APPLE INC. | Transition Plan to Address Abuse of Uyghurs at APPLE INC.

Status
4.39% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
6
Resolution details
Company ticker
AAPL
Lead filer
SumofUs
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Human rights
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Technology
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders request that, in light of human rights abuses in the region and the reputational and operational impacts posed to Apple, the Company publish within one year a phaseout transition plan, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary information, to cease supply chain activities involving labor from the Uyghur region, including labor transfers of workers from the Uyghur region to other areas of China.
Whereas clause
Whereas: The proponent believes that the reputation and supply chain disruption risks to the company and its shareholders associated with reliance upon supply chains in the Uyghur region  of China are severe; Recent press and reports regarding the Uyghur region  provide evidence of widespread human rights abuses against the Uyghur population and other Turkic Muslim populations; The US State Department, European, UK, and Canadian Parliaments identify the abuses against the Uyghurs as a genocide, making any association with such abuses a critical violation of Apple’s human rights policy and a significant reputational and valuation risk

The U.S. State Department’s “Updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business  Advisory”3 warns: Given the severity and extent of [regional] abuses, businesses and individuals that do not exit supply chains, ventures, and/or investments connected to Xinjiang could run a high risk of violating U.S. law; Investigations show transfers of forced labor from the region associated with operations on the most recently disclosed list of Apple suppliers4  and investment by Apple in energy partnerships closely allied to Uyghur forced labor; Numerous reputable third party supplier auditors have withdrawn from the Uyghur region due to the interference of the Chinese government with effective auditing,  thereby limiting Apple’s ability to use such consultants to adequately evaluate labor conditions;6
Whereas: Geopolitical instability in supply chains may merit greater reliance on US domestic and less volatile labor markets;
Supporting statement
Supporting Statement:
The transition plan should, in the discretion of the board and management, include:
A reasonable timeframe for completing phaseout of sourcing from Uyghur related labor, such as three years;A plan to cease all supply chain sources from the Uyghur region;A plan to cease all supply chain sources which receive labor transfers from the Uyghur region , including a sound strategy for assessing which suppliers are receiving such transfers;Any development of new supply chain sources in other regions, including US domestic sources, and discussion of any related challenges or opportunities; Discussion of necessary  resource commitments including capital expenditures, technology transfers, and other supply chain development investments.1 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/world/asia/china-xinjiang-uyghurs.html
2 https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/22/world/uk-china-uyghur-genocidnoe-motion-gbr-intl/index.html
https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/european-parliament-adopts-resolution-calling-for-eu-import-ban-on-products-made-with-forced-labour/
https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20220120-french-parliament-adopts-resolution-denouncing-china-s-uyghur-genocide
https://www.newsweek.com/united-nations-special-report-contemporary-slavery-china-xinjiang-uyghur-tibet-1734334
3 https://www.state.gov/xinjiang-supply-chain-business-advisory/
4 https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-china-suppliers-uyghur-muslims-forced-labor-report-2021-5
https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/cfa-files-complaint-over-forced-labor-apples-supply-chain
5 https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/apples-uyghur-dilemma-grows
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-28/solar-energy-boom-could-worsen-forced-labor-in-china-group-says
6 https://www.wsj.com/articles/auditors-say-they-no-longer-will-inspect-labor-conditions-at-xinjiang-factories-11600697706 

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.