Cutting DRC From Your Company’s Supply Chain: Not Smart

In an article published by MetalMiner, an expert on conflict minerals argues that ‘leaving the DRC now to make conflict minerals compliance cheaper and simpler will only double your company’s trouble’. Brad Brookes Rubin argues that a number of positive and potentially game-changing efforts are underway on the ground to develop conflict-free supply chains (such as the iTSCi programme) and that achieving the goal of the conflict minerals law depends in large part on their success. He also notes that long-term and sustainable solutions rest on the implementation of approaches that prioritize economically viable sustainable development; an opinion now taking hold with advocates like the Enough Project and Global Witness who helped make the conflict minerals law and continue to monitor its implementation. The “corporate rankings” developed by Enough now contain many criteria emphasizing the need for companies to keep their supply chains engaged in the region. The first “main gap” identified is “Ensuring that ‘conflict free’ is not ‘Congo Free.'” Global Witness recently made similar recommendations. These are the same advocates whose analysis will likely form an important element of the public response to SEC reports submitted by companies and the more they see companies whose supply chains were simply redirected away from the DRC and Africa as a whole, the more they will likely point to those companies as not living up to the spirit of the law, as abandoning Congo, and as worthy of criticism from the media and from consumers. Read more here.