Apple, an example of CR integration into the Corporate Strategy?

Source: (ipanspain, 2012).

Apple is one of the world’s most important technology company. Its sales increase every year and its innovation is one of the main key aspects for the success. But, as a technological leader, is it also a “sustainable” leader?, In other worlds, is Apple applying properly a CSR strategy? This blog tries to answer both questions by analyzing which CSR actions they have in theory, and which they are applying in practice.

First of all, it is important to highlight which are the main issues that the company faces regarding to CSR. Apple has developed a code of conduct to explain how Apple has to do business in a ethical way including issues such as human rights, customers and business relationships, government and communities (avoiding the bribery and corruption), environment, health and safety and so on. Furthermore, it also has carried out a particular code focus on its suppliers (Apple, 2012).

Source:(Applesfera,2012).

Secondly, Apple conducts audits every year to control the supply chain to assure the proper application of the Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct. Thus, Apples carries out employees training programs about local laws, rights and occupational health and safety.  Furthermore, they state that they have a zero-tolerance policy for underage labor, and offer education opportunities at its suppliers’ facilities free of charge. So, Apples seems to apply and control all its supply chain. However the true is different.

The first interesting point to emphasize is the codes of conduct structure. A code of conduct should start explaining how to apply social ethics in a business such as respect for individual dignity, no discrimination between employees, conditions of employment and compensation for personnel in a fair and non-discriminatory manner, working hours of personnel accordance with the specific nature of their duties and so on). However, Apple begins its code focusing much more on selling products to their customers, confidentiality agreements and intellectual property (Apple, 2012a). It seems that all the main principle for them is to sell products and protect itself from seepage or data or resources delivery. It can seems something frivolous, but from my point of view, it shows the main idea of the company forgetting, as a main principle, the purpose of a code of conduct.

Source: (Chinaveboss, 2012).

On the other hand, Apple has faced through this last years to different problems with its suppliers. For instance it has proved that in Foxcom, its main suppliers, most of the employees have unfair salaries and workdays of more than 60 hours (Infobae, 2012) and different suicides have been registered. So, although the company has a code of conduct and publish an annual report about what it does, the outcomes doesn’t seem to be enough for a company that should be the leader in corporate social responsibility.

Source: (Greenpeace, 2012a).

Regarding to the environmental impact, although the company includes also the protection of the environment in its code of conduct, the true is that, according to Greenpeace, Apple has bought a land next door to Facebook’s data center in Oregon for a second facility that is likely to be powered by dirty energy. The announcements have drawn a lot of attention because data centers use a huge amount of electricity to deliver our photos, videos, and music to our “iDevices.” (Greenpeace, 2012)

Taking into account all the problems that have came up to Apple during this years, from my point of view, the company strategy is focused too much in innovation (new versions of IPAD or IPOD are launched almost every year) demanding to its suppliers lower prices and high quality, forgetting about the environment and the social responsibility of its supply chain. The strategy and the code to follow seems to be clear. However, if the company is not able to invest more in corporate social responsibility, relaxing  its demand to its suppliers and helping them to fulfill its code, it is impossible to consider Apple as a Social responsible company. The company needs to engage all the stakeholders and one of the most important are the suppliers. They cannot be focus only on the loyalty of its clients but also in the society needs.

References:

(Apple, 2012). Retrieved 4/5/2012 from:  http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/

(Apple, 2012a). Business Conduct.The way we do business worldwide

(Applesfera,2012). Retrieved 4/4/2012 from: http://www.applesfera.com/apple/asi-es-la-nueva-apple-store-calle-colon-en-valencia

(Chinaveboss, 2012). Retrieved 4/4/2012 from: http://www.chinaveboss.com/blog/2012/03/foxconn-worker-prefers-to-make-the-new-ipad-rather-than-iphone-4s/

(Greenpeace, 2012). Retrieved 4/5/2012 from: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/

(Greenpeace, 2012a).Retrieved 4/4/2012 from www.greenpeace.org

(Infobae, 2012). Retrieved 4/5/2012 from: http://www.infobae.com/notas/627103-Apple-reconoce-graves-faltas-laborales-entre-sus-proveedores.html

(ipanspain, 2012). Retrieved 4/4/2012 from http://ipadspain.es

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