The Right to a Safe, Healthy Work Environment

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As we enter a new decade characterized by global transparency, companies are increasingly compelled to prioritize the protection of workers, not only within their own facilities but throughout complex multi-national supply chains. Process chemicals are increasingly being viewed as a human rights issue, as millions of workers in the electronics global supply chain are using process chemicals. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Toxics (2018)¹ reported that there are approximately 160 million cases of occupational disease reported annually across all industry sectors.

After recognizing the significance of safeguarding workers from hazardous chemicals in the manufacturing process, several companies joined forces in 2016 and collaborated with other stakeholders to form the Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN).

CEPN is a multi-stakeholder innovation network working collectively to address complex workplace health and safety challenges in the electronics supply chain and proactively move the electronics industry toward safer and cleaner production to reduce worker exposure to process chemicals. The network comprises 20 member organizations, including major companies, suppliers, academia, environmental NGOs, labor representatives, ecolabels, and governmental agencies.

Members of CEPN recognize that process chemical management is an industry-wide issue and, given the complexity of electronics manufacturing supply chains, no single company or organization can tackle the issue of worker exposure to process chemicals alone; success requires the collective efforts of industry leaders. Suppliers serve multiple customers, for example, and major companies share many suppliers. Only by working together can companies move toward zero exposure of workers to toxic chemicals. Protecting workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals is a complex, global issue which stretches throughout a supply chain that is shared and globally distributed.

Early in the formation of CEPN, members recognized the need to focus on process chemicals in the electronics industry, as much of the attention to-date—regulations, ecolabels, standards, voluntary efforts, etc.—had been on product chemicals (those chemicals incorporated into final products). Hence, CEPN’s primary focus is on reducing exposure to process chemicals, those chemicals used during product manufacturing and the maintenance of related production equipment but are not intentionally fully incorporated into the final product. Examples of process chemicals include cleaning agents, solvents, lubricants, photochemicals, plating agents, refrigerants, hydraulic fluids, adhesives, inks, and coatings, among others.

To read this entire article, which appeared in the June 2023 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.