Approximately 1,200 publicly traded companies filed Conflict Minerals Reports with the SEC this year, in accordance with Dodd-Frank Section 1502 (Conflict Minerals Rule).
Source Intelligence has analyzed data collected from the 2015 filings, and mined meaningful insights for companies to utilize for the 2016 reporting year. Key findings demonstrate differences and similarities between industries, trends from past reporting years, and new findings from 2015.
DENVER, June 22, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Source Intelligence’s supply chain compliance solution was awarded the 2016 “Product of the Year” by the prestigious Environmental Leader organization, officials announced today.
On June 15th, the European Union (EU) agreed on terms for the long-pending conflict minerals regulation. As one of the largest economic bodies in the world, The EU was hard pressed to develop a regulation that would make companies perform due diligence on their supply chains, ensuring that they responsibly source 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold), or conflict minerals.
Global Forest Watch, an initiative of the World Resources Institute (WRI), has recently released a palm oil risk tool that maps deforestation risk for palm oil mills worldwide. ThePALM Risk Tool (Prioritizing Areas, Landscapes and Mills) assigns a risk rating to approximately 800 palm oil mills. Satellite data is used to identify deforested and fire treated areas.
On Wednesday, June 15th, The European Union (EU) agreed to outline a deal to facilitate a focus on transparency in the supply chain. This legislation concerns the sourcing of conflict minerals, not just in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but from high-risk regions, worldwide.
"We need to step up to our responsibilities and finally break the vicious cycle of the trade in minerals and the financing of conflict," - EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom
The EU is one of the world’s largest trading bodies, accounting for 16.5% of the world's imports and exports. The EU has become a centralized market for products that contain conflict minerals. Conflict minerals are key components of products like jewelry, cars, phones, laptops and medical devices.
On March 1st, 2016, The University of Edinburgh adopted a policy aimed at cutting conflict minerals from their supply chain. Edinburgh has become the first university in the UK to develop a program aimed at mitigating the risk of conflict minerals in their supply chain.
Source Intelligence recently interviewed Liz Cooper, Research and Policy Manager, Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability for the University of Edinburgh to gain some more insight into the development of their conflict minerals program:
Trialogue negotiations for the EU conflict minerals regulation continued on May 11th. Members of the EU Council, EU Commission and the EU Parliament met in Strasbourg, France to further discuss the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation. While the three parties continued to negotiate over mandatory vs.
A conflict minerals legislation has been in the works for the European Union since 2014. There have been many updates since then, but there are still some fundamental differences that need to be worked out.
Currently, The European Union does not have a law regarding conflict minerals trade transparency. Why is this an important issue for Europe to take a stance against these minerals? Well here are some key facts about the status of conflict minerals as stated by an article by Business & Human Rights:
