Intel Global Human Rights Principles and Approach

Effective February 2009; last updated December 2023

Diversity and Non-discrimination

Intel values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, belief, political opinion, sex, national origin, ethnic origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by local law, regulation, or ordinance. We provide equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants. Intel employees are expected to treat co-workers, customers, and suppliers with dignity. 

Anti-harassment

Intel is committed to providing a workplace free of all forms of harassment on any grounds. We do not tolerate retaliation, including against anyone who reports a concern in good faith.

Workplace Safety

Our commitment to a safe and healthy workplace is embodied in Intel’s Global Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Policy. Intel is committed to providing a safe and injury-free workplace for all our employees, contractors, customers, and the public. We are constantly assessing and improving our EHS programs and training to increase our focus on prevention, early intervention, and safety culture. We comply with all applicable regulatory and Intel EHS requirements wherever we operate. We proactively engage with stakeholders to develop laws, regulations, and innovative programs that provide safeguards for the community, the workplace, and the environment, while allowing flexibility to advance our technologies. 

Prohibition of Forced Labor, All Forms of Slavery and Human Trafficking

Intel is committed to freely chosen employment. We will not use or tolerate the use of forced, debt bonded, indentured or prison labor, or human trafficking in any form in our business or supply chain. We will act against such practices if identified. Intel expects its suppliers to comply with these standards. For more information, please refer to the Intel Statement on Combating Modern Slavery and ensuring transparent supply chains.

Child Labor

Intel will not use or tolerate the use of child labor. Intel will not employ anyone under the age of 16 in any position, and workers under the age of 18 do not perform hazardous work, overtime, or nightshift work. Intel expects its suppliers to comply with these standards.

Working Hours and Minimum Wage Standards

Working hours are not to exceed the maximum set by local law or no more than 60 hours per week, whichever is stricter. Workers should not work longer than 6 consecutive days without at least one day off. Intel expects employee compensation to comply with applicable wage laws, including those related to minimum wages, overtime hours, and legally mandated benefits. Intel expects its suppliers to comply with these expectations.

Freedom of Association/Collective Bargaining

Intel recognizes that in many of the locations where we operate, employees have the right to freely associate or not associate with third-party organizations, such as labor organizations, along with the right to bargain or not bargain collectively in accordance with local laws. Intel respects those rights and is further committed to treating our employees with dignity and respect, and creating an environment of open communication where employees can speak with their managers about their ideas, concerns or problems, and team together to address workplace issues. We encourage our employees to share their ideas, concerns, or suggestions through an environment of cooperation and teamwork.

Product Responsibility

While we do not always know nor can we control what products our customers create or the applications end-users may develop, Intel does not support or tolerate our products being used to adversely impact human rights. We evaluate potential concerns and implement a “High Confidence Standard” to prevent and mitigate product misuse. Where we become aware of a concern that Intel products are being used by a business partner in connection with abuses of human rights, we will restrict or cease business with the third party unless and until we have a high confidence that Intel's products are not being used to adversely impact human rights.

Responsible Development of Technology

Intel has long recognized the ethical and human rights implications associated with the development of technology. With the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, we remain committed to evolving best methods, principles, and tools to ensure responsible practices in our product use, design, and development. For more information, see our Responsible AI Principles.

Privacy and Freedom of Expression

Intel is committed to the right of privacy and freedom of expression. We seek to protect against unauthorized access, use, destruction, modification, or disclosure of personal information and data as outlined in Intel’s privacy policy. Intel’s policy is to not design functionality into any of our products that would enable others to compromise the security of our technologies in ways that could be used to infringe on privacy or limit the freedom of expression.

Environmental Stewardship

We respect the human right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability is embodied in Intel’s Global Environmental Health and Safety Policy, Global Water Policy, Climate Change Policy, and in the Code of Conduct. We support a precautionary approach to the materials used in our products and strive to be a global leader in sustainability and environmental protection to enable our customers and others to reduce their environmental impact through our actions and technology. We strive to reduce our environmental footprint and adhere to our environmental policies (climate, water, energy), RISE goals, and conserve energy, water, and other natural resources. Our commitment to respect the human right to water is included in Intel's Water Policy. We believe that climate change is a serious environmental, economic, and social threat and strive to integrate a human rights respecting lens in our efforts to address climate change.

Supplier Responsibility

Intel expects our suppliers to maintain responsible employment, environmental, health and safety, and ethics practices that meet or exceed all applicable laws and relevant external codes such as the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) code of conduct, Intel’s code of conduct, and these Human Rights Principles and Approach wherever they operate. Intel’s Responsible Sourcing Minerals Policy articulates our commitment to sourcing in an ethical and sustainable manner. We expect our suppliers to have in place policies and due diligence measures to prevent risks of adverse impacts in their operations and supply chains. Our supplier.intel.com website sets down our expectations.

Fair Competition and Anti-corruption

At Intel, we strictly adhere to all applicable laws and regulations in the markets in which we operate. We do not violate the law and do not support others in violating the law, including laws related to antitrust, bribery, corruption, insider trading, and other laws that apply to our business.

Since 2016, we have regularly engaged with third parties who specialize in human rights to conduct human rights impact assessments (HRIAs), review our processes, and validate our human rights risks across the enterprise. The output of this work is Intel’s Human Rights Saliency Matrix. HRIAs are part of our due diligence process to help identify potential impacts. They involve internal cross-functional stakeholders as well as external stakeholders from governments, NGOs, peer companies, and investors. Our human rights risk analysis is publicly available and widely communicated internally to provide visibility across relevant employees and decision makers. To date, our HRIAs have confirmed that, through our policies and practices, we address our most salient human rights risks while reaffirming our need to continue assessing emerging risks to rightsholders in a dynamic global environment.

Human Rights Due Diligence

We conduct human rights due diligence in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, to identify, assess, prevent, and mitigate adverse human rights impacts associated with our operations, supply chain, and business relationships, and at customer or product level.

We recognize that our commitment to respect human rights is a continuous process that will require us to regularly engage with all stakeholders to whom we need to listen and from whom we need to learn. We meet with internal and external stakeholders and experts to inform and evolve our human rights policies and oversight processes.

We recognize that some people may be at greater risk of adverse human rights impacts due to their vulnerability or marginalization, such as, women, children, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, and human rights defenders. 

Grievance Mechanism

We have formal grievance processes to enable anyone to report ethics, human rights compliance or safety concerns through our portal, the Intel Integrity Line. Amongst other channels to voice a grievance, our integrity line is hosted by a third-party and allows anonymous reporting where permitted by law. We promptly review allegations and do not tolerate retaliation against anyone who reports a concern in good faith and incorporate the learnings into our practice.

Remediation

Where we identify that we have caused or contributed to an adverse human rights impact, we are committed to providing for, or cooperating in, appropriate remediation through legitimate processes. Where we identify that our operations, products, or services are directly linked to an adverse human rights impact, we are committed to working with our business relationships and suppliers to drive best practices.

Human Rights Governance

We have established an integrated approach to ensuring respect for human rights that is embedded across our business, including board-level oversight and the involvement of senior-level Management Review Committees. The Human Rights program is managed by the Corporate Responsibility Office and directed by a cross-Intel Human Rights Steering Committee, a global team that develops and implements policies and actions related to our human rights risks across all aspects of the business. The Intel Board of Directors’ Corporate Governance and Nominating (CGN) Committee has primary responsibility for oversight of corporate responsibility—including human rights issues—at Intel. Management provides formal updates to the CGN Committee at least twice each year and at least annually to the full Board on the company's corporate responsibility performance and disclosure. 

Transparency and Reporting 

Intel publicly and transparently reports on corporate support of and performance on human rights. Intel publishes its annual Corporate Responsibility (CSR) Report and data. 

Training

The Intel Code of Conduct directs employees to consider both short-term and long-term impacts on human rights when making business decisions and to report potential issues as soon as they are identified. All employees are expected to complete training on the Code of Conduct when they join the company and annually thereafter. We offer a holistic human rights training course for employees to help raise their awareness about Intel's initiatives and ways they can act in their roles to advance our human rights strategy. This training is in addition to role-specific training that employees with direct responsibility for supply chain management, for example, receive with respect to mitigating Human Rights risks within our supply chain.