Apple has announced that they have begun sourcing gold, used in circuit boards in devices, from miners who are looking to restore and improve sites after they’ve been used.
The Cupertino-based firm says that their decision is largely due to the supplier responsibility program. Supplier Responsibility chief Paula Pyers states that Apple is partnering with Tiffany to push the initiative of using recycled material and responsible gold sourcing.
Blockchain technology keeps track of the gold that’s being used to create Apple products, which starts at the mining site and ends when it reaches the suppliers.
This year, Apple has published a supplier responsibility report that shows a decrease on core violations and with zero health or safety violation. In a separate mineral conflicts report, the company has revealed that five mineral refiners and smelters were dropped from their supply chain because they failed to meet Apple’s human rights standards.
