Apple Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Apple corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and initiatives are led by Lisa Jackson, Vice President for Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. More than 1 million people work in Apple supplier facilities and as such, the company’s operations have considerable implications on the society.

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”[1].

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.

 

Apple Supporting Local Communities

• In Oregon, USA, Apple partners with Bluestone Natural Farms to transform compostable materials generated onsite into rich organic material for use on the farm.

• The tech giant launched a 100-kilowatt rooftop solar project at an educational premise for disadvantaged children in Philippines.
• The company added 50-kilowatt solar power system and a 260-kilowatt-hour battery to supply clean electricity to off-grid fishing community in Thailand.

 

Apple Educating and Empowering Workers

• The multinational technology company provided training courses to about 4 million people since 2008.
• The tech giant has competitive employee benefits practices. 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.
• Apple suppliers paid back USD 32.2 million recruitment fees to their 36,599 employees since 2008.
• The iPhone maker taught employees organized 185,000 hours of inclusion and diversity training in 2021[2]
• The company organized 80,000 hours of management education through Apple University in financial year 2021

 

Labour and Human Rights at Apple

• Apple enforces The Supplier Code of Conduct that is claimed to be the toughest in the electronics industry. Apple educated more than 19.4 million employees of its suppliers on their rights since 2008.[3]
• 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]
• The multinational technology company interviewed more than 52000 supplier employees about their workplace experience

 

Employee Health and Safety at Apple

• The multinational technology company has launched a group of health clinics called AC Wellness for its employees and their families.
• In 2019, Vietnam was included in employee health education program. The program is already in practice in China and India.
• In 2020, for the 2^nd time in a row the company was awarded
• Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families awarded Apple an A+ rating for eliminating toxic chemicals in production for the 2^nd time in a row in 2020.

 

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 maintains 1:1 pay equity for gender, race and ethnicity globally
• 47% of open leadership roles globally were filled by women in 2021[5]
• 23% of open retail leadership roles in US were filled by Black candidates in 2021

Apple leadership diversity data for 2021[6]

 

Energy Consumption by Apple

• Apple sources all of its facilities worldwide with 100% renewable energy
• 213 suppliers of the iPhone maker have committed to 100 percent renewable electricity for Apple production
• 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.

 

Water Consumption by Apple

• Apple used more than 1,4 billions of gallons of water in fiscal year 2021. This include a small proportion of recycled water and temporary freshwater
• The multinational technology company saved 133 million gallons of freshwater in fiscal year 2021 due to efficiency projects implemented since 2017
• Alternative water sources primarily from recycled water sources accounted for 10% of Apple’s total corporate water usage
• Cooling systems in company’s date centres can reuse water up to 35 times
• Apple Park, a campus in Cupertino uses 75% recycled non-potable water. Apple campus in Austin, Texas, irrigates its drought-tolerant plants using a 600,000-gallon rainwater cistern.

 

Waste Reduction and Recycling by Apple

• Nearly 20% of materials in Apple products are made from recycled content
• As part of Apple’s Zero Waste Program more than 2 million metric tons of waste were redirected from landfill
• Apple offers recycling programs in 99 percent of the countries it operates and the company has diverted more than 508 million pounds of electronic waste from landfills since 2008.
• Supplier sites committed to achieving zero waste increased by 53% in 2019.
• In 2016 the company introduced Liam, a line of robots that can disassemble an iPhone every 11 seconds and sort its high-quality components so they can be recycled.

 

Carbon Emissions by Apple

• The first company ever to be valued at $1 trillion has been carbon neutral for its own operations since 2020[7]
• The company has managed to reduce its carbon footprint 40% since its emissions peaked in 2015.
• The tech giant is committed to reach total carbon neutrality across its entire business, including the full life cycle of its products by 2030.

 

Apple and Sustainable Sourcing

• All the fibers Apple uses in product packaging are 100% responsible sourced
• All suppliers of tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold, and cobalt smelters and refiners participate in third-party audits
• The company partnered with The Conservation Fund to protect 36,000 acres of sustainable forest in North Carolina and Maine and more than 13,000 metric tons of wood was harvested responsibly.
• In 2022 plastics accounted for only 4% of company’s packaging

 

Apple Inc. Report contains a full analysis of Apple corporate social responsibility including Apple CSR issues. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis, Ansoff Matrix and McKinsey 7S Model on Apple. Moreover, the report contains analyses of Apple leadership, business strategy, organizational structure and organizational culture. The report also comprises discussions of Apple marketing strategy and its ecosystem.

[1] Apple Support for Charity (2015) Available at: https://macrumors.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/202084918-Apple-Support-for-Charity

[2] ESG Report (2022) Apple Inc.

[3] Supplier Responsibility (2020) Apple Inc. Available at: https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/

[4] Zhou, M. (2019) “Apple ditches five mineral suppliers over failure to pass human rights audits” CNET, Available at: https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-ditches-five-mineral-suppliers-over-failure-to-pass-human-rights-audits/

[5] ESG Report (2022) Apple Inc.

[6] ESG Report (2022) Apple Inc.

[7] ESG Report (2022) Apple Inc.