Better Health for All

Optical Cable Corporation (OCC) manufactures fiber optic and copper data communication cabling and connectivity solutions.

While the company offers a 'Limited Axcess solution for healthcare applications' that provides secure and segmented cabling systems in hospitals and clinics, its core products are not directly health-related. Therefore, the company's products and services are considered to have no significant positive or negative direct health impact. There is no evidence of revenue from products with negative health outcomes, nor any data on user harm, recalls, or adverse events related to health. The company does not offer health-related products or services requiring accessibility considerations, nor does its business model involve serving vulnerable populations with health needs or engaging in preventative health or treatment activities. There is no information regarding R&D or capital allocation aimed at improving health outcomes, health externalities, health equity programs, healthcare workforce support, global health crisis response, mental health initiatives, or health education. The company does not collect or manage health-related data, hold healthcare-related patents, produce food or nutritional products, conduct clinical trials, or have products with addiction potential.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

The EEOC found that women were disproportionately placed in lower-paying positions and alleged widespread sex and race discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotion, and wages.

The EEOC issued a Letter of Determination on March 31, 1999, stating there was reasonable cause to believe the company had engaged in systematic race and sex discrimination. Between June 1983 and July 1994, the company hired over 164 workers, none of whom were black. The first black employee, Douglas Bonds, hired in July 1996, worked for only 18 days before discharge and filed a race discrimination charge with the EEOC on October 1, 1996. The EEOC filed suit against the company on September 27, 2000. The company's overall employee rating on Glassdoor is 3.3 out of 5 stars, and the compensation and benefits rating is 2.9 out of 5 stars, which has decreased by 5% over the last 12 months. The employee recommendation rate is 52%. Douglas Bonds, the first black employee, worked for only 18 days prior to his discharge.

Honest & Fair Business

OCC has a formal Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, adopted in 2004 and last amended in 2013.

This code includes a procedure for confidential, anonymous submissions regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters or fraud, and explicitly prohibits retaliation. The code also addresses anti-corruption, prohibiting payments to government officials and mentioning compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other US government regulations regarding business gratuities. However, there is no information on the frequency or effectiveness metrics of training for this policy. Additionally, the company holds ISO 9001:2015 and MIL-STD-790G certifications at some facilities, but no further details on the extent of independent verification of ethical claims or overall compliance are provided.

No War, No Weapons

Optical Cable Corporation (OCC) manufactures products for both civilian and military applications, including fiber optic cable reels identified as dual-use technology.

The company's products are used in commercial, enterprise, and military contexts, and it produces commercial-grade versions of cylindrical connectors alongside military-grade ones. OCC's facilities are MIL-STD-790F/G certified by the U.S. Department of Defense, and it is a qualified supplier of ground tactical fiber optic cable to the U.S. and U.K. militaries. The company's military markets showed strength in Q2 2025. Regarding conflict minerals, OCC's products contain 3TG minerals. While OCC does not make direct purchases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or its adjoining countries, some suppliers reported that minerals in their products may have originated there, or they were unable to specify the origin. OCC does not have sufficient information to determine if these minerals financed armed groups in the region. OCC conducted a country of origin inquiry by surveying suppliers of parts likely to contain 3TG minerals, and files Form SD with the SEC regarding conflict minerals.

Planet-Friendly Business

OCC does not report any carbon emissions data, reduction targets, or climate pledges, nor does it participate in tracked reduction initiatives.

No data is available for key planet-friendly business performance indicators such as renewable energy use, water use, waste diversion, or environmental impact assessments. While OCC certifies compliance with REACH and RoHS2 regulations, identifying specific substances of very high concern (SVHCs) in some fiber optic cable components in amounts potentially greater than 0.1% (w/w), this information does not map to any of the specific KPIs in the rubric.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The provided articles do not contain specific, quantifiable data points for any of the KPIs related to 'Respect for Cultures & Communities'. While the company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, last amended in December 2022,

states a commitment to respecting cultural, social, political, and legal diversity, complying with internationally proclaimed human rights, and opposing forced labor, child labor, slavery, and human trafficking, these are general policy statements and pledges rather than concrete evidence of actions or outcomes that can be scored against the rubric's quantitative thresholds. Similarly, the mention of employee activity on behalf of philanthropic organizations is not a quantifiable measure of company-level charitable giving to cultural heritage organizations. No specific data was found for formal partnerships, revenue reinvested locally, cultural appropriation incidents, cultural impact assessment protocols, local employment ratios, community grievance mechanisms, complaint resolution times, FPIC participation, community governance inclusion, cultural preservation investment, local procurement share, indigenous supplier count, cultural site protection, social license operations, community fund allocation, language inclusivity, cultural incident response, or cultural training completion.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

OCC's harsh environment connectors are designed with an IP-68 rating for durability and can be easily cleaned and re-used if contaminated, indicating some circular design considerations in specific product lines.

However, the company's stated commitment to 'green' manufacturing techniques and being 'conscious of our carbon footprint' lacks specific, measurable waste reduction initiatives. Regarding hazardous waste, OCC certifies its Fiber Optic Cables (FOC) comply with RoHS2 and RoHS3 Directives. Yet, as of June 2023, some FOCs contain declarable amounts (potentially greater than 0.1% w/w) of several Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) such as UV-328, Dodecachloropentacyclo, bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate, Melamine, Barium diboron tetraoxide, and Diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide in certain outer jackets or buffers. OCC products are generally built to last, and while connectors can be re-used, the average repair cost is stated as $325 per cable end.