Apple Inc.’s 2018 Conflict Minerals Report (published here) includes the company’s commitment to meet and exceed due diligence standards, with the ultimate goal of improving conditions on the ground in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and adjoining countries. As in previous years, Apple, an ITSCI programme member, worked directly with us to review incidents potentially associated with mine sites, operators, and transport routes in the DRC and adjoining countries. The company also financially contributed to our whistleblowing mechanism, which allows people to raise concerns that can then be addressed through the ITSCI reporting system.
Since 2016, Apple’s Conflict Minerals Reports have included analyses of ITSCI incident outcomes, with the aim to provide a deeper understanding of remediation and mitigation measures taken to address relevant incidents (see figure 1). In the three-year period reviewed, due diligence improvements accounted for the largest percentage outcomes for closed ITSCI incidents and ITSCI’s awareness-raising activities increased in 2018 compared to the previous two years.
ITSCI incident information is available to any downstream company who wishes to review potential risks in their supply chain. We welcome and support additional downstream companies and other interested stakeholders to take steps to review ITSCI information on supply chain risks and increase transparency on the responsible sourcing of 3T minerals.
For more information about ITSCI incident reporting, visit our webpages https://www.itsci.org/incident-summaries-public/
