Ethical Standards: Apple’s Responsibility
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine
(Germany) on 13 February 2014
by Carsten Knop (link to
original)
The news may be hard to believe in light of the suspicion that globally powerful corporations inspire when the subject turns to fair working conditions. However, American technology giant Apple seems to have really taken to heart reports of suicides in the factories of its Taiwanese manufacturer, Foxconn, a few years ago.
It is not yet possible to inspect in detail the progress the suppliers have made in working conditions, but what Apple has listed in its most recent 40-page report is impressive. More is always better, but few have come as far as Apple in the past few years.
And this is no small task, since more than a million people are engaged in the production of parts for Apple. Maintaining oversight of all this is a challenge. The attempt that Apple is making is to be taken seriously.
Clearly, the management knows the value of its brand and what damage bad news about its social responsibility can do. It would be great if this knowledge could permeate everywhere.
It is not yet possible to inspect in detail the progress the suppliers have made in working conditions, but what Apple has listed in its most recent 40-page report is impressive. More is always better, but few have come as far as Apple in the past few years.
And this is no small task, since more than a million people are engaged in the production of parts for Apple. Maintaining oversight of all this is a challenge. The attempt that Apple is making is to be taken seriously.
Clearly, the management knows the value of its brand and what damage bad news about its social responsibility can do. It would be great if this knowledge could permeate everywhere.