
Supplier Responsibility
Designed by Apple in California. Made by people everywhere.


Millions of people across more than 50 countries make our products possible. Respect for people — and the planet we all share — is our top priority. At Apple, we’re always learning and raising the bar. When challenges arise, we work tirelessly to create lasting change.


People come first.
In everything we do.
Logistics, United States

iPhone repair, the Netherlands

Recycling, United States

Mac assembly, Ireland

iPhone enclosure manufacturing, China (mainland)

iPhone repair, the Netherlands

Recycling, United States
Labour and human rights at the foundation.
Dedicated to continuous improvement.
Creating the best products in the world means putting people first — always. We require our suppliers to uphold the highest standards of labour and human rights, and make respect for people the foundation of their business.
The Apple Human Rights Policy outlines how we treat everyone that our business reaches — including our employees, our customers and the people in our supply chain. The Apple Supplier Code of Conduct (our Code) is a rigorous set of requirements that Apple suppliers must meet in the areas of labour and human rights, health and safety, and environmental stewardship. For more than 15 years, we have partnered with our suppliers to drive the highest supply chain standards, aligning with the most stringent international frameworks, including the International Labour Organization Core Conventions and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We update our Code every year, raising the bar for our suppliers and challenging others in the industry to join us.
We verify that suppliers are meeting our standards through rigorous independent third-party assessments, completing over 800 related to our Code in fiscal year 2022. These onsite audits include a thorough review of every detail of a supplier’s operations, from workplace conditions to fair hiring practices and timely wage payments. Of the assessments in the 2022 reporting period, 214 were surprise visits where the supplier had no advance notice of the assessment team’s arrival. Apple employees are also on site every day at many of our suppliers’ manufacturing facilities, collaborating with them on every aspect of their work.
If violations of our Code are found, suppliers must fix the issues and take steps to prevent them from happening again, all under the supervision of Apple experts. Suppliers with Core Violations of our Code (the most serious level of violation) face probation and immediate consequences, including ineligibility for new business, a notification sent to their CEO, and the suspension of existing projects if required short-term actions are not taken. Any supplier that is unable or unwilling to meet our standards risks termination of its business with Apple. Since 2009 we have removed 25 manufacturing suppliers and 205 material processors from our supply chain for failure to uphold our Code.
Workplace rights from day one.
Our Code requires our suppliers to train their employees on their workplace rights before they begin work. This includes empowering them to speak up if their rights are not being respected. In 2021, we began developing a new digital training platform to make rights training in our supply chain even more effective. This engaging experience is delivered directly to workers’ mobile devices, and real-time feedback enables us to rapidly update the training to address areas of knowledge that need reinforcement.
Zero tolerance for forced labour.
Apple has zero tolerance for forced labour in any form. Our standards apply globally — regardless of a person's job, location or how they’re hired — and every supplier assessment we conduct looks for evidence of forced labour.
Our work to prevent forced labour begins even before people enter our supply chain. We require that recruitment processes be free and fair, which means prohibiting practices like charging fees to secure a job, even where it’s allowed by law. Our diligence extends throughout a person’s employment journey, by ensuring suppliers are meeting our standards for prevention of forced labour every time we engage.
Prevention of forced labour starts with education and strict standards. In 2022, we partnered with the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), the world’s leading experts on migration, to scale our Responsible Labour Recruitment Toolkit globally. The Toolkit is designed to help suppliers, and the agencies that recruit employees for our suppliers, perform the due diligence and record keeping required to hire people fairly and ethically. We developed and tested these tools, trained our suppliers on their use and then made them free and available to everyone — enabling companies across industries to accelerate progress in safeguarding the rights of people in their supply chains.
Read more about our efforts to prevent forced labour (PDF)
We listen. And act.
Feedback powers improvement.
A single voice can bring powerful change. That’s why we’re focused on ways to amplify the voices of people across our supply chain. When people speak, we listen carefully and we act. In fiscal year 2022, we directly engaged with over 539,000 people in our supply chain about their workplace experience.
We conduct interviews and surveys of supplier employees globally and provide hotlines for people to raise concerns, all while protecting privacy and anonymity. People who are interviewed and choose to stay in touch with us receive a follow-up phone call to make sure they did not experience retaliation as a result of their participation. In fiscal year 2022, more than 46,000 of these phone calls were made.
We use the feedback we receive to help our suppliers build better workplaces. The most common feedback topics relate to workplace amenities — such as transportation options, food service offerings, and improving the speed and efficiency of workplace services — along with other key areas like workplace policy suggestions and skill development for managers. We work with suppliers to address this feedback and track resulting improvements. In fiscal year 2022, more than 5,400 improvements were made to supplier workplaces as a result of feedback shared by their employees.
We take all concerns and allegations seriously and investigate quickly, with Apple compliance experts typically on site within 24 hours. If we find issues, we require suppliers to put a plan in place to address concerns promptly. We require regular check-ins on progress, and we confirm that all corrective actions have been completed to our standards. Most plans are completed within 90 days. Independent third-party experts often help verify that all required actions have been taken. They connect directly with affected people to ensure that they received the necessary remedies, such as adjustments to their schedule or corrections of their pay and bonuses.

Mac assembly, Ireland

iPhone enclosure manufacturing, China (mainland)


Education
Accelerating opportunity.
The Apple Supplier Employee Development Fund
Health and wellness education, India

Responsible labour recruitment training, Vietnam

Robotics education program, China (mainland)

iPhone enclosure manufacturing, India

Mac assembly, United States

Responsible labour recruitment training, Vietnam

Robotics education program, China (mainland)
Partnerships that drive progress.
New ways to grow.
In 2022, we launched the Supplier Employee Development Fund — a US$50 million commitment to expand on 15 years of labour, human rights, education and skill-building programs — for people across our supply chain and in surrounding communities. In the fund’s first year, more than 1.2 million people in our supply chain participated in new and expanded programs designed to improve their workplace experience and provide new ways to learn valuable skills.
In fiscal year 2022, we grew our programs and partnerships focused on upholding labour and human rights across our global supply chain. We helped our suppliers build new communications platforms to foster open feedback between workers and management; implemented innovative new training programs for workplace rights education; and created new pathways to receive feedback from the more than 250+ million people globally who make our products possible.
We also introduced the Apple Education Hub to expand our investment in providing educational opportunities to people in our supply chain, opening new career options, and teaching the skills needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
The best innovation comes from collaboration. That’s why, through the fund’s first year, we continued to increase our investment in partnerships with leading experts and organisations. These include the United Nations International Labour Organization and the Fund for Global Human Rights, helping to scale and strengthen our programs. These partnerships generate new industry-leading tools, processes and standards, which we share openly so that others can benefit and accelerate progress in their own supply chains.
Skills that open doors.
Lifelong learners.
Education is a powerful equalising force. We provide the people in our supply chain with educational opportunities that not only strengthen their skills for the jobs they have today, but also open new pathways and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.
In 2022, as part of the new Apple Supplier Employee Development Fund, we launched the Apple Education Hub — an expansion of our supplier employee education programs that have operated since 2008.
Since launching the Apple Education Hub, we have introduced brand-new learning opportunities across the United States, China, Vietnam and India, with more countries or regions to come. More than 480,000 supplier employees have engaged in both virtual and in-person opportunities across a range of topics. These include professional development, advanced manufacturing, robotics and Swift coding. In Swift coding, students learn everything from iOS and macOS basics to advanced coding, with graduating students even publishing their apps on the App Store.
Education should be available and accessible to everyone. In 2022, we launched a new program to support hiring and vocational training for people with disabilities in China, facilitating opportunities for learning, employment and success.
We partner with experts to ensure that the educational programs we provide are innovative, meaningful and connected to opportunities in local job markets, providing a road map for career growth and development. These partners include the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in the United States, Zhejiang University in China, St. John’s Medical College, and a number of other leading educational institutions and nonprofit organisations.

iPhone enclosure manufacturing, India

Mac assembly, United States


Health and Safety
Built smarter.
Helping our suppliers create the safest and most advanced facilities around.
Logistics, United States

Recycling, Taiwan

Recycling, United States

iPhone assembly, China (mainland)

iPhone enclosure manufacturing, India

Apple Watch assembly, Vietnam

Apple Maps surveying, United States

Recycling, Taiwan

Recycling, United States

iPhone assembly, China (mainland)
Health and safety at the core.
It starts with safety.
Everyone has the right to be safe at work. If we find that a supplier isn’t meeting our industry-leading standards, and that their facilities, machines and materials are inadequate, we will not commence work.
As we develop new products, manufacturing techniques and production processes, we constantly evaluate our safety standards. In 2022, we updated our machine safety standards, ensuring the required safety protections are built directly into machines before installation. We trained more than 5,700 people responsible for machine safety at nearly 750 supplier sites on the new standards, helping them to meet our requirements and support safety throughout their facilities.
Incorporating safer and more environmentally preferred materials into our manufacturing processes, like the cleaners and degreasers used during assembly, helps keep people safe. Suppliers are required to uphold our industry-leading chemical safety standards, which include strict measures to make sure their employees and the local environment are safeguarded. And we’re going much further. By collaborating with leading chemical experts and nonprofit organisations that specialise in chemical safety and worker protections, we’re accelerating the adoption of safer, greener materials across the electronics industry.
We partner closely with suppliers to help them build a workplace culture where safety is a constant focus and conversation. In 2022, we trained thousands of leaders at key manufacturing sites on how to build successful cross-functional safety teams, which reinforce safety practices across their business. And from day one, supplier employees are informed of how to speak up if they feel unsafe, including the option to contact Apple directly and anonymously.
Supporting suppliers throughout COVID-19.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have provided our suppliers with the support and tools necessary to safeguard the health of people across their facilities. This includes helping suppliers adjust their operations and facilities as needed, by clearly communicating updates to their employees; staggering shifts to accommodate reduced density; supporting vaccine awareness; providing onsite testing; maintaining thorough deep-cleaning standards; and promoting channels for people to ask questions and share feedback.
We have also provided real-time in-person and virtual support to facilities experiencing outbreaks. And our learnings and safety tools have been shared with more than 200 companies across industries through the Responsible Business Alliance, a leading industry association.
Wellness in mind.
Prevention takes practice.
Health begins with knowledge. That’s why we have continued to expand our programs that provide health and wellness training to people across our supply chain on essential topics like nutrition, reproductive health, early cancer detection, mental health and COVID-19 prevention. Since 2017, over 3.7 million people have benefited from our supplier employee health and wellness programs.
Our health education initiatives are designed with people in mind, tailoring offerings to meet the needs of local supplier employee populations and their communities. This approach equips people with important knowledge and skills to take control of their own health, which is information they can share with members of their communities.
Mental health is a critical component of overall health and wellness. In 2022, we enhanced our focus on mental health — launching new initiatives concentrated on spreading awareness and reducing stigma, providing education on early warning signs and connecting people to resources when they need support.
High-precision spaces.
High-tech workplaces.
Fast. Forward.
Building products at Apple’s quality and speed requires deep partnership with world-class manufacturers and a skilled workforce. Our suppliers operate among the most technologically advanced manufacturing facilities on the planet, designed to perform at the level of precision necessary to build Apple products.
From developing brand-new ways to recycle materials, some of which have never been recycled at scale before, to pioneering advanced manufacturing processes — we are always pushing the boundaries. With these innovations comes the need for people trained on the latest technologies. That’s why, through the Apple Education Hub, we’re providing our suppliers’ employees with opportunities to learn critical skills in advanced manufacturing fundamentals, automation technology and coding.

iPhone enclosure manufacturing, India

Apple Watch assembly, Vietnam

Apple Maps surveying, United States


Environment
The products you love also love the planet.
Respect for the environment is a built-in feature.
Daisy, Apple’s iPhone recycling robot, the Netherlands

Energy-efficient cooling systems, India

Aluminium recycling, Taiwan

Product disassembly for recycling, United States

Water treatment inspection, Vietnam

Solar array installation, India

Energy-efficient cooling systems, India

Aluminium recycling, Taiwan

Product disassembly for recycling, United States
Environmental rights are human rights.
Communities and climate change.
The global impacts of climate change are becoming clearer by the day. We know that our approach to protecting the planet must also consider people, and acknowledge that communities of colour and vulnerable populations are often disproportionately affected by climate change. Our work considers our supply chain in the context of the local communities where our suppliers operate.
Advancing racial equity and supplier diversity.
We believe that equity takes initiative. In 2022, Apple welcomed the second cohort of participants to our Impact Accelerator for Black-, Latinx-, Indigenous- and Brown-owned businesses focused on environmental solutions, as part of our Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. The Impact Accelerator expands access to opportunity for suppliers in the United States by ensuring that our investments in sectors like renewable energy, carbon removal and recycling innovation also help fight systemic barriers impacting communities of colour.
Carbon-neutral by 2030.
We’re zeroed in.
Calling all suppliers.
Apple’s corporate operations have been carbon-neutral since 2020. Our next goal is to reach carbon neutrality across our entire footprint by 2030 — including the energy needed to build, use and eventually recycle our products. To make this happen, we’re transitioning our entire supply chain to 100 per cent renewable energy and have commitments from our suppliers to maintain facilities that are energy-efficient.
250+ suppliers have committed to running their Apple production on renewable energy, representing 20 gigawatts of energy coming online and accelerating progress toward our 2030 goal. Last year, building on seven years of progress, we communicated clear expectations that all suppliers decarbonise their Apple production footprint by 2030, including all non-electric emissions.
Learn more about our plan for the planet
Leading the recycling revolution.
Closing the manufacturing loop.
Our goal is to close the manufacturing loop — building our products using only recycled and renewable materials and ending our reliance on mining. While we pursue this goal, our suppliers are required to source primary minerals responsibly, following strict human rights and environmental standards that align with international frameworks. If the processors that provide materials to our suppliers are unable or unwilling to meet our standards, we remove them from our supply chain.
The processors that provide key materials including tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold, cobalt and lithium to our suppliers must participate in independent third-party audits, and we publish a list of these companies every year. We also continue to pioneer breakthroughs in responsible sourcing, including the use of blockchain technology to improve material traceability throughout our supply chain.
Closing the manufacturing loop by moving to only recycled and renewable materials in our products also helps us achieve our carbon neutrality goals. In 2022, we continued to introduce product components with 100 per cent recycled materials, including expanding our use of certified recycled gold to Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE. And we’ve continued our investment in aluminium recycling technologies, with 100 per cent recycled aluminium cases and enclosures across our latest iPad and Apple Watch devices as well as the MacBook Air with M2 chip.
An important part of closing material loops is helping recyclers efficiently and safely recycle our products. To do this, we developed Apple Recycler Guides for professional electronics recyclers to safely disassemble Apple products and maximise material recovery.
Read the Apple Smelter and Refiner List (PDF)
A zero waste mindset.
Waste not.
We consider every aspect of how our products are built — even the waste that could result from the process. We teach suppliers how to avoid sending waste to landfills in the communities where they operate by implementing recycling and reuse programs. Today all established final assembly sites for major Apple products are Zero Waste Certified.
In 2022, we worked with UL, the certifying body behind the Zero Waste certification, to scale our work in implementing zero waste standards across our supply chain. The new process enables companies to implement these standards at multiple facilities simultaneously, achieving progress on waste reduction more efficiently. The result has been a sharp increase in the number of participating suppliers’ facilities, with 150 added in fiscal year 2022 alone.
A ripple of change.
Water is a critical resource shared by people and ecosystems around the world. Protecting shared water resources requires conservation and stewardship practices that are environmentally sound, economically sustainable and make communities more resilient.
That’s why our water strategy takes a comprehensive look at the water basins where our suppliers operate, considering the local environment and needs of the community. Since the launch of our Clean Water Program in 2015, 17 of our suppliers’ facilities have received certification through the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), the world’s leading water stewardship organisation. Of those certified, 15 were given Platinum status, the highest level of recognition. As part of the AWS certification process, independent auditors look at a number of factors inside and outside the facility to assess the collective responsibility suppliers share to protect water resources.

Water treatment inspection, Vietnam

Solar array installation, India

Previous Progress Reports
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2022 Progress Report
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2021 Progress Report
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2020 Progress Report
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2019 Progress Report
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2018 Progress Report
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2017 Progress Report
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2016 Progress Report
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2015 Progress Report
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2014 Progress Report
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2013 Progress Report
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2012 Progress Report
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2011 Progress Report
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2010 Progress Report
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2009 Progress Report
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2008 Progress Report
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2007 Progress Report
Resources
Apple Standards
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Human Rights Policy
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Supplier Code of Conduct and Supplier Responsibility Standards
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Regulated Substances Specification
Apple Suppliers
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Supplier List
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How We Work with Suppliers
Reports and Filings
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Conflict Minerals Report
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Smelter and Refiner List
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2022 Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery
Previous Reports and Filings
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2021 Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery
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2020 Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery
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2019 Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery
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2018 Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery
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2017 Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery