Major player in the technological world such as Samsung, apple, Microsoft and Sony have been accused of using batteries that contain cobalt extracted by children in the cobalt mines. To get to the root of this issue, readers have to know that cobalt is an important element that is used in the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in the smartphones, tablets and computers. these child Labor charges have been levied on three companies that supply the element to the popular devices.
A report that has been released by human rights organization called as amnesty international accusing Ningbo Shanshan, Tianjin Bamo and L&F Materials organizations of purchasing cobalt that has been extracted using child Labor in the democratic republic of Congo indirectly encouraging others to employ children to do the work that is intended for adults.
The reports accuse major tech players such as Apple, Samsung, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, Sony, Microsoft and Vodafone of negligence in overseeing whether their supply chain partners have any child Labor. The report suggests that of the 87 individual interviewed, 17 of them were below the age of 18 and worked in the cobalt mines extracting the precious element.
“Millions of people enjoy the benefits of new technologies but rarely ask how they are made. It is high time the big brands took some responsibility for the mining of the raw materials that make their lucrative products.” explained Mark Dummett, Amnesty International’s business and human rights researcher, in a press release. “Companies whose global profits total $125 billion cannot credibly claim that they are unable to check where key minerals in their productions come from.”
The following are the statements released by the accused tech companies.
Apple
“Currently evaluating dozens of different materials, including cobalt, in order to identify Labor and environmental risks as well as opportunities for Apple to bring about effective, scalable and sustainable change,” Apple is quoted as saying in the report.
Microsoft
“We currently contract with this supplier [Tianjin Lishen] to provide a very limited number of batteries for a product development project. To our knowledge, Lishen batteries are not used in any product currently sold by Microsoft. Due to the small volumes used, Tianjin Lishen is not listed as a Microsoft Top 100 Hardware Supplier List… We took immediate action by asking Tianjin Lishen to remove this reference [on their website] to Microsoft as it is a misuse of the Microsoft name and implies incorrectly that we have a major contractual relationship. Lishen has complied with Microsoft’s request.”
In regards to due diligence, Microsoft is quoted as stating,” we have not traced the cobalt used in Microsoft products through our supply chain to the smelter level due to the complexity and resources required.”
Samsung SDI
“In reality, it is very hard to trace the source of the mineral due to the suppliers’ non disclosure of information and the complexity of the supply chains. Therefore, it is impossible for us to determine whether the cobalt supplied to Samsung SDI comes from DRC Katanga’s mines,” the company was quoted in the Amnesty report saying.
Sony
“The Sony Group established the “Sony Supplier Code of Conduct” in June 2005 with the expectation of every supplier agreeing and adhering to the policies of the Sony Group in complying with all applicable laws, work ethics, Labor conditions, and respect for human rights, environmental conservation and health & safety. Sony has requested its suppliers fully comprehend and comply with this “Sony Supplier Code of Conduct”. As such Sony has a strong commitment to ethical business conduct and we have a stringent policy and management system to minimize the risk of child Labor throughout our supply chain.
With respect to cobalt supply chain and human rights issues reported in the Amnesty report, we take this issue seriously and conducted due investigation. So far, we have not found obvious results that our products contain the cobalt originated from Katanga in the DRC.”
HP Inc.
“HP has played a leading role in driving responsible mineral sourcing for many years and we believe our due diligence practices are consistent with relevant OECD guidelines. We will review the report from Amnesty in detail and continue to work with our supply chain partners and the industry to effectively address any risks identified in the sourcing of minerals,” a spokesperson told FORBES in an email response.
Vodafone
“Both the smelters and mines from which the metals such as cobalt are originally sourced are several steps away from Vodafone in the supply chain. For this reason, we are unaware as to whether or not cobalt in our products originates in Katanga in DRC or whether CDM and Huayou Cobalt process cobalt within our supply chains.”
“Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint Stock Company Ltd is not a direct supplier to Vodafone and therefore we do not have a direct contractual relationship with them. For original design manufacturers (ODM) which are branded Vodafone and where we have direct relationships, we do not allow the use of Chinese battery suppliers and Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint Stock Company Ltd is not used in our Vodafone-branded ODM products.”
