How JAC works
Membership
Any Telecom Operator that believes in the vision and mission of the initiative is open to approach JAC and become a member of JAC. All new candidate companies are subject to the same rules and requirements and are expected to:
- Have a consolidated policy in the Supply Chain that is in line with the recognized international rules and regulations
- Use a third party audit company with strong experience in the sustainability area and with international presence
- Execute audits on the site of supplier sites that it carries out on behalf of JAC
- Share related JAC management costs;
JAC Audit Process
The JAC process is simply a coordinated on-site audit and development program in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) based on a common verification, assessment and development methodology, including the follow up of corrective action plans. Each member company has the responsibility, acting on behalf of the others, to lead a complete audit process to a number of suppliers. The list of suppliers to be audited is pre-identified each year then divided in equal parts among the JAC members.
Following are the guidelines applicable to all on-site audit operations:
Preparation: knowledge of the audited plant
Skilled auditors: the audits are conducted by international audit companies, specialized in social and environmental issues in the plant country
Confidentiality: non-Disclosure Agreements are signed with suppliers in order to restrict audit results to JAC members only
Methodology: check list defined by the JAC members based on the SA 8000 and ISO 14001 standards, and on-site audit with interviews
Report: describing the audit findings based on objective evidence
Cooperation with the suppliers: based on the reciprocal awareness of the CSR risk management as key factor for a responsible and sustainable development
Collaboration and development together with the suppliers based on the audit results: JAC and the supplier in close collaboration, establish together the necessary corrective action plans to resolve the selected gaps between the current and desired expectations. JAC accompanies the suppliers in this process up to the full resolution of the identified non conformity.
Governance
The JAC Governance is structured around three entities:
- The Leadership Assembly
- The Operational Committee
- The Operational Assembly
The Leadership Assembly, consisting of senior CSR and Sourcing management representatives, verifies the results of the audit campaign and takes decisions on next steps
The Operational Committee, consisting of 5 representatives of 5 JAC companies, is elected by all JAC members to lead the efficiency of the overall process and guide the Initiative’s continuous improvement proposals for the Leadership Assembly.
The Operational Assembly, consisting of CSR and Sourcing managers from each JAC members, meets twice a month to set the JAC audit agenda, validate audit reports and follow up on corrective action plans. These regular meetings reinforce the optimization of CSR assessments through the exchange on best practices and thus make the JAC Initiative more effective.