Conflict Free Minerals ? A Responsibility Beyond Regulation

The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into a law on July 21, 2010, laid down ground rules for dealing with conflict minerals, thereby curbing the funding of armed forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The primary rule was to disclose the origin of minerals sourced (done by due diligence of the entire supply chain) and it applies to all public companies reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The same has been proposed by various governments, to minimize the risks associated with the procurement of these minerals. Major players in the electronics, aerospace, and automobile industries have taken efforts to map their supply chain and curb the use of conflict minerals in their products. Various organizations like RESOLVE, EICC (Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition), GeSI (Global e-Sustainability Initiative), ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) have come forward with initiatives to enable the certification of smelters involved in processing concerned minerals.