Apple says supply chain now 100% audited for conflict minerals
Apple has announced that it is now auditing 100 percent of its suppliers for the use of minerals linked to violent militia groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The tech company, which uses minerals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold in its products, is required to investigate its supply chain for the presence of the minerals under a rule from the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. The company has been working since 2010 to remove conflict minerals from its supply chain, and while it isn’t yet declaring its products totally conflict-free, it said all of its 242 smelters and refiners are now subject to third-party audits. This brings it closer to a small group of companies, such as Intel and Kemet, who have been able to say they sell conflict-free products. “We could have very easily chosen a path of re-routing our supply and declared ourselves conflict-free long ago, but that would have done nothing to help the people on the ground,” Apple COO Jeff Williams said. “We chose to engage with as many smelters as possible because the only way to have an impact here is to reach critical mass.” (Bloomberg)
Human Rights
Qatar 2022: ‘Forced labour’ at World Cup stadium
Amnesty International has accused Qatar of using forced labour for the construction of a World Cup 2022 stadium. Amnesty says workers at Khalifa International Stadium are forced to live in squalid accommodation, pay huge recruitment fees and have had wages withheld and passports confiscated. Amnesty warned promised reforms would make little difference and said some of the workers were enduring a “living nightmare”. It said every migrant it had interviewed had reported abuses of one kind or another. Fifa, the governing body of world football, said measures had been taken that had already improved the situation for migrant workers. But Amnesty has accused Fifa of “indifference”, and has called on big World Cup sponsors such as Adidas, Coca Cola and McDonald’s to put pressure on Fifa to tackle the issue. (BBC)
Employees
Kenyan law brings in breastfeeding stations in offices
Kenya’s parliament has approved a bill which forces companies to have a special breastfeeding area for employees with children. It also states that employers must give time for women to breastfeed. The same proposal was rejected by the previous parliament after business groups threatened to stop employing women if it was approved. The Health Bill 2015 now needs the president’s assent to become law. Currently it is extremely rare for organisations in Kenya to provide nursery and breastfeeding facilities, but mobile network Safaricom is one exception. Safaricom’s director of human resources said that introducing the facilities had improved productivity. “We are very big on doing new things and for that to happen you must create an environment where employees feel comfortable,” said Maria Shipiri. (BBC)
Environment
Atlantic oil prospecting to go ahead despite Obama ban
The US Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is considering eight applications to allow loud underwater prospecting for oil and gas off the east coast, even though environmentalists say it would imperil at risk whales, sea turtles, sharks and other fish species. Despite the Obama administration’s recent decision to rule out oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean until 2022, BOEM said the testing applications will still be assessed. “We will continue with this unless the companies withdraw. It’s totally up to them if they want to continue,” said a BOEM spokesman, John Filostrat. Opponents of the testing claim it could potentially drive whales and fish from their habitat and interfere with their ability to find food and mate. According to Duke University marine scientist Douglas Nowacek, the noise from airgun testing can travel for more than 2,500 miles and can “disrupt behavior patterns”. (Guardian)
Sea levels set to ‘rise far more rapidly than expected’
Sea levels could rise far more rapidly than expected in coming decades, according to new research published in the journal Nature, which reveals Antarctica’s vast ice cap is less stable than previously thought. “This could spell disaster for many low-lying cities,” said Prof Robert DeConto, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who led the work. He said that if global warming is not stopped, the rate of sea level rise would change from millimetres per year to centimetres a year. “At that point it becomes about retreat [from cities], not engineering of defences.” As well as rising seas, climate change is also causing storms to become fiercer, forming a highly destructive combination for low-lying cities like New York, Mumbai and Guangzhou. The new research suggests that major rises are possible within the lifetimes of today’s children, not over centuries. (Guardian)
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