Part-A Corporate Social Responsibility Apple Inc.

(NASDAQ: AAPL)
Companies today have a lot of power in the community and in the national economy by and large. They posse control over a variety of resources and they also have loads of monetary resources at their disposal for socially acceptable business activities. Some companies may engage in "greenwashing", or feigning interest in corporate responsibility, but many large corporations are devoting real time and money to environmental sustainability programs, alternative energy/cleantech, and various social welfare initiatives to benefit employees, customers, and the community at large. (1) http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-socialresponsibility.asp We can understand and substantiate from the following about the impact created by Apple Inc. in the environment:- (2) https://www.apple.com/in/environment/our-footprint/ How we calculate our carbon footprint: - To accurately measure a companys environmental footprint, its important to look at the impact that companys products have on the planet. Other companies continue to report only the carbon footprint of their facilities. But we use a comprehensive life cycle analysis approach to determine where our greenhouse gas emissions come from. That means adding up the emissions generated from the manufacturing, transportation, use and recycling of our products, as well as the emissions generated by our facilities. We know that about 98 per cent of Apples carbon footprint is directly related to our products. The remaining two per cent is related to our facilities, including our data centers.

Minimizing the impact of our growth:-We know that the most important thing we can do to reduce our impact on the environment is to improve our products environmental performance. Thats why we design them to use less material, ship with smaller packaging, be free of many toxic substances, and be as energy efficient and recyclable as possible. So as we continue to grow faster than the rest of the industry, were doing it with products that are friendlier to the environment than ever, and we remain committed to creating products that have the least amount of impact on the environment. Though

our revenue has grown, our greenhouse gas emissions per dollar of revenue have decreased by 21.5 per cent since 2008. And were still the only company in our industry whose entire product line not only meets but exceeds the strict energy guidelines of the ENERGY STAR specification.

Environmentally conscious materials :- In addition to eliminating toxins and designing products with highly recyclable aluminium enclosures, Apple works with environmentally conscious materials including recycled plastics, recycled paper, biopolymers and vegetable-based inks. We have also found ways to re-engineer secondary materials to the high standard of our designs. For example, our fan assemblies in Mac Pro use advanced materials derived from repolymerised plastic bottles. Speaker assemblies and internal brackets in the Apple Thunderbolt Display are made from recycled PC-ABS. In 2012, our latest achievements included the AirPort Express enclosure, which includes biopolymers derived from industrial-grade rapeseed and recycled PC-ABS. And the aluminium stand on the iMac is made using 30 per cent recycled content. Our packaging designs for many products use pulp fibre from postconsumer paper streams, and we use vegetable-based inks for in-box materials. And not only are iTunes Gift Cards recyclable, they are made from recycled paper.

Responsible manufacturing: - Apple is committed to ensuring that working conditions in our supply chain are safe, workers are treated with respect and dignity and manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible. To make sure suppliers adhere to our high standards, we have an aggressive compliance-monitoring programme that includes Apple-led factory audits and corrective action plans. In 2012, for example, we conducted a total of 393 audits a 72 per cent increase over the previous year including 55 specialized environmental audits. (2)https://www.apple.com/in/environment/our-footprint/

On reading the above content it becomes evident that Apple follows a legit CSR policy and they can rightly be called as a social citizen.

The main features that created an impact on my notion are the way how they use toxin free compounds and specific eco-friendly materials to manufacture their products that which can easily be disposed of and can be easily recycled too. This takes a less toll on the environment and by doing this Apple is contributing its portion to the retention of the balance in the Ecology. The other key aspect that had a strong impact on me was the Carbon Foot Prints each and every Apple product and Facility of Apple is monitored under strict supervision and they make sure they put a check on the Carbon Emissions and other Green House Gases that majorly deplete the Ozone layer of the earth. Hence Apple takes the initiative to reduce these emissions and they make themselves accountable for their activities. Therefore I would like to conclude my report by stating that, Apple Inc. is indeed one of those Fortune 500 companies that is a Socially Responsible Firm and we can encourage the people to go in for firms like these to procure their demands and in turn by doing this they will help restore the environmental integrity.

Part-B Case Study on Ethics

(a)Who are the stakeholders in this situation? The stake holders in this situation are as follows: 1. 2. 3. Marcus Lim the cost accountant of Hi-Power Mower Company. Ray Pon The production Manager for the 18 horsepower super cut model and The Management of the Hi-Power Mower Company.

(b)What, if any, are the ethical considerations in this situation? Marcus should make sure that the numbers are computed correctly and he must provide true facts and figures to the management which will help the management to take the right decisions that will benefit the company. While on the other hand Ray Pon should not pester Marcus to make changes to the ABC analysis, instead he should try and settle this out with the management and ask for an appropriate solution to the underperforming activity. So that the management can help him fix the issue and not lay him off.

(c)What are Marcuss ethical obligations to the company? To his friend? Marcuss ethical obligations to the company: - Marcus should make sure he provides accurate facts and figures to the management. He should take into account the companys stature and the position it stands on rather than helping Ray Pon by safeguarding his job. Marcus should keep in mind his ethical principles of honesty and maintain his sincerity for the company which he is working for. Therefore Marcus should be faithful for the company he works for and play by the rules. He should not forge the rules and help his friend to be retained in the company. Marcuss ethical obligations to his friend: - Marcus should take the pain of telling his friend the need for reporting the actuals with respect to the financial figures to the management of the company and convince Ray Pon to be honest and fair enough to the company he works for. Marcus should also warn his friend not to interfere in his business and also not force him to performing fraudulent activities by making changes to the report which would be presented to the management.