Apple plans to cease using conflict minerals by 2015
Supplies of cobalt, tin and gold will follow tantalum in being sourced
only from conflict-free smelters
Alex Hern
theguardian.com, Friday 14 February 2014 08.22 EST

Children wash copper in July 2010 at an open-air mine in Kamatanda,
southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Photograph: Gwenn
Dubourthoumieu/AFP
Apple plans to cease using conflict minerals by the end of 2014, the
company has announced in its annual supplier responsibility report.
As of the end of January, Apple's entire supply of tantalum, a rare
metal used extensively in the production of capacitors, is provided by
smelters verified as conflict-free. The move was announced in Apple's
supplier responsibility report, the eighth edition of which was
published on Thursday.
As the electronics industry is the biggest customer for tantalum,
Apple focused its efforts on securing a clean supply chain for that
element. But by the end of 2014 the company intends for all the tin,
tungsten and gold it uses to be similarly verified as from safe and
fair sources.
When asked why it didn't simply refuse to buy from unverified sources,
the company's senior vice president of operations, Jeff Williams, told
the Financial Times that "we could wave our conflict-free flag but it
would do nothing to affect the workers on the ground… what we are
focused on is getting a critical mass of suppliers verified such that
we can truly influence the demand situation and change things."
Conflict-free smelters must demonstrate that the minerals they use
don't come from sources whose existence finances or otherwise benefits
armed groups associated with human rights violations. The issue is
particularly pressing for the four elements Apple is addressing
because of the large sources in and around war-torn Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
In addition to conflict minerals, Apple is highlighting its
worker-education programmes. The company trained 1.5 million workers
throughout its supply train on their rights, both legal and those
guaranteed to them as Apple suppliers. It says it has trained over 3.8
million since the programme started in 2007.
On a more practical level, the company has also achieved a measure of
success in ensuring that its suppliers are not overworked. Apple
mandates a 60-hour working week for manufacturers, and the company
says that "reducing excessive overtime remains a priority". It managed
to hold its suppliers to compliance with that demand 95% of the time,
up from 92% the year before.
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