After five months of silence, Apple Inc. responded to reports in January by several Chinese environmental organizations detailing pollution problems with its suppliers, saying the company would work with the groups to investigate and resolve the matter.

An Apple vice president in charge of sustainable development wrote in an email to a Chinese environmental NGO that the company would look into the environmental protection record of its suppliers and establish a communication platform to coordinate with the environmental groups to solve the problem.

Although the details of the project remain a question mark, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, is optimistic.

Ma said American non-profits such as the Natural Resources Defense Council will also join in the pollution prevention efforts.

On Jan. 20, several Chinese environmental organizations, including Friends of Nature and the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, published a report raising a number of environmental concerns about Apple's supply chain.

China's business press carried the story above on Thursday.