Peace-loving Intel vows to be ‘conflict-free’ by 2016
Intel Corp. is bidding to do its bit for world peace with a promise to switch to a conflict-free product line by 2016 at the latest. The undertaking means it’ll look to source metals like gold, tantalum, tungsten and tin – all essential parts of its chippery – from smelters that are certified for using only ethically-mined minerals.
The chip maker actually announced its good intentions last January when it released a line of chips that were certified as being made from conflict-free metals. Intel says it’s doing so because it wants to end the practice of forced labor in the world’s war zones, which coincidentally seem to produce much of the metals that are essential for electrical products.
Carolyn Duran, Intel’s supply chain director and conflict-free program manager, wrote in a blog post that Intel had been actively sourcing ethical component suppliers since last January’s announcement. “We continue our global travels to smelters in our supply chain – and our Intel team has visited 88 smelters in 21 countries,” she explained.
Now, Intel is saying it hopes to be able to certfiy all of the smelters it uses as conflict-free by 2016.
Intel isn’t the only tech company doing its bit to end the practice of forced mining in war-torn parts of the world. Apple Inc., which has been previously been tarred by allegations of worker mistreatment in the Chinese factories it uses, said that it was also looking to switch to conflict-free suppliers of the all-important metal bits used in its iPhones and iPads.
Not surprisingly such a touchy issue has also attracted government attention. In the EU, officials have proposed a program that would encourage companies to check and certify the sources of the materials they use. The plan includes financial incentives to fund investigative efforts on metals suppliers. Companies that perform “due diligence” checks on the source of their raw materials would then be named on a “responsible smelters and refiners” list held by EU member states.
Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped some rights groups from criticizing the effort. Amnesty International complained the proposed EU program doesn’t go far enough, saying companies should be held to account for where their materials are sourced, rather than just being ‘encouraged’ to play nice.
photo credit: chant0m0 via photopin cc
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