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Nokia establishes stance on conflict minerals in formal policy
Recent weeks have seen a swell of interest in corporate responsibility, particularly with regard to technology manufacturing and supply chains. Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook affirmed his company's commitment to ethically and environmentally sound practices, evoking sentiments that were echoed today in a similar announcement from Nokia. Seizing the opportunity to establish some goodwill among socially conscious consumers, the Finnish manufacturer has just released a policy outlining its philosophy on conflict minerals -- metals like gold, tungsten and tin that have played a direct role in fueling civil violence and unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the document (linked below), Nokia acknowledged that it doesn't play a direct role in obtaining these materials, but emphasized its strict traceability requirements. All suppliers, Nokia says, must provide detailed information on the sourcing of its metals, going back to the smelter phase, at a minimum, and even to the mine itself, if necessary. The company also highlighted its adherence to guidelines established by the EICC-GeSI Extractives Work Group, which both Apple and Intel have already joined. Granted, it's impossible for a single company to wipe out civil strife and human rights abuses in one fell swoop, but with this codified approach, Nokia hopes to at least "increase transparency, ensure responsible procurement by our suppliers and sub-suppliers, and drive positive change."
Comcast's Internet Essentials program expanding as digital literacy project soars
If everyone needs the internet, then poor kids need it more -- since so much learning material is dependent on technology. Comcast teamed up with the FCC to produce Internet Essentials: a $10 a month broadband plan and $150 computers to get the nation's poorest families online. Six months later, the program's been a colossal success, leading to the company adding some sweeteners: eligibility is being relaxed to include any family who qualifies for discounted lunches (swelling the catchment group by a further 300,000). It's also doubling the speed of the available connection: 3 Mbps down and 768 Kbps up and is allowing community groups to bulk-buy packages to directly supply the most impecunious households. It's also pairing up with the "connect to compete" initiative to reduce computer costs, enrich digital literacy materials and connect those outside of Comcast's core service areas. You can head on down to our source link to read the extended report and see how families are benefiting from a little corporate good deed.
Apple issues report on supplier workplace audits and standards
Over the past several years, reports about alleged mistreatment of contract workers building Apple devices at plants throughout Asia have been rampant. Apple has not taken these reports lightly, and today the company issued a new report on supplier responsibility that outlines the efforts that have been made to make life better for the people who make our shiny toys. According to the report (link to PDF), Apple conducted 127 workplace audits in 2010 -- 97 at locations that had not been previously visited, and 30 repeat audits. In the report, Apple refers to the corporate Supplier Code of Conduct, a comprehensive set of standards which suppliers must meet in order to continue doing work with Apple. The Code of Conduct covers labor and human rights, health and safety, the environment, ethics and management commitment. Apple lists some of the dismal scores achieved by suppliers, showing a lot of transparency to the company's stockholders and the public. To bring up audit scores, the company has trained over 300,000 workers on occupational health and safety, worker rights and local labor laws in the past two years, and has trained more than 6,000 supervisor and managers on their responsibilities to workers. The report also covers Apple's attempts to get away from use of conflict minerals in production, as well as a detailed section on how Apple COO (and acting CEO) Tim Cook and a group of executives met with Foxconn CEO Terry Gou and his staff in June of 2010 to discuss the string of worker suicides. While the report shows that Apple suppliers still have a long way to go before creating a "worker's paradise," the company is taking positive steps to improve the situation for hundreds of thousands of workers. It's an eye-opening report worth reading for anyone who buys and uses Apple products. [via CNET]
