Supplier Responsibility

How we make is as important as what we make. Putting people first. Opening doors through education. And protecting the planet.

In unprecedented times, health and safety remain the priority.

From the moment the threat of COVID‑19 emerged, Apple took action. Working closely with medical experts and our suppliers, we put the health and safety of the people in our supply chain first. We implemented standard measures like personal protective equipment, deep‑cleaning protocols, and health screenings. But we went much further, reimagining entire factory layouts and processes to ensure that people could practice proper social distancing. We continue to support our suppliers around the world and have shared our best practices and lessons learned with partners across the industry.

2M+people in the Apple supply chain covered by our health and safety standards in 2020
170+member companies of the Responsible Business Alliance given access to our COVID response tools

We took immediate action to keep people safe during the COVID‑19 crisis.

We work hand in hand with our suppliers all over the world to help keep their employees safe by redesigning factory floor plans so everyone can be socially distanced, implementing deep‑cleaning standards, staggering schedules, and offering onsite testing in many locations. We share what we learn with the over 170 member companies of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and recently updated our Supplier Code of Conduct with expanded Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response measures, helping all suppliers to better prepare for, prevent, and respond to infectious diseases. We also take proactive measures to make sure that the health, safety, and well‑being of supplier employees remain our top priority. And we strengthen our work with nonprofit organizations to provide education about COVID-19 to the most vulnerable communities.

Safety is built in from the very start.

Health and safety measures are embedded into our product design process. Our reviews of supplier safety practices begin long before employees work with a new machine. We work alongside engineers as they develop machinery and manufacturing techniques to make sure processes are safe. Then, during our regular supplier assessments, we check to be sure all health and safety requirements are being met. Many chemicals are prohibited outright, and when chemicals are used, strict measures are required. And we continue to advance industry standards, helping manufacturers across industries adopt safer, greener alternatives.

We partner with local experts to help people live healthier lives.

Our partnerships allow us to create customized wellness training programs to help supplier employees better manage their health inside and outside the workplace. These programs have reached over 1.9 million people and cover topics like nutrition, self-examination for early cancer detection, and reproductive health — knowledge people can also share with their communities.

A+For the third year in a row, Apple was awarded an A+ rating for eliminating toxic chemicals by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families as part of its Mind the Store ranking.
#1First consumer electronics company to receive the EPA Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award.

21.5 million people trained on their rights.

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and to have their rights respected. As part of our Supplier Code of Conduct, we require our suppliers to provide their employees with training on their rights. Apple also directly engages with thousands of supplier employees on their workplace experiences. Because the more we listen and learn, the better we all are.

250K+supplier employees interviewed and surveyed about their workplace experiences in 2020
24human rights and environment organizations received support from Apple in 2020

Everyone is encouraged to speak up. And we listen.

We require suppliers to provide fair working hours, a safe work site, and an environment free from discrimination regardless of a person’s job or location. They must also provide their employees with rights training during orientation and anonymous channels for voicing concerns. We also give our suppliers’ employees the ability to contact Apple directly, and we continuously evaluate and improve communication channels based on participation and effectiveness. If a supplier is found in violation of our standards, the supplier must take immediate action or risk losing our business altogether. We also partner with leading human rights experts, including United Nations organizations like the International Organization for Migration and the International Labour Organization, to help us strengthen our programs.

We collaborate with independent experts for outside perspectives.

Empowering local, independent voices is critical to protecting people and the planet. We listen to human rights organizations and environmental defenders to continuously help us improve. And we work with organizations like the Fund for Global Human Rights and the Thomson Reuters Foundation because they understand specific challenges and opportunities on a community-by-community basis.

Learning opportunities
that lead to new possibilities.

From technical certifications and leadership training to robotics and coding, people have access to learning programs focused on in-demand skills where they are — whether it’s for today’s job or tomorrow’s.

4.6M+education, skill-building, and enrichment course participants since 2008

We partner with suppliers to help their employees advance.

With access to programs such as iPhone repair certification, computerized numerical control (CNC) technology, robotics, and app development, the people who work for our suppliers can pursue in-demand skills that can advance careers in hardware technology. And courses in leadership, design thinking, and project management provide even more options for advancement across different career paths.

We expand our programs to support more people and places.

Apple suppliers source materials from all over the world. While working toward our goal to end reliance on mining and increase the use of recycled and renewable materials, we collaborate with organizations including Pact — an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries — to provide training and apprenticeships to people living around mining communities. These partnerships help provide the skills and tools they need to learn a trade or craft, or to apprentice with an expert in their chosen field.

Global conservation. Local stewardship.

Apple is carbon neutral. And by 2030, every Apple product will be too. We partner closely with suppliers to conserve resources and eliminate waste. And our initiatives go beyond conservation to support businesses and community partners in their environmental efforts.

110+Apple suppliers have committed to building our products with 100% renewable energy
1.65Mmetric tons of waste diverted from landfills since 2015

We’re taking action when it comes to conservation.

We reduced our energy use by more than 900,000 metric tons in 2020. Our Clean Water Program has saved more than 41 billion gallons of water since 2013, which is equivalent to a year’s worth of drinking water for 226 million people. And our Zero Waste Program eliminates the need to send waste to landfills. We work closely with our suppliers and partners to create solutions, continuously improve, and share what we learn.

Making a positive impact beyond factory walls.

Protecting the planet is a global effort, but it all starts with local action. That’s why we partner with suppliers to focus on environmental stewardship — the practice of supporting and contributing to environmental efforts in the communities all over the world where our suppliers operate. Our supplier sites that have earned Alliance for Water Stewardship certification work beyond their sites to understand the water needs of their communities. This work includes projects like protecting adjacent wetlands and hosting education sessions on water stewardship with local schools.

Learn more about our efforts to fight climate change

100%In 2020, Apple suppliers achieved 100% Zero Waste certification for all our established final assembly sites.

It’s a high bar.
And we keep raising it.

Apple has eyes and ears on the ground in hundreds of facilities in more than 50 countries. We partner closely with our suppliers to help them meet and exceed our workplace and environmental requirements. We also engage with independent human rights and environmental organizations and openly share our tools and learnings with other companies and industries. Because the best way to accelerate progress is together.

1121assessments of suppliers in 53 countries conducted in 2020
83%high-performing supplier facilities, a 36-point increase in five years

Photos of people without masks were taken before the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Learn more about our work in the full report.

View the 2021 Progress Report (PDF)

Resources

Apple Standards

  • Human Rights Policy

    View (PDF)

  • Supplier Code of Conduct and Supplier Responsibility Standards

    View (PDF)

  • Regulated Substances Specification

    View (PDF)

Apple Suppliers

Reports and Filings

More from Apple on Supplier Responsibility.