Over time, businesses have assumed ethical and social responsibilities towards their customers, their employees and the environment. Corporations work on maintaining their customers’ trust, taking care of their employees’ well being and producing sustainable products. Apple is the leading tech company, selling over a hundred million products a year, having 164,000 employees, and reaching a net worth of $2307.15 billion. Apple has a huge impact on society as a whole, making social, ethical and environmental responsibility extremely vital.

Apple has published their up-to-date environmental progress report online for all current and potential customers to read. The report is highly detailed and focuses on climate change, resources and smarter chemistry. In the climate change category, Apple explains their goal of making their entire product footprint carbon neutral by 2030 by reducing emissions by 75 percent compared to 2015. Apple also is currently working on improving the product supply chain to 100% renewable electricity by 2030. The corporation was successful in reducing 40% overall emissions as well, avoiding over 23 million metric tons of emissions. In other words, Apple is not only making long term plans for a eco-friendly future, but is also actively showing proof and keeping the customers informed about it. Apple’s environmental progress report also mentions their plan of reducing water impacts in the manufacturing of their products, use of services and operation facilities. They have accomplished significant improvements, including 75% less plastic in packaging compared to 2015. Apple has made a clear investment in improving their impact on environment in the midst of mass production.

When it comes to toxic waste, Apple has made a big leap in recycling all their unused resources: all the new products contain 100% recycled aluminum enclosures. The material comes from used Apple products, which are returned by customers in exchange for in-store credit. Apple is also working on smarter chemistry, by avoiding exposure to chemicals that could be harmful to humans and their environment. Due to their efforts in this matter, Apple has been awarded the Safer Choice Partner award from EPA, showing how important safety is for the corporation.

Apple is a company that identifies itself not only by its products but its employees as well. The company has more than 164,000 employees and 521 stores worldwide. Apple is strongly anti-discrimination when it comes to gender, race, religion, and more. The company is proactive in their stance for inclusion and diversity by making clubs, events for everyone.

As a current Apple employee, learning and understanding their environmental progress report and their stance on inclusion has been very beneficial and eye opening for me, as it has proven to be productive in their social, ethical and environmental duties. What I would recommend Apple do is to release new products less frequently, since the new products only come with minor improvements or features compared to the latest ones. I think coming out with new products every year, including new accessories, also may cause overproduction. While I do enjoy the new products, I value the longevity and quality of a product more than the minor improvements that the new ones come with. I also believe one year is not enough for a customer to fully understand and make the most out of their product: in my opinion, two years is enough time for Apple to make an impactful new product and allow their customers to fully appreciate it. This would not only be environmentally responsible, but socially responsible as well: some consumers would not feel pressured to buy a product they don’t necessarily need (although I do recognize that Apple is a business that is trying to maximize their revenue). Personally, I would tell Apple to focus more on the longevity of their products rather than try to persuade their customers that they need to purchase a new phone after a few years due to battery or software issues.

Overall, I believe Apple is making continuous leaps towards improving their impact on society and our planet, but there are still some areas that it could improve on, such as their release cycles.