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Author: The Gaurdian | Posted by: Scott Macdonald
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Want to know just how environmentally friendly your Nokia is? Nokia has been talking to journalists about its environmental track record, and also answering questions from the public. From where the materials are sourced from, to energy saving and sustainability, Nokia has tried to answer as many of the public’s questions as possible. To find out more, read on after the jump…
With 37 per cent of the global mobile phone market, thanks in part to devices such as the incredibly successful Nokia 5800, Nokia is the biggest mobile phone manufacturer, so how environmentally friendly the company is is bound to be an issue that stirs emotions and gets people involved.
As such, the Guardian has put together the opportunity for readers to ask questions, and in turn to get the answer they’re seeking. The initiative runs for this week only – from Monday to Friday – and you’ll be able to post comments on the article, with Nokia posting answers.
The very first question to be posted asked how Nokia plans to ensure that phones are not financing conflict or propping up illegal child labour in Africa, highlighting how diverse some questions are likely to be. Nokia responded by pointing out that any activity that fuels or finances conflict is totally unacceptable, stating: “We require written statement from our suppliers to ensure that metals down the supply chain are legally and ethically sourced”.
With regard to the environment itself, Nokia went on to say that “we think that every device should be made with environment in mind”. As a result, “any Nokia device can be recycled so that 80% of the materials can be recycled and the rest used as energy, so nothing goes to waste”.
The discussion is already up and running, with tens of questions already out there, and Nokia doing its best to respond. If you have a question to ask Nokia, or want to see what’s already been said, then head over to the Guardian and check out You Ask, They Answer: Nokia.
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Link: Microsoft accused of child labor - 4.15.2010
Microsoft is getting hammered by the National Labor Committee over the working conditions at the factory of one its suppliers in China, called KYE.
NLC alleges that KYE pays workers -- some of them children -- $.65 per hour to work 16.5 hour days.
Over the past three years, unprecedented photographs of exhausted teenaged workers, toiling and slumping asleep on their assembly line during break time, have been smuggled out of the KYE factory.
KYE recruits hundreds-even up to 1,000-"work study students" 16 and 17 years of age, who work 15-hour shifts, six and seven days a week. In 2007 and 2008, dozens of the work study students were reported to be just 14 and 15 years old. A typical shift is from 7:45 a.m. to 10:55 p.m.
Article: Apple issues report on supplier responsibility - 2.24.2010
Apple has published an extensive report on supplier responsibility that addresses how the company works to ensure that all of its business partners are fair and socially progressive.
Link: Good News for Nestlé Workers - 1.20.2010
Nestlé is infamous for abusing worker rights around the world. ILRF has listed Nestlé for two years in a N27881774559_1168 row on our "Working for Scrooge" report that highlights the worst companies in the world for union organizing. Nestlé is one of the largest multinational corporations in the world and the company's workers face an uphill battle in standing up for a voice at work.
Fortunately, there is some goods news for Nestlé workers. Earlier this month, the union at Nestlé Pantnagar in India signed a collective agreement on wages and benefits with the company. The workers at the factory waged a strong campaign even in the face of intimidation from the company which included the dismissal of key union organizers. This latest success for workers follows on a big victory in December for Nestlé workers when unions at three other Nestlé facilities in India signed similar agreements. The agreements also include wage information that had previously been classified as "secret" by company management.
Link: ILRF statement regarding Hanebrands and Uzbek cott - 12.23.2009
Hanesbrands was originally identified on the 2009 Sweatshop Hall of Shame; however, in recent dialogue with the company, ILRF has come to believe that in fact Hanesbrands may be a leader in cotton traceability.
Link: Nestlé's Kit Kat Goes Fairtrade - 12.7.2009
Embarking on what its UK chocolate boss described as an ethical "long journey", the four-finger Kit Kat will carry the Fairtrade logo from next month. Over the next two years the two-finger and other versions of the £183m-a-year bar will make the switch.
More than 8,000 cocoa farmers in Côte d'Ivoire (formerly Ivory Coast) will benefit from the decision, receiving an extra $150 a tonne, 4 per cent above the $3,384 world price.
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