How a simple app exposed some Apple suppliers for the toxic polluters they are

An app called Blue Map, created by environmentalist Ma Jun and backed by Chinese retailer Alibaba, has found that a number of Apple's suppliers were violating its environmental guidelines.

The app aggregates pollution data from government websites to help companies identify suppliers not in compliance with their policies.

Ma claims his app identified 830,000 cases where companies were polluting excessively or falsifying emissions data, across thousands of parent brands. The database is publicly available for the general public to report violations, as well as for all large brands who use suppliers in China.

Bloomberg recently reported Apple has "taken action" against the manufacturers in violation. The company told Bloomberg it used the app to identify and resolve almost 200 cases where suppliers were violating environmental rules.

Some have been removed from Apple's list of suppliers, though it's unclear how many. Those whose contracts remain intact could still be denied desired credit ratings or be deprived of loans.

Companies can often more effectively deter pollution through these mechanisms, Ma told Bloomberg, than by seeking environmental recourse from the Chinese government, which has historically been reluctant to crack down on big tech manufacturers. Large brands like Apple can use Blue Map to hold their suppliers to environmental commitments without expensive and time-consuming audits of every manufacturer.

It's not surprising that Apple took these actions: The company has made large strides in renewable energy. in the past few years, it has championed a number of green initiatives, including bond offerings on wind and solar power plants and energy-efficient buildings, a pivot to become 93% reliant on alternative energy, and a program, called Liam, that uses robots to disassemble and recycle iPhones.

But the company certainly still has work to do.

Apple has consistently pushed against "right to repair" legislation -- policies that would decrease the amount of raw materials needed for replacement units. The company has also opposed measures to reward the production of smartphones with removable batteries, which some of its its competitors backed.

And while it's up to the government to set environmental standards, it's relatively easy for big companies to ensure those standards are favorable to them given their lobbying power. So getting suppliers to comply with Apple's standards is an important victory, but it's equally important to keep in mind the whole picture and not just a single part of it.

Big tech companies aren't the only ones who can benefit from Blue Map. Nonprofits, activists, and advocates for the environment can also use it to get a sense of current standards and practices, and how companies are adhering to them.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that almost 200 Apple suppliers had been caught violating the company's environmental regulations. It has been corrected to say 200 cases of violation have been found.