Responsible Materials

Sourcing of materials beyond conflict minerals

For several years publicly traded companies have been required to report annually to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whether the products that they manufacture, or contract to be manufactured, contain "conflict minerals". These minerals, such as tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold, which are used in numerous automotive components with various applications. This requirement is intended to increase supply chain transparency of minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, adjoining countries, and other high-risk regions shown to fund armed groups violating human rights. Subsequently, reporting mandates have been issued to suppliers, publicly-traded and privately-held companies, to gain greater supply chain transparency.

Recent European and Chinese regulatory influence on the auto industries reporting of tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold (“3TG”), and other minerals, such as cobalt and mica, lithium, etc. may necessitate additional support in the future to assess all global regions of conflict.

Want to know which materials are being considered for increased action? Click here for a free download of the Material Change Report, compiled and analyzed by the Drive Sustainability (DS), Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), and the Dragonfly Initiative.

To proactively address these issues within the supply chain, the AIAG Conflict Minerals Work Group (CMWG) has recently expanded its scope to focus on the responsible sourcing of materials beyond conflict minerals. They have renamed their work group the Responsible Materials Work Group (RMWG). While not legislated, responsible sourcing of raw materials has gained the attention of media, external stakeholders, and auto companies themselves. By taking action and sharing lessons learned, we can help the entire industry meet these responsibilities effectively and efficiently.

Guides & Resources

Conflict Minerals tools for everyone, whether you are new to the issue or working in the field.

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Informational Modules

Free web training videos designed to provide support and training for conflict mineral reporters.

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Free Help Resources

For companies that have mineral sourcing in their supply chains and would like to meet the reporting expectations of stakeholders that go beyond regulatory compliance, GRI and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI)’s toolkit “Advancing Reporting on Responsible Minerals Sourcing” will provide helpful guidance.

The toolkit is based on current regulation, international instruments such as relevant OECD guidance documents, the GRI standards, reporting templates such as the RMI’s Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) or the Cobalt Reporting Template (CRT), as well as suggestions made by participants in the GRI-RMI Corporate Leadership Group meetings.