Ricoh/Pentax and Panasonic were the top ranking camera companies included in the second Baptist World Aid Ethical Electronics Guide (Electronics Industry Trends report), measuring 56 consumer electronics companies’ support of third world workers in their supply chains.
Electronics Industry Trends rates the companies on the practices and policies they have in place to mitigate the risk of forced labour, child labour and exploitation.
While two-thirds of companies showed some improvement since the report’s first release in 2014, not a single company scored an ‘A’. Several companies, including Apple and Samsung, were rated B+.
Top camera companies were Ricoh and Panasonic, both rated B-, followed by Olympus (C+), Nikon (C – the median score), Sony (C), and Kodak (C-)
Canon (D+), Leica (D-) and GoPro (D-), clearly failed to make the grade, according to the report.
(It’s interesting – and a little sad – to note that Dick Smith, now in receivership, was one of the outstanding improvers in the rankings, moving from D to B- with its controversial private label product range.)
‘Forced labour, child labour and exploitation remain as significant problems in the supply chain of the electronics industry. This is the most valuable industry in the world, worth in the trillions. If anyone can afford to ensure they have an ethical supply chain, it’s our big tech companies,’ said Baptist World Aid Australia advocacy manager Gershon Nimbalker.
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