Samenvatting

The issue of management of the supply chains of electronics in a sustainable manner is becoming more and more important all around the world. There are growing concerns about the amounts of electronic waste, controversial labour practices and the chemical and energy consumption management. These are important issues for companies active in the area and also for the shareholders of these firms. That is why Robeco, a Dutch asset manager, decided to conduct a thorough research investigating several electronics producers in which it is a shareholder in order to find out whether it should start a thematic engagement with the companies or not. The central question in this research is to find how electronics manufacturers worldwide can improve with respect to their supply chains and products in order to minimize the impact their products have on the environment, the health of the employees and of the consumers. This question results into engagement objectives for Robeco's engagement theme on the life cycle of electronics.