Apple’s environmental impact and their supply chain management

Apple’s consideration of the environment is part of the total corporate responsibility with regard to
carbon footprint, water, energy and recycling. Apple is very transparent on its commitment to reduce
the environment impact of their products. Apple plans to use 100% renewable energy in their
operations by 2030. Apple’s goal is to make themselves a carbon neutral enterprise by 2030(Calma,
2023). Apple will carry out their plan through their production cycle, operations, and supply network.
The deadline is still seven years away however, the corporation has made good progress towards it
thus far. The company is making good progress because their international business activities are
currently carbon free, which indicates that they may be successful in reaching their goal (Redding,
2023).

Apple plans to continue using 100 percent renewable energy in their operations and switch over to
clean energy for their products (Apple Media, 2023). Currently, over 70 suppliers have agreed to
supply Apple with only renewable energy, totaling around eight gigawatts of energy generated for
the company’s operations. This means that over 15 million metric tons of carbon will be saved
annually (Apple Media, 2023). Apple is also planning to spend $4.7 billion in green bonds to sponsor
clean energy development. This proves that Apple’s has a strong commitment to environmental
sustainability.

Although Apple appears to be very environmentally friendly and sustainable, there are still some
environmental issues. Apple is still not sustainable yet. It can be argued that Apple is not
environmentally friendly because they sell new products such as iPhone every year. Manufacturing,
using and recycling their products can be tough on the environment, especially if the products are
replaced on a daily basis.

Supply Chain Management

Apple has implemented a Supplier Code of Conduct that is “committed to respecting the highest
standards of Labor, human rights, environmental, and ethical conduct. Apple’s suppliers are required
to provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, act fairly and ethically,
and use environmentally responsible practices wherever they make products or perform services for
Apple” (Apple Code, 2022).

However, Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility has been damaged extensively in the past due to
their cases of labor exploitation and environmental degradation that reflected on their supply chain
management. For example, Apple’s supply chain in China has had unfair treatment to their workers.
The workers in China accused Apple of labor violations such as withholding payments, cutting back
on safety training and employing more temporary workers than China’s laws allow (Albergotti, 2019).
From a personal perspective, I believe that Apple have a hard time standardizing rules for employees
in other countries like China because of different working cultures and habits. Apple paying their
Chinese suppliers far less than they would pay their American suppliers because they operate under
ethical relativism. Regardless of the American regulations, Apple can have to adhere to the Chinese
regulations.

In order for Apple to achieve an ethical supply chain, the company can enact a sustainable reform in
their supply chain. Apple cannot change the working laws and conditions in every country, but they
can improve their pay to their suppliers. Apple can give their suppliers more authority in better
wages, reducing working hours, enhance safety and other things by distributing some of their wealth
in an equitable manner. Apple can make this happen by enforcing a mandatory minimum wage
based on what it pays similar level workers in their countries.

Revised

Part of Apple’s total corporate responsibility is their consideration in recycling, carbon footprint, and
energy. Apple is very transparent in its commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its
products. Apple plans to use 100% renewable energy in its operations by 2030. Apple’s goal is to
make themselves a carbon-neutral enterprise by 2030(Calma, 2023). Apple will carry out its plan
through its production cycle, operations, and supply network. The deadline is still seven years away
however, the corporation has made good progress towards it thus far. The company is making good
progress because its international business activities are currently carbon-free, which indicates that it
may be successful in reaching its goal (Redding, 2023).

Apple plans to continue using 100 percent renewable energy in its operations and switch over to
clean energy for its products (Apple Media, 2023). Currently, over 70 suppliers have agreed to supply
Apple with only renewable energy, totaling around eight gigawatts of energy generated for the
company’s operations. This means that over 15 million metric tons of carbon will be saved annually
(Apple Media, 2023). Apple is also planning to spend $4.7 billion in green bonds to sponsor clean
energy development. This proves that Apple has a strong commitment to environmental
sustainability.

Although Apple appears to be very environmentally friendly and sustainable, there are still some
environmental issues. It can be argued that Apple is not environmentally friendly because they sell
new products such as iPhone every year. Manufacturing, using, and recycling their products can be
tough on the environment, especially if the products are replaced daily.

Supply Chain Management

Apple supply chain is top ranked in the world. Apple has implemented a Supplier Code of Conduct
that is “committed to respecting the highest standards of Labor, human rights, environmental, and
ethical conduct. Apple’s suppliers are required to provide safe working conditions, treat workers with
dignity and respect, act fairly and ethically, and use environmentally responsible practices wherever
they make products or perform services for Apple” (Apple Code, 2022).

However, Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility has been damaged extensively in the past due to
their cases of labor exploitation and environmental degradation that are reflected in their supply
chain management. For example, Apple’s supply chain in China has had unfair treatment of their
workers. The workers in China accused Apple of labor violations such as withholding payments,
cutting back on safety training, and employing more temporary workers than China’s laws allow
(Albergotti, 2019). From a personal perspective, I believe that Apple has a hard time standardizing
rules for employees in other countries like China because of different working cultures and habits.
Apple pays its Chinese suppliers far less than they would pay its American suppliers because they
operate under ethical relativism. Regardless of the American regulations, Apple has to adhere to the
Chinese regulations.

For Apple to achieve an ethical supply chain, the company can enact a sustainable reform in its
supply chain. Apple cannot change the working laws and conditions in every country, but they can
improve their pay to their suppliers. Apple can give their suppliers more authority in better wages,
reducing working hours, enhancing safety, and other things by equitably distributing some of their
wealth. Apple can make this happen by enforcing a mandatory minimum wage based on what it pays
similar-level workers in their countries.