Apple details supplier firing, improving conditions in annual report
Facing unprecedented scrutiny over its manufacturing and labor practices, Apple in 2012 nearly doubled the number of audits it conducted in its worldwide supply chain, cracking down on excessive overtime and the use of underage workers in its factories. That’s according to the company’s annual Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, released this week.
The company conducted 392 audits of its suppliers in 2012, the report said, a 72 percent increase over the year before—and more than triple the 127 audits it conducted just two years ago, in 2010. The audits covered facilities where more than 1.5 million workers churn out Apple’s iPads, iPhones, Macs, and other products. And as it did last year, the company provided a full list of its suppliers to the public.
“We’re going deeper into the supply chain than any other company we know of,” the company said in an overview of its report, “and we’re reporting at a level of detail that is unparalleled in our industry.”
The 37-page report covers four areas regarding Apple suppliers: labor and human rights, worker health and safety, environmental impact, and ethics. The report additionally looks at suppliers’ efforts to set up management systems to keep themselves in compliance with Apple’s code of conduct and their efforts to educate and develop workers.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
http://www.macworld.com/article/2026232/apple-details-supplier-firing-improving-conditions-in-annual-report.html
