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Dell

OVERALL

Owned
USA
Rating
Praises, some criticism

Computer makers

World's #3 PC maker (after Lenovo and HP). Founded in 1984, delisted from Nasdaq in 2013, after being acquired by Michael Dell (founder) in partnership with global technology investment firm Silver Lake Partners.

Company Ownership

Dell Inc   USA     website      facebook   twitter
  Dell Technologies Inc   
   owns 100% of Dell Inc  
USA     website      facebook   twitter

Information technology

In 2015 Dell Inc acquired EMC Corporation for US$67 billion, creating Dell Technologies. It was the largest-ever acquisition in the technology sector.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
Dell Inc
Environment Supply chain practices in China
This company received a score of 79.6/100 (retrieved 10-Oct-2020) in the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI), a system for evaluating supply chain practices in China, particularly in regards to environmental management and water pollution. Scores are calculated using government compliance data, online monitoring data, and third-party environmental audits, as well as trends in the environmental performance of factories in the company's supply chains.
Source: IPE (2020)
Business Ethics 81.2/100 in Newsweek rankings
America's Most Responsible Companies 2022 by Newsweek and Statista recognises the Top 500 most responsible companies in the United States. Companies were evaluated in three areas: environmental (waste, energy use, etc.), social (leadership diversity, employees and philanthropy) and governance (transparency and economic performance). This company received a total score of 81.2/100, ranking 19th in the Technology Hardware sector, and 101st overall.
Source: Newsweek (2021)
Environment Green Power Partner
This company is listed on the EPA Green Power Partnership website (USA) as using renewable energy for 63% of its organisation-wide electricity use in the USA.
Source: EPA (2023)
Social 78.1% in conflict minerals rankings
As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 78.1% (Strong).
Source: As You Sow (2019)
Social B- grade at Behind the Barcode
B- grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's Behind the Barcode 'Ethical Electronics Guide 2016', which grades companies on their efforts to mitigate the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation throughout their supply chains. Assessment criteria fall into four main categories: policies, traceability & transparency, monitoring & training and worker rights.
Source: Baptist World Aid Australia (2016)
Social Repairability of devices
Engineers from ifixit.com disassembled and analysed a range of smartphones, tablets and laptops, awarding each a repairability score between one and ten. Ten is the easiest to repair. A device with a perfect score will be relatively inexpensive to repair because it is easy to disassemble and has a service manual available. Points are docked based on the difficulty of opening the device, the types of fasteners found inside, and the complexity involved in replacing major components. Points are awarded for upgradability, use of non-proprietary tools for servicing, and component modularity. Laptops released by this company in 2017 scored between 7 and 10 points.
Source: iFixit (2020)
Social Forced labour in China
The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including brands owned by this company. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 2020 report estimates (somewhat conservatively) that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps.
Source: ASPI (2020)
Social $1b stock swap settlement
In 2022 Dell reached a $1 billion settlement of a lawsuit accusing it of short-changing some shareholders in a controversial $23.9 billion transaction in 2018 that marked its return as a publicly traded company. The disputed December 2018 transaction involved a stock swap related to Dell's interest in software maker VMware.
Source: Reuters (2022)
Business Ethics Tax avoidance
This company scores Ethical Consumer's worst rating for the likely use of tax avoidance strategies, and has at least two high risk subsidiaries in tax havens.
Source: Ethical Consumer (2022)
Social Prison labour in USA
Major corporations, including this one, use prison labour in the USA, where prisoners are paid slave wages as low as 23 cents an hour doing work which is often dangerous, toxic and unprotected. While much of the work done by prisoners is for the military, other major corporations are taking advantage of the cheap labour in both federal and state US prisons.
Source: Global Research (2013)
Business Ethics Fraud penalty
Dell paid US$100 million in 2010 to settle allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission of accounting fraud. It had alleged that Dell had failed to disclose to investors large exclusivity payments received from Intel to not use central processing units from Intel's main rival. These payments helped Dell to meet its targets, rather than its management and operations. When the payments were cut, it alleged Dell again misled investors by failing to disclose the true reason behind the company's decreased profitability. [Listed under Information due to age of court finding]
Source: news article (2010)
Environment Climate action commitments
As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target; commit to 100% renewable power.
Source: We Mean Business (2021)
Environment 'Nice' rating on Direct Mail Industry Scorecard
'Nice' rating on the 2009 Naughty/Nice List, the Scorecard on the Catalog and Direct Mail Industry by Forest Ethics. [Listed under information due to age of report]
Source: Forest Ethics (2009)
Environment US recycling report card
The Electronics TakeBack Coalition's Recycling Report Card evaluates takeback and recycling programs for computer, TV, printer and game console companies. The report card focuses on the programs available to consumers in the US, and relies on publicly available information, as of Sept 2010. This company received a grade of B for its recycling efforts in the USA.
Source: Electronics TakeBack Coalition (2010)
Social Repair manuals online
Some companies intentionally make their repair manuals unavailable, sabotaging local repair shops and forcing consumers to buy new products. This company makes its repair manuals available online.
Source: iFixit (2017)
Business Ethics Corporate responsibility claims
This company has corporate responsibility claims on its website under the headings advancing sustainability, cultivating inclusion, transforming lives and upholding ethics & privacy.
Source: company website (2020)
Business Ethics GC3 member (Green Chemistry)
This company is a member of the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3), a business-to-business forum that advances the application of green chemistry and design for environment across supply chains. It provides an open forum for cross-sectoral collaboration to share information and experiences about the challenges to and opportunities for safer chemicals and products.
Source: GC3 (2019)
Business Ethics GeSI member
This company is a member of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), a leading source of impartial information, resources and best practices for achieving integrated social and environmental sustainability through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Source: GeSI (2016)
Business Ethics PPA Participant
This company is a participant in the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA), a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder initiative to support supply chain solutions to conflict minerals challenges in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region (GLR) of Central Africa. The PPA provides funding and coordination support to organizations working within the region to develop verifiable conflict-free supply chains; align chain-of-custody programs and practices; encourage responsible sourcing from the region; promote transparency; and bolster in-region civil society and governmental capacity.
Source: PPA (2019)
Business Ethics Responsible Business Alliance member
This company is a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (formerly the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition), a non-profit coalition of electronics companies which supports the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities worldwide affected by the global electronics supply chain. RBA members commit and are held accountable to a common Code of Conduct and utilize a range of RBA training and assessment tools to support continuous improvement in the social, environmental and ethical responsibility of their supply chains.
Source: RBA (2022)
Business Ethics ESAP signatory
This company is a signatory to WRAP's Electrical and Electronic Equipment Action Plan (esap). Signatories take collective action to reduce their environmental impact and sign up to contribute to the development and implementation of esap.
Source: WRAP (2017)
Business Ethics Responsible Minerals Initiative member
This company is a member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (formerly the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative), which helps companies address conflict minerals issues in their supply chains. The RMI provides information on conflict-free smelters and refiners, common tools to gather sourcing information, and forums for exchanging best practices on addressing conflict minerals. Membership is open to companies that use or transact in tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold (3TG). Founded in 2008 by members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
Source: RMI (2019)
Environment C+ in Guide to Greener Electronics
This company received a grade of C+ in the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics (Oct 2017), which assesses companies from the electronics industry across three impact areas: energy use, resource consumption, and chemical elimination. Of the 17 companies ranked, this company came third.
Source: Greenpeace (2017)
Social Cobalt battery supply chain
A 2017 report by Amnesty International, 'Time to Recharge' ranks major electronics and car companies on how much they have improved their cobalt sourcing practices since January 2016. The report found that while a handful of companies have made progress, many are still not doing enough to stop human rights abuses entering their cobalt supply chains, even though their products could be linked to child labour in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This company was rated 'moderate action taken'.
Source: Amnesty Intl (2017)
Social 27.2% in Human Rights Benchmark
The 2022 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 127 companies in the food and agriculture, ICT and automotive manufacturing sectors on their human rights performance. This company received a score of 27.2%. The overall average score was a disappointing 17.3% and the highest score was 50.3%.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2022)
Social Modern Slavery statement
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: company website (2017)
Social BHRRC company profile
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre digital platform presents news and allegations relating to the human rights impact of over 20,000 companies. Their enhanced Company Dashboards also include financial information, key data points based on corporate policies, and scores from prominent civil society benchmarks. Follow the link and use the search function to view this company's dashboard.
Source: BHRRC (2022)
Business Ethics OpenSecrets.org profile
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.
Source: Open Secrets (2020)
Dell Technologies Inc
Environment CDP Climate Change Score of A-
In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of A-.
Source: CDP (2022)
Environment CDP Climate Change Score of A-
In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of A-.
Source: CDP (2022)
Business Ethics 66.1/125 at JUST Capital
JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2023 rankings JUST Capital asked a representative sample of 3,002 Americans to compare 20 different business Issues on a head-to-head basis, producing a reliable hierarchy of Issues ranked in order of priority. Issues are organised under the headings Workers, Customers, Communities, the Environment, or Shareholders & Governance. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 99th of 951 companies, and 8th of 63 Software companies.
Source: JUST Capital (2023)
Social CDP Water Security Score of B
In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to manage and govern freshwater resources. Responding companies are scored on six key metrics: transparency; governance & strategy; measuring & monitoring; risk assessment; targets & goals; and value chain engagement. This company received a CDP Water Security Score of B.
Source: CDP (2022)
Social 100% on Corporate Equality Index
This company is listed as having best practice on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Source: Human Rights Campaign (2021)
Social 63/100 in KnowTheChain Benchmark
In 2020/21 KnowTheChain benchmarked over 180 large global companies in the ICT, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear sectors on their efforts to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. This company received a score of 63/100.
Source: KnowTheChain (2021)
Social US defense contracts
This company was among the US Top Defense Contractors derived from the 2019 Washington Technology Top 100 list, based on their 2018 defense contract revenue. Dell was number 32 with a defense revenue of US$$160,906,000.
Source: Washington Technology (2019)
Business Ethics 34/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 34/100 in the Computers & Peripherals and Office Electronics category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 21 Oct 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2022)
Business Ethics CEO Pay Ratio of 39:1
In 2019 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$86,087. The CEO was paid 39 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989. A lower pay ratio could indicate a company is dedicated to creating high-wage jobs and investing in their employees for the company's long-term health.
Source: AFL-CIO (2020)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Private company
Revenue 57 billion USD (2013)
Employees 111,300 (2013)
Subsidiaries Dell Australia Pty Ltd 

Computers

Dell set up its Australian subsidiary in 1993.

Contact Details

Address Round Rock, Texas, USA
Website www.dell.com

Products / Brands

Dell Australia
Alienware Desktop Computers
Alienware Laptops
Alienware Computer monitors
Dell Desktop Computers
Dell Laptops
Dell Tablets
Dell Printers
Dell Computer monitors


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