It is a well known fact that the genesis of any electronic product takes place on a project table, when the engineering team of the company in question meets discussing possibilities, plans and cuts. Another facet of the origin of the devices, however, has much less glam It is much less remembered by its manufacturers: I speak, of course, of the exploitation of minerals such as gold, tin and tungsten (all essential for the manufacture of products) in parts of the African continent, especially in the Congo.
Anyone who has watched films like “Blood Diamond” has an idea (albeit distant) of the horrifying reality experienced by the inhabitants of these areas, marked by conflict and routine atrocities, images that shockingly contrast with the gadgets immaculate in our pockets and tables.
However, all is not lost: there are a large number of NGOs dedicated to human rights that have the issue of conflict over ore in Africa as one of their main (or even the only) area of action. One of them Enough, an organization based in Washington, D.C., is founded by members of the United Nations and has as its banner the denunciation and action against crimes against humanity that occurred on the African continent. Every year the group publishes, after a long series of surveys, its ranking of most applied companies in efforts to employ ores from conflict-free areas; in 2017, a certain Ma managed to emerge as a clear leader on the subject.
The survey encompasses 20 of the largest companies in the technology and jewelry retail areas (another segment whose demand for minerals, of course, is very high) and each company scores based on its efforts to acquire minerals from peaceful areas and implement damage reduction actions. in conflict zones that he does or did business with. THE Apple was the leader of the ranking with 122 pointsfollowed by Alphabet (Google’s owner), with 102.5.
HP, Microsoft and Intel complete the Top 5, showing that Silicon Valley companies are, in general, more concerned with the African situation than the rest: on the other side of the technological ranking, the Samsung conquered only 17.5 points and the Toshiba, 9. At least the situation is worse than some jewelry sellers: the Sears it's the Walmart were left with just 2.5 points, while the Neiman Marcus conquered zero score.
Regarding Cupertino, Enough commented:
Apple emerged as a clear leader, achieving 114 out of 120 possible points and 8 more points in extra credit. Although even a perfect score does not mean that a company has no more work to do, Apple's consistent compliance with each ranking criterion indicates that the company has devoted substantial resources to developing processes to obtain ore mines that benefit Congolese communities. .
The full Enough report can be read at this link (PDF). Something tells me that a certain Tim Cook is happy with him.
via Cult of Mac
