Apple...has agreed to a jointly monitored audit of pollution controls at one of its supplier's factories in China, a move considered by environmental activists as a breakthrough in their efforts to persuade Apple to address environmental issues. A manufacturer of Apple's printed circuit boards will be inspected by auditors in the next few weeks. The audit will be jointly monitored by Apple and China's Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a non-government organization...Apple has held lengthy talks with the IPE in recent months, and last month the Cupertino-based company voiced support for a report issued by the Fair Labor Association which suggested improving working conditions in Foxconn's three factories on the Chinese mainland...IPE's director Ma Jun said that Apple had a change of heart two weeks after the organization released a second report in September 2011 which mentioned that pollution was becoming an increasing problem in Apple's supply chain.