Responsible Business Alliance

Material Topics：Supplier Environment and Social Management 
Stakeholders in Communication：Industry Alliance

Acer continued its involvement in the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the largest multi-sector industry coalition dedicated to corporate social responsibility in global supply chains. Acer observes or participates in RBA's various initiatives and working groups, such as the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), Responsible Labor Initiative (RLI), Environmental Leadership Initiative (ELI), and its various subgroups, including the RMI Smelter Engagement Team (SET), Due Diligence Practices Team, and Chemical Management Working Group. Acer also takes advantage of the many webinars and education sessions offered on these topics, provides feedback to the RBA via meeting participation, polls and membership surveys to assist in the overall direction of the organization, as well as attends the public policy updates provided monthly.

In 2024, Acer continued its involvement in the RMI Smelter Engagement Team, whose primary responsibility is to reach out to smelters to educate and convince them to participate in the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) and to ensure they continue to participate in the future. Participants engage in activities such as tracking progress throughout the assessment process, conducting outreach for smelters that are not progressing or require support, and escalating situations internally and with suppliers where smelters are at risk of not continuing participation.

Acer also continued its participation in the Due Diligence Practices Team in 2024. The mission of the DDPT is to establish due diligence practices and guidance that incorporate RMI tools and processes to enable companies to conduct responsible minerals due diligence and reporting. Some key activities in 2024 included development of training on a downstream due diligence tool, tailored training on the new risk readiness assessment version 3.0, a roadmap for engagement with traders and distributors of minerals, a strategy to disengage from high-risk smelters, and preparing the broad agenda for 2025.

Other key activities of the RBA in 2024 included efforts to align with extensive legislative activities globally related to forced labor and environmental due diligence with updated tools, capacity building, guidance, and advocacy. The RBA also initiated the development of more robust supply chain mapping tools and analytics, established a procedure for addressing living wage, implemented efforts to address increasing risks in the responsible minerals space and launched the new ESG minerals due diligence standard.

Every year, Acer participates in the RBA and RMI membership meetings and conference. The conference enables members to interact and network in person to get the latest summary of the state of the RBA and updates on the progress of the RBA's many initiatives and working groups. In addition, breakout sessions were held that enabled discussions among industry peers and other stakeholders to share ideas on current and future supply chain issues. The conference held in 2024 marked the 20th anniversary of the RBA and included a celebration of the progress that the organization has made since the early days when it was a voluntary effort driven by a small group of motivated companies eager to address labor issues in the supply chain to the organization it is today with over 600 members (RBA+Initiatives). While not a founding member, Acer has been involved in the RBA organization for 16 years.

Information Technology Industry Council Environment & Sustainability Affiliate Group

Material Topics：Circular Economies and Product Life Cycle   
Stakeholders in Communication：Industry Associations

In 2024, Acer continued its membership with the Information Technology Industry Council, Environment and Sustainability affiliate group. As a member, Acer has access to industry-leading staff expertise on regulatory compliance and product and corporate standards development and implementation. The organization's influence enables connections to key government officials, industry experts, intelligence, and industry benchmarking through involvement in working groups and face-to-face meetings. ITI Environment and Sustainability also provides access to compliance calendars, tools, and collective reporting services to improve compliance efficiency for members.
 

Acer continued to participate in four main working groups within the ITI Environment and Sustainability group that address green procurement, product stewardship, energy efficiency, and regulatory and sustainability policy in Latin America, where members discuss emerging and existing information technology policies and standards and provide industry expertise to guide the development and maintenance of these policies and standards.

Key priority issues of the workgroups in 2024 included:

• Materials restrictions and mandates
• Right to Repair polices in the USA, EU, and elsewhere as applicable
• Information technology industry-relevant initiative engagement, including Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Wastes, UN Plastics Treaty, etc.
• Standards and ecolabels engagement and policy development, such as EPEAT, TCO, etc., to ensure a competitive marketplace
• Monitoring developments in circular economy and green claims

• Regulatory agency and policy makers engagement to drive alignment and harmonized approaches to sustainability policy development

   

Acer considers its membership with ITI Environment and Sustainability as a key component in the development and execution of its
sustainability strategy.

Partner with freight and logistics to adopt clean energy and cut carbon emissions 

Material Topics：Circular Economies and Product Life Cycle    
Stakeholders in Communication：Suppliers

Acer has partnered with Cathay Cargo and the Dimerco Express Group to promote the reduction of aviation carbon emissions,

initiating the use of Cathay Cargo's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in 2024. This initiative is part of Acer's commitment to implementing green logistics and is integrated into the Company's net-zero emissions strategy, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This  collaboration not only addresses environmental challenges but also advances the development of Acer's Earthion sustainability platform. It is the importance of close collaboration with clients to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%, transforming the air transportation industry. The supply chain collaboration also plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions. 

Private Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA)

Material Topics：Supplier Environment and Social Management        
Stakeholders in Communication：Advocacy Organization

Acer continued its involvement in the PPA, a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder advocacy group that aims to publicize the issue of conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the African Great Lakes Region and propose supply chain solutions. In November of 2024, Acer attended the thirteenth annual multistakeholder membership meeting and was among 34 attendees. The meeting objectives were to connect, network, and build relationships among responsible sourcing and sustainability leaders withing the membership; reflect on the PPA's progress and evolving context driving the revised operational and strategic approach; learn by sharing knowledge on key challenges and solutions in the sector; and identify impactful actions for the PPA members to collaborate on undertaking in the coming year and beyond. The meeting also featured presentations on the state of the PPA and project updates, and included membership discussions and feedback.

Acer continues to believe that working together as an industry and in partnership with all stakeholders is the most efficient way to enable success at driving meaningful improvement in the social and environmental conditions associated with raw materials extraction.

We shared Acer's sustainability experience with students from Switzerland and Taiwan

Material Topics：Talent Attraction, Retention, and Development 
Stakeholders in Communication：Education and Research Institutions

In August 2024, a group of 26 students and faculty members from the University of Applied Science and Arts of Southern Switzerland and the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology visited the headquarters of Acer. We introduced the students to the Acer Group and our products as well as various ESG initiatives, including strategies regarding climate change, circular economy practices, and supply chain management. Additionally, we showed them around the experience center to give them a firsthand understanding of Acer's products.