Roundtable on Conflict Minerals with the Securities and Exchange Commission

On October 18, 2011, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission hosted a roundtable on the regulations surrounding conflict minerals within the Dodd-Frank Act.

The SEC Commissioners heard representatives from several companies working to derail the regulations and to promote keeping business 'as usual'. Earlier in the week, companies such as Canon and Panasonic went as far as removing posts made on Facebook urging the companies to support the Act.

Thanks to NGOs such as Enough Project, the other side of the story was presented. Companies were encouraged to pay a greater attention to their supply chains and were shown it is not unreasonable to trace and audit supply chains within conflict areas. To date, initial industry reactions were that this was impossible, too costly, etc.

View the complete webcast of the Conflict Minerals Roundtable

The SEC has indicated that they will release the final conflict minerals regulations in December.

NGO group Global Witness believe that initial activities taken by industry have significantly lack credibility as they do not include third-party audits or 'teeth'.

View a presentation by Mike Davis, Global Witness on Conflict Minerals

We'll be watching the following companies who will be reacting to the SEC's final decision on the regulations:

• Dell
• Acer
• Panasonic
• Canon
• Research in Motion (RIM)
• Best Buy
• ACER
• Adobe
• APPLE
• HP
• Intel
• Kodak
• LG
• Microsoft
• Target
• Honda
• Verizon
• Tiffany & Co.
• Kraft
• IBM
• Philips
• Samsung
• Sony

An independently audited certification process for conflict minerals such as those from eastern Congo will help legitimize the trade in tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold. We need to help stop these minerals from fueling rape and instability.