Practical Steps Toward a Fit-for-Purpose Sustainability Reporting Framework for Electronics
by Diana Radovan, Sustainability Policy Director
Key Summary
• The Global Electronics Association urges European policymakers to refine the omnibus sustainability reporting package for electronics.
• The Association recommends Tier 1 due diligence as the only practical approach for a complex global supply chain.
• Electronics manufacturers face a heavy reporting burden that affects competitiveness and the EU green transition.
• The Association supports sector specific standards by 2030 and stronger alignment across sustainability reporting policies.
• Harmonized implementation between Member States is essential to prevent regulatory fragmentation.
In its recent position on the omnibus package for sustainability reporting, addressed to the European policymakers who are driving it, the Global Electronics Association outlines two types of recommendations for a fit-for-purpose package for the electronics industry. The position provides both voting recommendations on amendments proposed by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) and general recommendations to the Parliament, Commission and Council before trialogue negotiations.
The Association has long supported a much-needed reduction in administrative burden for the electronics industry. Electronics are the beating heart of EU business and essential to EU’s competitiveness, technical sovereignty, and green transition, often integrated so seamlessly in our daily lives that their complex manufacturing and supply chain challenges are not obvious. And yet, the electronics industry has been struggling in recent years due to the high reporting burden.
The omnibus package for sustainability reporting must be further improved to deliver on its promise and it must do so with urgency. For the electronics industry and its complex supply chain, a focus on Tier-1 due diligence obligations is not only necessary, but the only realistic approach. We support the adoption of sector-specific standards by 2030, which are key to our industry, better alignment of different sustainability reporting policies, and harmonising the implementation of such policies between Member States to prevent further regulatory fragmentation.
Because the current framework creates a heavy administrative burden that affects competitiveness and does not reflect the complexity of the electronics supply chain.
Global Electronics Association supports a Tier 1 focused due diligence obligation, which it identifies as the only realistic approach for the electronics industry.
Sector specific standards tailored to electronics are seen as essential to ensure reporting requirements reflect industry realities and support compliance by 2030.
Electronics manufacturers face overlapping requirements, inconsistent implementation across Member States, and high administrative load.