To further strengthen its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ensure that all due diligence measures are taken when acquiring raw materials, Harwin has appointed Ottawa-based software and regulatory services firm Assent Compliance. (Highly skilled in managing all aspects of corporate compliance programs, the Assent team will be collaborating with Harwin's ongoing activities related to legislation, material restrictions, and other global directives. Initially, the Assent team will be involved in conducting any required due diligence across Harwin's global supplier network regarding the RoHS and REACH environmental directives, as well as issues related to conflict minerals (such as gold and tin). Over time, the scope of their work is expected to expand beyond this to include additional responsibilities. These are likely to include human rights abuses, slavery, and future updates to the conflict minerals list, in addition to other significant CSR tasks.
“Faced with an increasingly intricate framework of global regulatory guidelines to comply with, coupled with an ever more complex supply base to maintain, the decision to collaborate with Assent Compliance is timely,” says Andrew McQuilken, CEO of Harwin. “It means we will benefit from having recognized industry experts in the field of compliance management working for us, with a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them, as well as access to vast amounts of detailed supplier data from around the world. Consequently, they will play a key role in ensuring that we maintain the strong reputation we have built in the market over decades.”
