Walk Free+MSA Identification of risks+Apple Inc.+2018+Discussion
Of the millions of people who work at Apple supplier facilities every year, a small percentage are foreign contract workers. These individuals can be particularly vulnerable to debt-bonded labor, a form of modern slavery. Debt-bonded labor occurs when a person is forced to work in exchange for the repayment of a debt or other obligation—sometimes levied as a fee for receiving a job in the first place. In 2018, we took steps to map our labor supply chain in greater detail to better understand the movement of foreign contract workers and to identify which geographic corridors created the most risk and vulnerabilities for individuals entering our supply chain. As part of this mapping process and risk analysis we used publicly available information including the United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, and the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, published by the ILO and Walk Free Foundation in partnership with the UN International Organization for Migration (“IOM”). Our risk analysis informed both our supplier audit selections and programming decisions.
In 2018, five tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, and two cobalt
smelters and refiners were removed from our supply chain.4
In 2010, we were one of the first company to map our supply chain, including from
manufacturing to the smelter and refiner level for tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (“3TG”).
In 2014, we started mapping our supply chain for cobalt and completed that mapping in
2016. In 2018, 100% of our identified 3TG and cobalt smelters and refiners participated in
independent third party audits. Apple’s independent third party audits go beyond conflict
to consider human rights risks. In 2018, we expanded our efforts to measure the impact of
minerals due diligence systems on people in mining communities. In addition, we funded
an international expert and an organization specializing in land rights to conduct initial
research for a human rights impact assessment (“HRIA”) of the impact of a potential minerals
traceability project on a local community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”).
The HRIA results informed Apple’s decision-making with respect to the location of the
potential project.5
To further strengthen implementation of our Prevention of Modern Slavery Standards, we use a
specialized bonded-labor auditing process in certain high-risk environments, such as in highrisk geographies, in areas where employment of foreign contract workers typically occurs, and
in the case of first-time audits of suppliers. Each assessment includes an Apple employee and
a third-party auditor. In 2018 specialized debt-bonded labor audits were conducted in Taiwan,
Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.6