Tim Cook shares the results of hundreds of audits conducted with Apple’s partners

Jan 15, 2012 15:35 GMT  ·  By
Workers assemble and perform quality control checks on MacBook Pro display enclosures at an Apple supplier facility in Shanghai
   Workers assemble and perform quality control checks on MacBook Pro display enclosures at an Apple supplier facility in Shanghai

In a rare move, Apple has disclosed all of its suppliers, its relationship with these partners, and the measures it takes to ensure proper working conditions for the people making its iPods, iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Disclosed in a PDF document on the Apple web site, the 156 companies are listed in alphabetical order.

They represent 97 percent of Apple’s procurement expenditures for materials, manufacturing, and assembly of Apple’s products worldwide, the company says. The PDF can be found here.

A complete Supplier Responsibility 2012 Progress Report is also made available, as well as a separate document that details Apple’s efforts to improve worker protections and factory conditions.

The move comes shortly after new criticism broke out regarding working conditions at companies that make parts for its products, or assemble the products themselves.

For example, in 229 audits carried out last year, Apple discovered such violations as underage labor, long working hours, unfair compensation, and unsafe working conditions.

The Mac maker also found practices that harmed the environment, and said it ceased working with some of these companies. Others took steps to improve their conduit, at Apple’s prompt request.

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant claims to be committed to the highest standards of social responsibility across its worldwide supply chain, and insists that all of its suppliers provide “safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes.”

“Our actions — from thorough site audits to industry-leading training programs — demonstrate this commitment,” says Apple.

In light of these disclosures, an email from CEO Timothy D. Cook was sent to Apple employees. The message is reproduced below in its entirely.

Team,

We've just released our sixth annual update on conditions in Apple's supply chain, and I want to personally share some of the results with you.

We insist that our manufacturing partners follow Apple's strict code of conduct, and to make sure they do, the Supplier Responsibility team led more than 200 audits at facilities throughout our supply chain last year. These audits make sure that working conditions are safe and just, and if a manufacturer won't live up to our standards, we stop working with them.

Thanks to our supplier responsibility program, we've seen dramatic improvements in hiring practices by our suppliers. To prevent the use of underage labor, our team interviews workers, checks employment records and audits the age verification systems our suppliers use. These efforts have been very successful and, as a result, cases of underage labor were down sharply from last year. We found no underage workers at our final assembly suppliers, and we will not rest until the number is zero everywhere.

We've also used our influence to substantially improve living conditions for the people who make our products. Apple set a new standard for suppliers who offer employee housing, to ensure that dormitories are comfortable and safe. To meet our requirements, many suppliers have renovated their dorms or built new ones altogether.

Finding and correcting problems is not enough. Our team has built an ambitious training program to educate workers about Apple's code of conduct, workers' rights, and occupational health and safety. More than one million people know about these rights because they went to work for an Apple supplier. Additionally, Apple offers continuing education programs free of charge at many manufacturing sites in China. More than 60,000 workers have enrolled in classes to learn business, entrepreneurial skills or English.

Finally, we are taking a big step today toward greater transparency and independent oversight of our supply chain by joining the Fair Labor Association. The FLA is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving conditions for workers around the world, and we are the first technology company they've approved for membership. The FLA's auditing team will have direct access to our supply chain and they will report their findings independently on their website.

No one in our industry is driving improvements for workers the way Apple is today. I encourage you to take some time to read more about these efforts, so that you can be as proud of Apple's contributions in this area as I am. The details are online now at apple.com/supplierresponsibility.

Tim