BUSINESS ETHICS AND CORPORATE

GOVERNANCE

ASSIGNMENT

CSR ACTIVITIES – APPLE

 INTRODUCTION

Apple corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and initiatives are led by Lisa Jackson,
Vice President of Environmental Initiatives, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. It has to be
noted that “Steve Jobs wasn’t known for philanthropy. Some wondered if he made anonymous
donations to charity, some criticized him for his lack of public giving, while others defended
him”
However, with Tim Cook assuming Apple leadership in 2011, the focus on CSR aspect of the
business has increased to a considerable extent. Tim Cook is a member of Paulson Institute’s
CEO Council for Sustainable Urbanization, working with other CEOs of top Chinese and
Western companies to advance sustainability in China.

Monitoring and Reporting Under the direction of the Committee, the Company shall
implement a monitoring mechanism over the Company’s CSR projects and programmes.
Such monitoring mechanism shall, among other things, make transparent the manner and
details of the implementation of all CSR projects and programmes undertaken by the
Company. The Board shall receive periodic reports from the Committee on the status of the
Company’s implementation of specific CSR projects and programmes. On an annual basis,
the Board shall report to relevant stakeholders on the Company’s CSR projects and
programmes and related matters, as required by CSR Requirements.

Apple Corporate Social Responsibility Programs and Initiatives

1. Apple Supporting Local Communities

▪ ‘Global Volunteer Program’ was launched in 2011 to encourage employees to volunteer in
local communities. The program has been revised in March 2015 to grant employees the
right to choose the projects in their local communities they would like to contribute.
▪ In 2018 more than 250.000 hours volunteered and more than USD125 million donated to
organizations around the world within the scope of ‘Global Volunteer Program’
▪ The company also responds to natural disasters. These include raising USD 1 million to help
the victims of Hurricane Maria and USD 2 million to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey
and Hurricane Irma in Puerto Rico.
▪ In China, Apple powers all of its offices and retail stores through solar panels mounted high
off the ground, so the grass can grow and local yaks can eat it.

2. Apple Educating and Empowering Workers

▪ Apple provided educational programs to more than 3.6 million supplier employees since
2008.
▪ Under the leadership of Denise Young Smith, as Apple’s vice president for HR, Apple has
expanded its employee benefits programs to a considerable extent. For example, expectant
mothers can take up to four weeks before a delivery and up to 14 weeks after a birth, while
fathers and other non-birth parents are eligible for up to six weeks of parental leave.
▪ 68% of people attending App Development and Swift course in 2018 had no coding
experience. After the completion of the course they were able to build an app.

3. Labour and Human Rights at Apple

▪ Company has achieved an average 95per cent compliance among suppliers to maximum 60-
hour workweek
▪ Apple enforces The Supplier Code of Conduct that is claimed to be the toughest in the
electronics industry. Apple educated more than 17,3 million employees of its suppliers on
their rights since 2007.
▪ In 2018, Apple removed five mineral suppliers from is supply chain for failing to pass or not
being willing to participate in human rights audits

4. Employee Health and Safety at Apple

▪ The company has launched Apple Supplier EHS Academy, an 18-month program that aims
to improve employee health and safety in the industry throughout the globe. 240 suppliers
and 270,000 workers have participated in this program.
▪ Research has been conducted in Apple’s ergonomics department on about 75 jobs within
supply chain to identify ergonomic risks. The research has resulted in improved standards
for managing workstation design changes.
▪ The multinational technology company has launched a group of health clinics called AC
Wellness for its employees and their families.
 5. Apple and Gender Equality and Minorities
▪ Tim Cook is the only openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company and he has been praised as
a strong champion of workforce diversity
▪ The company reached equal pay to employees in 2016
▪ 36% of all employees under 30, 29% of leaders and 39% of leaders under 30 are women at
Apple
▪ 50% of new hires in 2018 were from historically underrepresented groups in tech such as
women, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander.

6. Energy Consumption by Apple

▪ Apple is often praised for its environmental records that include decrease of total power
consumption of Apple products by 57%, introduction of Mac mini as the world’s most
energy-efficient desktop computer and exceeding ENERGY STAR guidelines
▪ Apple emerges as the only company that has been awarded with a Clean Energy Index of
100%, according to Greenpeace’s Clicking Clean Report.
▪ The company is currently powers 100% of its operations globally with 10% renewable
energy
▪ The multinational technology company has committed to bring 4 gigawatts of renewable
power online by 2020
▪ Supplier Clean Energy program has motivated 23 manufacturers to power all of their Apple
operations with 100% renewable energy. The company is aiming to achieve 4 gigawatts of
new clean energy online in its supply chain by 2020.

How serious is Apple about CSR?

“Apple is committed to the highest standards of social responsibility across our worldwide
supply chain. We insist that all of our 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.”
The most famous example is the investigation at Foxconn, a big supplier of Apple, where
the Fair Labour Association “found excessive overtime and problems with overtime
compensation; several health and safety risks; and crucial communication gaps that have led to
a widespread sense of unsafe working conditions among workers.” Additionally, Apple claims
that they go beyond the industry standard in their manufacturing process – this might seem to
be great, but if one knows how the standards are now with low wages and plenty of working
hours this is not enough.
Looking on the environmental side, Apple seems to be very transparent about its commitment
to reduce the environmental impact of its products. This ranges from the non-use of hazardous
materials to the calculation of the carbon footprint and less packaging. Additionally, it aims to
design its products to be as energy efficient and recyclable as possible. This has benefits for
the environment and for the company and Apple should be acknowledged for this effort. These
actions towards a greener company are well recognized amongst the customers, as stated in
a survey by TDG in 2008, where 1512 internet users rate Apple as the most environmentally
friendly technology brand. In contrast Greenpeace rated Apple 11th out of 17 rated companies
in its Guide to Greener Electronics 2009. This created a gap between the perceptions of the
customers and the reality. This gap is quite dangerous, because in case the perception of the
customers is revealed to be untrue this would cause a huge damage on Apples reputation. The
company already works hard to close the gap and went up five places in the Guide to Greener
Electronics of Greenpeace from the ninth to the fourth place in 2011.
Still, after some research, Apples CSR activities seem to be more reactive than proactive and
especially in the environmental sector due to pressure of environmental groups. According to
some resources Apple lacks behind the CSR activities of its competitors, this is most probably
because of the former CEO Steve Jobs, who valued the best technology for people more than
random donations to charities . Random donations to charities which Jobs did not like are not
CSR for me neither, CSR is not how much money a company gives to the community, CSR is
HOW a company makes business. And here is room for improvement.
The current situation of Apple is the chance of CEO Tim Cook to develop and introduce a
proper CSR strategy. The strategy needs an innovative and inspiring vision which is aligned
with the core values of the company and serves the cool image the company worked hard on.
It needs to promote trust and openness internally and implement a continuous stakeholder
dialogue to ensure the survival of the brand. Nobody wants to own products which are related
with inhuman working conditions. Apple is highly innovative and should use its skills for social
innovation. They have the potential to come up with innovative solutions for global challenges.
Apple should not miss the possibility to become an innovator in CSR activities and to set a new
standard in the technology sector with a cool sustainability vision. It’s time for a green Apple!