industry in implementing the guidelines.