Conflict minerals is an important topic we are closely following for a couple of years now as we have been supporting many campaigns and initiatives. Yesterday The Enough Project hosted an activist call to discuss their latest rankings and ways consumers can take action and we of course joined the online discussion.
The Enough Project’s 2017 conflict minerals company rankings examine 20 of the largest companies, as defined by market capitalization, in two of the industries which consume the most tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold: consumer electronics and jewelry retail. Although a range of industries use these minerals—often referred to as conflict minerals or 3TG—Enough chose to rank these two industries in particular because they have demonstrated the potential to be catalytic in the development of new policies and practices regarding responsible sourcing, and they are also particularly attuned to consumer pressure. These latest rankings acknowledge the steady advances that have been made since Enough conducted its first company rankings in 2010 and expose the considerable and urgent need for more action.
You can download the full report here. Note that it’s also available in French here.
Apple Inc. emerged as the clear leader, scoring 114 out of a possible 120 points, plus an additional eight points in extra credit. Although even a perfect score would not mean a company has no more work to do, Apple’s consistent fulfillment of the rankings criteria indicates the company has committed substantial resources to developing processes for sourcing minerals from mines that benefit Congolese communities. Alphabet Inc., Google LLC’s parent company, 3 ranks second overall, even though the company was not included in Enough’s 2012 rankings 4 because at the time they were not manufacturing consumer products containing 3TG minerals. HP Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Intel Corp. round out the top five companies with scores ranging from 72.5-76 points. After that group, the electronics companies take a steep dive, with the next closest company, Panasonic Corp., only scoring 42.5 points and the lowest ranked electronics company, Toshiba Corp., at nine points. And while Signet Jewelers Limited and Tiffany & Co. lead the pack in the jewelry retail industry with 66.5 and 60 points respectively, companies from this industry generally lag far behind, with the remaining eight jewelry retailers scoring between zero and 20 points.
As consumers we have a critical role to play and the organization invites you to take action by contacting the ranked companies directly and send them a letter. You can also tweet using #DemandtheSupply.
