Dell, HP, Intel & Motorola Aim to Ensure Mineral Supply Chains Are Conflict-Free

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By Tod Arbogast, Director of Sustainable
Business, Dell

Judy Glazer, Director of Global Social and
Environmental Responsibility Operations, HP

Gary Niekerk, Director of Global Citizenship,
Intel

Mike Loch, Director of Supplier Corporate Responsibility, Motorola

You may have
recently read about the atrocities occurring in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC).  The DRC holds vast sources
of minerals; unfortunately, some of the profits derived from extracting these
minerals are linked to groups reported to be committing serious human
rights violations
.

Minerals such
as tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold, used in numerous industries including aerospace,
automotive, electronics and jewelry, are extracted in the DRC, among other
locations. In the electronics industry, the mining of these minerals takes
place many layers before a final product is assembled, making it difficult, if
not impossible, to trace the minerals' origins.

As the
electronic products our companies manufacture do contain these materials, and
some of them could potentially originate from conflict regions of the DRC, Dell,
HP, Intel and Motorola are jointly hosting a multi-industry forum to help develop
transparency, accountability and assurance mechanisms in the supply chain of
extracted metals.

This forum, set for Tuesday, Oct. 20 at the BSR conference in San Francisco, aims to
help us learn from those who've made this journey before and established certification
processes for their suppliers.  We will
hear from those mapping their supply chain down to the mines, and from mining
and smelting operations that are conducting business in a socially and
environmentally responsible manner. We hope this forum will help determine what
actions we need to take to move forward on this important issue.

We already expect our suppliers, wherever they operate, to
meet our standards for socially and environmentally responsible operations. That
said, ensuring that our supply chain does not contribute to human rights
violations in the DRC, or any other country, requires cooperation and commitment within every layer
of the supply base.

If you're a decision maker in a company whose products
contain these minerals, or if you have influence in the area of corporate
responsibility in your corporation, we encourage you to join us in this
important discussion at BSR. 

Finding a solution will require a force larger than any one
company or industry, and we invite you to participate. 

Please
confirm your attendance with Stephanie Nelson.

About the Author: Tod Arbogast

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