Apple has released its Supplier Responsibility Progress Report for 2015, providing an update on the actions the company has continued to take in ensuring that fair labor practices and human rights are respected through its supply chain. The report covers areas such as accountability, empowerment of workers, labor and human rights, health and safety, and environmental concerns. In the report, the company revealed it has doubled its number of conflict-free smelters to 135 — four smelters that would not agree to a third-party audit were informed they would be removed from Apple’s supply chain. Additionally, Apple has told its suppliers that “no worker employed on an Apple line could be charged any recruitment fees.” Apple has drawn plenty of fire in the past stemming from issues with smelters and foreign contract worker fees.
Apple’s auditors conducted a record number of 633 comprehensive, in-person audits to track working conditions, covering over 1.6 million workers in 19 countries, a forty percent increase in the number of audits performed in the prior year. Reviews were also conducted of 459 potential suppliers, including detailed risk assessments for those who had not been audited previously, a process which allowed Apple to address more than 700 findings related to labor standards, worker safety, permits, environmental hazards, and chemical management. In relation to protection of workers’ rights, Apple continued to enforce the maximum 60 hour workweek throughout its supply chain, noting that last year 92 percent of the company’s suppliers were complaint with that standard. The report also notes that Apple helped over 4,500 foreign contract workers recoup excessive fees paid to labor brokers.
More than 870 Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) initiatives were also launched to improve working conditions, along with an extensive program to improve chemical management processes. Apple also expanded its clean water program, increased coverage to 50 percent of the total water withdrawn from its top suppliers, helped 13 suppliers save half a billion gallons of freshwater, and continued to closely monitor production facilities for hazardous waste and environmental violations.
In addition to the statistical compliance figures, the report also provides specific detail on significant non-compliance findings from the audit and the remedial steps taken in each case across areas ranging from anti-discrimination policies and juvenile worker protection to occupational injury prevention and wastewater and stormwater management. The full report can be found here.