策劃、編譯■李威撰

廣受各地消費者喜愛的蘋果公司自詡關注環境保護，

但生產蘋果商品的中國工人及環保人士可能並不如此認為。

如同大多數製造業者，

蘋果代工廠引發中國民眾對環境及健康顧慮，

根據非政府組織的調查，

問題根源有很大一部分是蘋果獨特的內部運作模式所致。

■兩名顧客在逛完中國上海金融區一家蘋果零售商店後離去，圖攝於2011年8月25日。（圖文／路透）

中國環境組織指控蘋果公司無視其供應商在中國製造污染，這是最新一起對於科技公司破壞環境的批評。

Chinese environmental groups accused Apple Inc of turning a blind eye as its suppliers pollute the country, the latest criticism of the technology company's environmental record.

環境組織聯盟於8月31日所公布的一份46頁的報告指出，「疑似蘋果供應商」所排放的有毒物質，對當地社區及環境造成危害，且供應商意圖要隱藏污染消息。

Toxic discharges from "suspected Apple suppliers" have been encroaching on local communities and environments, a coalition of environmental organizations said on Wednesday in a 46-page report alleging efforts to conceal pollution.

隨經濟快速成長，中國面臨環境普遍惡化的問題，政府遭批未能採取抑制污染的相應措施。

Widespread environmental degradation has accompanied China's breakneck economic growth, and the government has been criticized for failing to take steps to curb （1）pollution.

報告指出：「蘋果供應鏈的大量排放，不僅對環境造成嚴重污染，甚至對公眾的健康和安全造成了直接的危害。」這份報告已發布於公眾環境研究中心的網站（www.ipe.org.cn）。

"The large volume of discharge in Apple's supply chain （2）greatly endangers the public's health and safety," said the report, issued on the website of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (www.ipe.org.cn).

報告聲稱，27家蘋果疑似供應商出現嚴重污染問題，如有毒氣體及重金屬污泥等。報告指出，在一項案例中，鄰近企業的村莊更是出現了「癌症高發現象」。

The report alleges that 27 suspected Apple suppliers had severe pollution problems, from toxic gases to heavy metal sludge. In one case, the report said, a nearby village experienced a "phenomenal rise in cases of cancer."

報告說，蘋果決定利用發展中國家環境管理的漏洞來「攫取超額利益」。

Apple has decided to "take advantage of loopholes （3）" in developing countries' environmental management systems to "grab super profits," it said.

蘋果並沒有公布它有哪些供應商，環境團體表示報告的發現內容，是根據公開的資料及5個月來的研究及田野調查所得出。

Apple does not disclose who its suppliers are. The environmental groups said public documents and five months of research and field investigation led to the findings in the report.

報告指出：「大量IT供應商超標違規記錄已經公開，但蘋果選擇不去面對，而是繼續使用污染企業做供應商，這就應該看作是蘋果公司蓄意所為。」

"A large number of IT supplier violation records have already been publicized; however, Apple chooses not to face such information and continues to use these companies as suppliers. This can only be seen as a deliberate refusal of responsibility," the report said.

這已不是蘋果第一次被控違規，蘋果大多數的產品在中國的工廠完成組裝，並進行秘密的供應鏈管理。

This is not the first time Apple has been targeted for environmental infractions and its secretive supply chain management in Chinese factories, where it assembles most of its products.

今年1月，同樣幾家的非政府組織發布一份報告，指稱與蘋果簽約生產iPad與iPhone的中國製造商有嚴重破壞環境的不良紀錄。

In January, several of the same non-governmental organizations issued a report alleging woeful environmental records for the iPad and iPhone maker's China-based contract manufacturers.

今年2月，中國東部一家與蘋果簽約生產觸控螢幕的台資工廠勞工公開抱怨，在使用有毒溶劑正己烷後化學中毒。

In February, workers at a Taiwanese-owned factory in eastern China making touch screens （4）on contract for Apple aired their grievances over a chemical poisoning after using N-Hexane, a toxic solvent.

蘋果表示，他們維持一向嚴格的檢查制度，且定期會監督及調查他們所有的供應商。

Apple says it maintains a rigorous auditing regime and all its suppliers are monitored and investigated regularly.

蘋果公司發言人Carolyn Wu表示：「蘋果致力於在我們的整個供應基礎推動最高標準的社會責任。」

"Apple is committed to driving the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base," Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu told Reuters.

「我們要求供應商在製造蘋果產品的時候提供安全的工作條件，尊重和關注他們的員工，並採用環保的製造流程。」

"We require that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made," she said.

蘋果並非唯一一家被環境團體批評的公司，有些世界知名品牌也依賴中國的供應商，使用歐盟及其他地區所禁用的化學物，使中國環境受到污染。

Apple is not alone in drawing criticism from environmental groups. Some of the world's leading brands rely on Chinese suppliers that pollute the country's environment with chemicals banned in Europe and elsewhere.

許多西方國家的多國公司（包括玩具製造公司美泰兒在2007年的含鉛塗料醜聞）已經致力於規約產品品質，規範對象涵蓋中國為數眾多的供應鏈生產商。

Many Western multinationals （5）-- including toymaker Mattel Inc, which suffered a toxic lead paint scandal in 2007 -- have struggled to regulate product quality across scores of suppliers in knotted Chinese supply chains.

北京方面則是口惠而實不至，在反覆承諾要減輕環境負擔的同時，卻提不出貫徹命令所需的政治意志及資源。與此同時，地方官員則是把經濟成長、收益及工作機會看得比環境保護還要更加重要。

Beijing has repeatedly promised to clean up its stressed environment. But it often fails to match that rhetoric with the resources and political will to enforce its mandates, as local officials put growth, revenue and jobs ahead of environmental protection.

（路透 Reuters）

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