Lack of Transparency in the Supply Chain Results in Inconsistent Reporting on Conflict Minerals
- by Terri Hiskey
May 31, 2014 was the official deadline for U.S.-listed companies to disclose use of conflict minerals to the SEC. Of the estimated 6,000 companies that were required to file audits of their tin, gold, tungsten or tantalum in their products, only 1,300 filed reports, and these results have revealed the ongoing challenges that many manufacturers are having complying with this legislation.
An article authored by IDC analyst Heather Ashton,"Conflict Minerals Reporting Passes a Notable Milestone" notes that many leading companies such as Intel, Apple and HP filed their reports ahead of the deadline, but other companies are struggling with trying to trace their supply chain back to raw materials, especially as many non-U.S. based suppliers have no legal requirement to comply with the law since they are not U.S.-listed companies. This has resulted in widely varying levels of reporting from company to company. Check out the full article here. Are your customers experiencing the same pains?
