“It takes a lot to snap people out of apathy about Africa’s problems. But in the wake of Live Aid and Save Darfur, a new cause stands on the cusp of going mainstream. It’s the push to make major electronics companies (manufacturers of cell phones, laptops, portable music players, and cameras) disclose whether they use “conflict minerals”—the rare metals that finance civil wars and militia atrocities, most notably in Congo.”What I found most interesting about the story, however, was a throwaway line heralding the topical nature of the campaign:
“… new rules requiring American-listed companies to improve their supply-chain transparency are folded into the financial-reform bill that passed Congress this week.”A little searching on the web led me to this industry association blog entry (http://blog.ipc.org/2010/06/28/1061/ on the IPC website, which carries the tag line: Association Connecting Electronics Industries) complaining about the “heavy-handed legislation.” I thought the blog’s summary of the requirements in the legislation (plus comments) was worth quoting at length:
“Once passed by the Senate and House and signed by the president, the legislation will require companies whose manufactured goods contain tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold to:While claiming that:
• Report annually to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) if the minerals did originate from the Congo or adjoining countries. It is unclear what the obligation will be for companies who cannot determine from where the minerals originated.
• Submit a due diligence plan with the company’s annual SEC report that includes:
a. A description of the measures taken by the company to prevent sourcing from the Congo;
b. A description of the products manufactured or contracted to be manufactured that are not conflict free, the facilities used to process the conflict minerals, the country of origin of the conflict minerals, and the efforts to determine the mine or location of origin;
c. An independent third party audit of the company’s due diligence plan; and
d. A certification by the company of its due diligence report (there is no definition of “certify” included in the language so that obligation is vague).”
“For the past several years, industry groups, including Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), the Global eSustainability Initiative (GeSI), the International Tin Research Institute (ITRI) Tin Supply Chain Initiative (iTSCi) and the IPC Solder Product Value Council (SPVC), have been working to provide transparency and accountability concerning the supply of raw materials coming from the conflict zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).”the blog entry predicts the new legislation will likely result in:
“… total industry divestment from the DRC and adjacent countries — removing an important legitimate source of income in the resource-poor region in addition to clamping down on illegitimate mines.”Although the IPC clearly has an interest in this issue, because it represents firms in the electronics industry, they post more information about conflict minerals in consumer electronics goods at: http://www.ipc.org/minerals
There is also more information available from the NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/opinion/27kristof.html) and a quick Google search for ["conflict minerals" Dodd-Frank] produces a great deal more information.
Take care
David
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment (2e)
© Sage Publications, 2011
http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr2e/
Instructor Teaching Site: http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: http://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/
The Genocide Behind Your Smart Phone
Our biggest gadget makers—including HP and Apple—may inadvertently get their raw ingredients from murderous Congolese militias. A new movement wants them to trace rare metals from ‘conflict mines.’
By Alan Mascarenhas
NEWSWEEK
Published July 16, 2010
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/16/the-genocide-behind-your-smart-phone.html
