Sustainable Procurement & CSR News - ICT Industry

Assembling devices for Apple has always been a cyclical, low-margin business, albeit one that was highly desirable when the Steve Jobs-led firm could do no wrong, and its revolutionary products were sure-fire hits. Now that the rest of the world is catching up to Apple on tablets and Google’s Android platform has surpassed the iPhone, there are dangerous new uncertainties for business models with barely any room for error.
Conditions at Apple’s other major manufacturer, Foxconn, have historically been poor, with underage children making products in the factories, and multiple suicides reported. Go get more robots, Apple. Humans don’t deserve this.

The deteriorating political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is likely to fuel stricter regulations on the supply chains of cobalt from the country. The precious mineral is used in the manufacturing of phones, electric cars and laptops. International regulators have recently called for further scrutiny into the supply chain of DRC-sourced cobalt, and this demand is likely to grow louder due to the worsening political situation in the country.

Sept. 12, 2012, saw the unveiling of three radical new designs with world-changing potential: the iPhone 5 and the Dodd-Frank Act's rules on human rights.
Although the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is best known for regulating banks, Congress slipped in two novel sections that use informational regulation to deter U.S. companies from fueling war and corruption overseas. Section 1502 forces certain industries (including phone makers and retailers) to identify Congolese conflict minerals in their supply chain. Section 1504 forces oil, gas and mining firms to publicly report the payments they make to dodgy governments around the world.
Like the iPhone 5, both rules encountered early glitches, then fulfilled their innovative potential before being surpassed by improved versions.

For your cell phone to be truly ethical, at least in terms of DRC’s minerals, it is not just the famous tech companies that actually sell you your phone that need to be held accountable. International mining companies themselves are also responsible for the role they play in allowing grave human rights violations to be committed; and usually outside the context of armed conflict.