Companies falling short on minerals reporting, say campaigners

The majority of companies that have to file reports to the US financial regulator on their use of minerals mined in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo fail to fully comply with the reporting requirements, according to two campaign groups.

Global Witness and Amnesty International estimated that four out of five companies are falling short of the combined reporting requirements of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

However, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and Tiffany & Co were among the companies that fully complied with the filing obligations.

Global Witness and Amnesty International analysed filings submitted to the SEC by 100 companies in 2014 - the year the reporting requirements came into effect. More than 1,000 companies are supposed to comply with the filing obligations.

Only 21 companies from the two groups' sample fulfilled the combined reporting requirements of the SEC and the OECD.

"It … means that consumers cannot have confidence that adequate measures have been taken by the majority of companies to properly understand their supply chains and the risk of contributing to conflict and human rights abuses," the report by Global Witness and Amnesty International said.

Under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, certain listed companies must audit their supply chains to determine if minerals from the DRC and adjoining countries are used in their products, and file reports with the SEC.

The companies' findings have to be made public in order to make consumers aware of the origins of their products. Minerals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold are used in consumer products including laptops, mobile phones and cars.<

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The Dodd-Frank Act, which overhauled Wall Street regulation, also contains consumer protection provisions following concerns that the trade in minerals from the DRC was helping to fuel violent conflict by financing armed groups in the country.

Global Witness and Amnesty International found that 85 of the companies whose filings were analysed had not contacted the smelters or refiners that processed their minerals. Only 16 companies said they knew which country their minerals came from.

The two groups said that while some companies' filings showed that "real progress" had been made towards sourcing conflict-free minerals, few contained enough information about risk assessment. There were also instances of insufficient detail about the steps companies were taking to source minerals responsibly.

In recent years, some companies have put more emphasis on sustainability and corporate responsibility.

In a supplier responsibility report published in February, Apple said it had drastically reduced the volume of conflict minerals used to make components in its devices.

The EU parliament is due to vote next month on new voluntary rules to prevent European companies importing conflict minerals.

The rules would require smelters and refiners to be EU-certified as responsible importers, and would keep the system voluntary for the rest of the supply chain.

Non-governmental organisations including Global Witness have said the current proposals are "ineffective", and called for responsible sourcing to be made a legal requirement for all companies placing conflict minerals in the EU market.

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