Apple Admits to Improper Hazardous Waste Disposal
In response to its finding, Apple required that all three companies improperly disposing the hazardous waste to immediately stop shipping waste and to hire certified vendors for future waste disposal. Photo: Flickr/Garrulus
Apple’s 2010 Supplier Responsibility Report reveals that there were one or more violations in 60 of the 102 facilities that the company audited in 2009, including suppliers hiring underage workers, underpaying and overworking employees and falsifying formal records to cover up these violations.
On the environmental front, Apple discovered that three companies were improperly disposing of hazardous waste.
Apple also found that 44 facilities lacked a complete environmental impact assessment, and 11 companies didn’t have air emissions permits. Overall, the suppliers met Apple’s environmental practice expectations 74 percent of the time.
In response, Apple has required that all three companies improperly disposing the hazardous waste to immediately stop shipping waste and to hire certified vendors for future waste disposal. Suppliers without an assessment were forced to conduct an environmental assessment of entire facility and file it with the government and companies without air emission permits were forced to obtain one.
Apple recently announced its all-time highest revenue and profit last fiscal quarter – 3.36 million in computer sales and 8.7 million iPhones.
So, how will “blowing the whistle” on itself impact the company?
It’s no doubt a huge story, and the revelation could have possibly crippled the electronic giant’s already slightly tarnished image in the green sphere. However, several media outlets are responding positively to the company’s transparency.
“Though the violations come as a shock it’s nice to know that Apple is clearly displaying their assembly line faults and laying out a plan of action to fix them — if they haven’t already,” writes Inhabitat. “Kudos to Apple for finding these violations and laying out plans to fix them. You can rest easy knowing Apple is doing something to make sure your gadgets are made with responsibility in mind.”
Is this the future of corporate social responsibility reporting? We sure hope so.
Read more
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As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments.
The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Thomas G Battey
posted on March 10th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
This really pisses me off. Do you not care about anything but your wallets being overstuffed with cash, your bank accounts so large you have to hide the money in offshore banks to avoid paying taxes? How about doing the right thing without being asked or told to do so. You if you have not figured it out yet you disgust me.
Junk Hauling
posted on March 16th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Many states on the West Coast have tightened up handling of e-waste and hazardous waste, but it is important to follow how companies handle it before it gets to the US.
http://www.1800gotjunk.com/sandiego/