Apple restated its pledge to provide safe working conditions for workers assembling of its products after environmental groups in China released a report criticizing the tech company for failing to be transparent about its suppliers, reports “IDG News” (http://macte.ch/JcG1Z).
“Apple is committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base,” Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said in a statement. The company requires all suppliers to sign up to Apple’s code of conduct before the contracts are made. Compliance is then monitored through factory audits and measures to correct violations, says IDG.
Apple has recently beenranked last out of 29 global technology companies in terms of responsiveness and transparency to health and environmental concerns in China, according to a Beijing-based nonprofit group — as reported by “Bloomberg Businessweek” (http://macte.ch/sxl1j).
BT Group Plc and Hewlett-Packard Co. were among the highest ranked companies, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs said in a phone interview. Apple refused to confirm suspected polluters were among its suppliers and avoided taking responsibility for environmental problems related to its products, he told “Bloomberg.”
