Company Profile - IETP

IETP launches new program to help the global toy industry achieve environmental ambitions

In collaboration with the toy industry, IETP has developed an Environmental Assessment Program, which will enable companies to gather environmental metrics cost-effectively and efficiently. Todd Merton, head of Business Development, tells us more.

Challenge 1: How to collect environmental metrics efficiently, how to reduce the time & effort required to gather this data?

It is a daunting task, especially if you are manually collecting and sorting data across countless emails between you and your global suppliers. Reading through long email chains, losing track of the most recent documents received, trying to ensure you are updating and storing this information in the right folders for future use, is not the most efficient use of your time.

Data collection is a time-consuming task. As we started our product development it was agreed that a core objective would be to enable companies to spend more time analyzing data which could be used to inform their strategic plans and take action, instead of spending huge amounts of time, and money, on the data gathering process. We wanted to enable positive impact through efficient data collection.

To tackle this issue, the simple answer was to go digital. An online assessment that allows your suppliers to efficiently share their information using drop-down options, anytime and anywhere. Online tools allow you to collect environmental IETP data from your global supply chain quickly and at scale, easing the data-gathering burden by giving you back time to focus on what’s important. Online also means that data can be shared with multiple companies, so a factory that completes the Environmental Assessment Module can then share it with all their customers, reducing duplication and lowering costs.

Challenge 2: How to ensure the environmental data collected would meet evolving needs?

This is a common question for SMEs and for those who are beginning their sustainability journey, passionate about making a difference and taking climate action, but at the same time concerned if the data collected will meet their future needs. As your company is growing, so do the needs of your environmental reporting, so it is wise to embed flexibility in your data gathering method early on. The IETP environmental module provides a remote assessment tool that can be used to provide a standalone report and be easily integrated into other environmental initiatives.

IETP provides an assessment format which will evolve to meet changing needs over time. As we did when the IETP Factory Certification program was created for labour standards assurance, the toy industry has come together to create a solution for all that is future-proof.

Challenge 3: To help companies who are just getting started with their environmental planning.

Many companies are just getting started, so if you are too, you are not alone. To start with, it’s important that you understand the environmental impacts of your company’s products. For example, are you making wooden products or plastic ones, where are you sourcing from, what are your consumers’ expectations and what are your retail partners looking for in terms of product ranges? The company should clarify their objectives and ambitions, these should be known, and plans established to achieve them.

To help establish your company’s environmental strategy, ask questions of your partners, peers and customers, enquire about their guidelines, policies, objectives and commitments in key environmental areas. Get inspired and seek to inspire others.

Collaboration is at the heart of all we do at IETP. We know that by working together we can all achieve much more than when we work in isolation. The IETP Environmental Assessment module will be a key enabler of the global toy industry’s positive action on climate change. The Assessment, completed by an individual factory then shared will all their customers, will enable consistent, high quality, data reporting.

Challenge 4: To provide support to companies who have no, or limited, environmental expertise within their team.

IETP is the only specialist labour and environmental program developed by the global toy industry specifically for the global toy industry. The new Environmental Assessment Module has been developed with the support of a dedicated group of responsible sourcing experts from all parts of the global toy industry, including major retailers. The pre-designed questions enable consistent data to be collected. Suppliers can be easily compared, informing procurement strategies and supplier agreements. The output of the Assessment enables your supplier and you to develop an action plan to improve your organization’s environmental impact which can be measured over time and report on key metrics easily.

The assessment was also designed to enable integration with other systems if needed. All the data collected can be used with your existing or future environmental reporting processes, removing the need to repeat the data collection exercise.

Another value of being part of the IETP community is the opportunity to come together to learn from, and inspire, each other. IETP host a series of roundtable meetings each year and one will shortly be announced focusing on recycling in the toy industry.

Challenge 5: To ensure companies could meet regulatory requirements, such as the proposed regulations in Europe and other markets, that they might be asked to provide data for.

Regulation is increasing and therefore the reporting burden on companies is too. For example, the EU Commission released a proposal recently for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. Such a Directive would impact companies of all sizes directly or indirectly. It is expected to include requirements to better integrate risk management and mitigation of human rights and environmental risks and impacts. This would no doubt result in many companies being asked to share environmental metrics from their supply chain. Consumers are also increasingly making informed purchasing decisions based on the environmental impact of the product.

So now is a great time to start collecting environmental data from your operations and your suppliers. To learn more about IETP’s Environmental Assessment Module get in touch with todd.merton@ethicaltoyprogram.org