Flex factory in Sorocaba, Brazil admitted into World Economic Forum Global Lighthouse Network

A Special Day - We Are a Global Lighthouse

Last week was special for everyone at Flex Brasil! our headquarter operation in Sorocaba has been recognized by the World Economic Forum (WEF - World Economic Forum) as a Global Lighthouse, attesting our leadership in the advanced use of Industry 4.0 (4IR) technologies in our business, our supply chain, and our operation.

Worldwide, with companies from various segments, only 114 factories have been recognized as Global Lighthouses to date. Within Flex, present in more than 30 countries, we are the 2nd site to reach this milestone, being the 1st in the Americas.

This result shows that we are in the right direction, where technology and innovation have the mission of generating sustainable economic growth and creating an environment that promotes equality, respect and celebrates differences. A place where our initiatives show that Brazil can be a leader in innovation to build a more resilient, efficient, inclusive, sustainable, and humane world.

It is in the storms that a Lighthouse shows its value

It is not the first time that humanity has faced challenges, fortunately nowadays we have two great allies: science and technology. Allied to increase people's life expectancy, control the hole in the ozone layer, accelerate the development and production of vaccines - which control the COVID-19 pandemic - among thousands other challenges that allowed humanity to evolve from a group of hunter-gatherers to our modern civilization.

The challenges of this century are enormous, but it is during the storms that a Lighthouse shows its real value. Develop new models that combines economic growth, with social retribution and the preservation and improvement of the environment is in my view the biggest challenger of this century. This economic model should allow the portion excluded from society to participate in the economy as well provides the legal framework to organizations to includes in the return of investment formula values that goes beyond the financial value, which includes the social and environmental impacts of their initiatives.

Flex Sorocaba is Global Lighthouse!

In this direction our operation in Brazil, especially in Sorocaba, has used technology to generate innovation, increasing the competitiveness of our ecosystem, but mainly to make it more human and sustainable. It is important to highlight that technology is only the tool but there needs to be a motivation in people to turn it into real innovation. Therefore, at Flex Brazil we believe in the potential of our team in creating solutions for a smarter and more sustainable manufacturing and, we encourage the empowerment of people through education and volunteering.

Empowerment by education happens through a culture where each employee can learn, experiment, and innovate. To this end, ?we have expanded ?our corporate program of Business Excellence (Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma) and?acceleration of career development CAP (Capability Acceleration Program) creating new spaces for self-development, the DaVinci Lab, where any employee can learn to apply technologies of Industry 4.0 in their day-to-day activities (Additive Manufacturing, Automation, Robot and Cobot Programming, Simulation among others), the Cora Coralina Space, where those who have knowledge can share it with those who want to learn and exchange experiences and our FTA (Flex Tech Academy), which offers courses in advanced leading edge technologies (Cloud Computing, 5G, ?IoT , RPA, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Cyber Security and others) for our collaborators and also for society.

Empowerment by volunteering happens offering everyone opportunities to unite and enhance their personal purposes with Flex's corporate purposes. In this sense six volunteer groups were created (Races, Generations, PwD, Women, LGBTIQIA+ and Vulnerability) to work together for a more diverse and equitable workplace where everyone can have chance to grow and voice.

The intention is to accelerate our transition from the linear business model to the circular model, where everything is reduced, reused, refurbished, remanufactured, or recycled and all e-waste is eliminated, and which also offers new opportunities for people and sectors that previously could not be part in the high-tech industry.

This ecosystem maximizes our operational results as well our positive impact on people's lives and the environment and is reflected in the way we face the challenge of being the partner of choice for our customers, employees, suppliers, and society in general.

• Our customers challenge us to be more efficient and we create an Integrated Digital Factory, where we respond in real time to manufacturing challenges sustaining high level of quality and productivity as well minimizing production losses.
• We challenge ourselves every day to have an increasingly safety and secure work environment and, to this end, we create an advanced Integrated Digital Health, Safety and Wellness System, recognized as the best implementation of Health and Safety in 2020 by the RBA Compass Award.
• The environment challenges us to be sustainable and, as a solution, we create an Advanced Ecosystem of Circular Economy Zero Waste, worldwide reference, where we eliminate all industrial and post-consumption waste transforming it all again in raw material for new products.
• The future challenges us to be flexible and digital, so we create an Office Enhanced by Digitization, which allows our team to focus on customer service, satisfaction and strategic business analysis.
• The market challenges us to be resilient and agile throughout the supply chain and we have created an Advanced Value Chain Control Tower capable of giving visibility and predictability to our supply chain, enabling us to navigate in complex and volatile times.

?These innovations are the result of hundreds of initiatives: R&D investments, people empowerment, ideas in i9+, Kaizens, automations, simulations, new business models and many other improvements that have been implemented in the last 10 years. More than anything, they are the result of the daily work and dedication of each Flex Brazil's employees!

This achievement reflects the way of working in the Flex ecosystem, the way of learning from each other, celebrating happy days, and surviving to the sad ones. It's about how move forward to continue to grow together, influencing each other with humanity and respect, building businesses that bring opportunities for professional but also personal growth, creating positive impact in each of us, Flex, and the world.

This recognition makes us pride, but it also increases our responsibility and humility to continue seeking solutions to the giant challenges that will arise.

The 5th Revolution - "Smart" and "Sustainable" world

I strong believe that we are close to the 5th industrial revolution, where the use of technology needs to go beyond the well-being of the humankind, need to face the challenges of this century, where economic growth need to be the third filter of ideas and businesses and makes room for balanced social retribution and the improvement and preservation of the environment.?

In the 5th Industrial Revolution, the paradigm shifts from "Smart" to "Smart & Sustainable" world, where the society 5.0 has in the combination of Industry 4.0 (4IR) technology and the principles of the Circular Economy, the tools for building this new economic model shaping the Smart and Sustainable future.

In this new world, Circular Economy model gains prominence, being the foundation that guides all operations to decoupling the economic growth of the use of natural resources and focusing on the elimination the concept of waste, where everything is shared, reused, and recycled.?

Finally, this new paradigm will require that our individual and collective choices be in the direction of the conscious application of technology to allow man, machine (technology) and world (environment) to become a single organism, completely integrated and interdependent. A world where "humanity" is the greatest differential of the human being, technology seeks to improve society by creating more social equality and integration between people and the environment is seen as part of the whole and not as a simple provider of resources to be exploited.

I believe that we can together march towards this revolution and overcome the challenges of this century, putting all our energy and passion, we can make Brazil an example on this journey. Being recognized as part of the Global Lighthouse Network shows that this is possible.

Results of this new way of thinking and acting in the business have brought significant advances in our operational results, governance, social contribution, and environment preservation.

• Business: Flex Brazil is market leader in the Brazilian market in its area of operation, with reliable and strategic partnerships with its customers and suppliers that generate positive results throughout the supply chain.
• Governance: All Flex sites in Brazil are RBA Factory of Choice certified. ?Factory of Choice is intended to recognize factories seeking excellence in corporate social responsibility, being granted to factories that fully commit to the RBA Code of Conduct and demonstrate leadership through impact and transparency
• Social: All Flex Brazil sites are GPTW (Great Place to Work) certified, and Flex Brazil has been recognized by United Nations as Bronze in WEP (Women Empowerment Principles) and as leading company in diversity and inclusion by LGBTI+ Business Forum, where everyone has opportunities to develop their business career with equality.
• Environment: Our sites in Brazil are ALL Zero Waste Certified by UL 2799, Sorocaba was the first in 2018, and we have recycled more than 30,000 tons of industrial and post-consumer e-waste. Our Sorocaba factory is Carbon Neutral in emissions with a positive balance through the generation of Carbon Credits.

These results are driven by culture of constant innovation at Flex Brazil, which has been recognized as a leading company, nationally and internationally in advanced manufacturing (Manufacturing Leadership Award), Innovation (Brazil Digital Transformation Award, Valor Economico Innovation Award, Finalist of the National Innovation Award) and Sustainability?(EcoAmcham Award, FIESP Industrial Merit Award, The Circulars), among many others recognitions that make us proud and motivated to continue building the future.

Today is a day for celebration but mainly of gratitude, gratitude for being able to live and work side by side with amazing people, who inspire me every day with their humanity, energy, passion, and joy, who always give the most and put their hearts in everything they do, and this is what really makes us a Global Lighthouse! Because in the age of technology the most important is to be human.

?Let's move FOWARD!

?Leandro Santos

Flex Brazil Executive Director and Vice President of Operations

"The point of view expressed here is mine and does not necessarily reflect Flex's point of view"

What is a Global Lighthouse?

The global manufacturing community is lagging behind in the adoption of the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. More than 70% of companies are still trapped in "pilot purgatory", while only a number of leading manufacturers are able to deploy advanced manufacturing at scale, generating new value and customer experiences within the plant or in value chains.

To close this gap and accelerate a more comprehensive and inclusive adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies, the World Economic Forum's Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains platform created the Global Lighthouse Network. This community of manufacturers shows leadership in the use of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to transform factories, value chains, and business models to achieve attractive financial and operational returns. Among lighthouses, some are also receiving a new designation, Sustainability Headlights, which highlights factories and value chains achieving advances in sustainability and productivity.

The Global Lighthouse Network was a pioneer in 2018. In April 2022, 103 factories are part of the network, prioritizing the workforce and developing skills to protect jobs and build resilience, manufacturing Lighthouses from different industry sectors, including 6 Sustainability Lighthouses. They embarked on a joint learning journey, partnering on collaborative projects, developing insights and incubating potential new partnerships.

Bibliographic Reference:

1. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Circular economics;?(https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/pt/economia-circular/)
2. FIA - Foundation Institute of Administration; Society 5.0: What it is, Goals and How It Works; 2019; (https://fia.com.br/blog/sociedade-5-0/)
3. Wikipedia: Circular economy; 2017; (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economia_circular)
4. Brazil Conscious Capitalism;?(https://www.ccbrasil.cc/)
5. Responsible Business Alliance;(https://www.responsiblebusiness.org/media/docs/RBAFactoryOfChoice.pdf)
6. UL Research Institute;?(https://library.ul.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2015/07/Zero-Waste-White-Paper_v5.pdf)
7. Circular economy : a model that gives impetus to the economy, generates jobs and protects the environment" Carlos Ohde; Helio Mattar; Joao Redondo; Tereza Cristina Carvalho; Marcia Costa/Mariana Vieira; Roberto Matsubayashi. – S?o Paulo : Netpress Book, 2018