Despite their best efforts to date, the world's biggest technology manufacturers have been unable to keep conflict minerals out of their electronic devices, according to a new report.
Produced by the Enough Project, an advocacy group focused on Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the report ranks 21 major technology firms on how they trace the source of four key minerals used in devices such as smart phones and computers: tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. The minerals are also the subject of the Dodd-Frank Act, a U.S. law expected to go into effect next year that contains a clause regulating the use of minerals that help finance brutal wars in Africa.
The report, made available to The Globe and Mail prior to its public release, comes as calls mount for a conflict-minerals law to be enacted in Canada. Liberal MP Joyce Murray became the third federal politician in three months to demand action, after she tabled a motion that would require the government to, among other things, force electronics companies to make their supply chains transparent and assign an independent body to ensure products are conflict-free.
The Enough Project survey ranked companies based on criteria such as the way they trace and audit their supply of minerals, and their support for legislation on the issue. Hewlett-Packard Co. ranked first, followed by Intel Corp. and Motorola Inc.
But as a whole, the industry is in bad shape, according to the results. Even top-ranking HP is less than 35 per cent of the way toward responsible sourcing of conflict minerals, the Enough Project says. Companies such as Research In Motion Ltd. and Apple Inc. are less than 15-per-cent compliant with the survey's criteria, and four companies score a zero.
Enough Project's research director, David Sullivan, said the electronics industry still has a way to go before achieving anything remotely close to "conflict-free" devices.
But he stressed that the firms, after significant pressure from advocacy groups and consumers, have made real progress on concrete measures to ensure due diligence in complicated international supply chains. This punctures the idea that the situation in the Congo was simply too chaotic for any sort of monitoring or ethical mining, Mr. Sullivan added.
"These are significant steps, which show that it's not impossible," he said. "It's important that the forward-leaning companies, folks like HP and Intel and Motorola, are demonstrating that this is all possible - not easy, but it is possible."
The top-tier companies on the Enough Project list all received points for working with industry groups such as the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and for visiting the smelters from which they purchase material. Some firms, such as RIM, were also commended for publicly supporting legislation aimed at limiting the conflict-minerals trade.
"Being based in Canada and having been active on U.S. legislation, RIM is also well-positioned to support recent Canadian legislation on conflict minerals," the report states.
The Enough Project ranking is especially important because of the disconnect between where conflict minerals are mined and where the finished product is sold to consumers. Simply put, there are very few resources available to consumers who want to know how much effort technology manufacturers are putting into ensuring an ethical supply chain.
Earlier this year, New Democratic MP Paul Dewar introduced a bill that attempts to tackle the conflict mining trade, although it's still a long way from being voted into law or implemented. Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj also previously said he plans to introduce a private member's bill that would make it a criminal offence in Canada to use minerals that originate in conflict mines.