Tim Cook was outraged by a recent report from The New York Times that provided a detailed look at the poor working conditions for Chinese factory workers assembling our Apple gadgets. It seems he’s not the only one. The BSR, a leader in corporate responsibility which works with Apple to develop sustainable business strategies, has labeled the report “inaccurate” and “misleading,” and has requested that it is corrected by the NYT.
The BSR, established in 1992, “uses its expertise in environment, human rights, economic development, and governance and accountability to guide global companies toward creating a just and sustainable world.” Its CEO, Aron Cramer, wrote to the NYT on January 27 — a day after its report was published.
Cramer first praised the report for shining “a light on important supply chain issues that are a crucial part of the global economy.” Then he points out that the piece “mistakenly quotes” a BSR representative and focuses on Apple when the conditions in the global supply chain should be of “immense importance to all companies.”
This article shines a light on important supply chain issues that are a crucial part of the global economy—one of the sustainability challenges BSR has worked on with business and other stakeholders for 20 years. Unfortunately, the article mistakenly attributes several quotes to an unnamed “BSR consultant,” presenting a false impression that those views should be associated with BSR.
While the story focuses on Apple, the question of conditions in global supply chains is of immense importance to all companies, in all sectors. There is no doubt that, while more and more companies are committed to ensuring good working conditions in their supply chains, additional steps should be taken. The key to progress is a combination of renewed commitments by the private sector, better enforcement of laws by governments, collaboration between businesses and NGOs, and worker empowerment. Global companies who are active in this space know that long-term, sustainable change takes time and requires many players working together.
On the BSR website, where the letter was also published, Cramer brands the report “misleading” and calls for “several important inaccuracies” to be rectified.
The NYT’s report provided a chilling insight into the poor working conditions faced by thousands of Chinese workers who assemble the latest gadgets — not just for Apple, but for the likes of Dell, Sony, HP, and many, many more. Shortly after it was published on January 26, Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his frustrations in an email to Apple staff, in which he said the report was “patently false and offensive.”
Cook reassured Apple employees that the company has “made a great deal of progress and improved conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers.”
[via Macworld]
