Earlier in June, the 11th JAC Supplier Forum in Hong Kong brought together more than 140 participants — including 80+ suppliers and sub-suppliers — to tackle some of the most urgent ESG challenges facing the ICT industry.  

JAC is an association of telecom operators dedicated to developing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) across the Information Communication Technology (ICT) supply chain. For more information on our work, visit: Joint Alliance for CSR 

The A1 Group, as one of the JAC members, had the honour to host the 2^nd day of the conference. 
The conversations didn’t stay at the surface. From human rights and due diligence to decarbonization, circularity, and the role of AI, the Forum offered a dynamic and solutions-focused space. Through breakout sessions, working groups, and open-floor debates, participants challenged assumptions, shared experiences, and sparked collaborative ideas that will shape the next chapter of our industry’s ESG journey. For the first time, JAC introduced “Supplier Forum Best Practice Awards”. The awards recognized best practice initiatives of suppliers in each of the three areas: supply chain visibility, risk analysis, supply chain engagement. For more information, please visit our JAC website: 
JAC launches 2025 Supplier Forum Best Practice Awards – Joint Alliance for CSR 

Moving Beyond Compliance 
One thing was clear: our industry is moving beyond compliance checkboxes. We’re shifting towards meaningful transformation — and doing it together. Alongside our suppliers, we explored key questions: 

• Why is the collaboration above competition essential to effectively to identify, mitigate, and remediate ESG risks hidden deep in our supply chain? 

• What does it take to move from Tier-1 focus to real engagement with sub-tier suppliers beyond audits? 

• How do we ensure that as supply chains restructure — especially in regions like Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Mexico — we protect worker safety and human rights and ensure continuous improvement? 

• We saw first hand that collaboration truly is the engine of change. The commitment, openness, and best practices shared by our suppliers and peers were both energizing and inspiring. 

Key Takeaways 

• Resilient supply chains are built, not assumed — through transparency, trust, collaboration and continuous dialogue. 
 
• For true supply chain impact and transformation, we must go beyond Tier 1 — and require collaboration across all levels. 
 
• Scope 3 emissions remain a challenge — but it’s one we can solve faster by working together.  
 
• More tools, more training, and more alignment — audit results are just a starting point, and our business partners need continuous support to implement these improvements and build capacity. This is essential to turn ESG intentions into real results, going beyond a leaflet shared in a conference.  
 
• Honest dialogue drives improvement – feedback is powerful, so ask questions, share knowledge with your peers, and create space for continuous and committed improvement. 

With JAC now representing 31 telecom operators and over 70% of industry procurement spend, we’re proving that collaboration beyond competition is more than a motto — it’s a strategy for impact. 

Next Steps: From Forum to Action 
We have heard our suppliers. This is why, at the A1 Group and together with our peers under the JAC umbrella, we are integrating key insights from the forum into our future supplier strategy. These include: 

• Launching targeted supplier capability-building programs in high-risk regions. 
• Enhancing ESG data collection and risk indicators in our procurement processes. 
• Strengthening supplier engagement beyond audits, with a focus on continuous improvement, especially in decarbonisation and on the labour conditions. 

We are deeply grateful to our suppliers, partners, and fellow JAC members for their openness and commitment — and look forward to translating this shared momentum into measurable progress in our ESG journey in advancing and betterment of people and the planet.