When will companies have to file the information?
If companies determine that they do need to file a Conflict Mineral Report, the law says that companies will need to file their report on information gathered in the first full fiscal year after the rule is issued. So if a company’s fiscal year is Jan 1st – Dec 31st, the first report they will have to submit will be about fiscal year 2013 and they will submit it in early 2014. Some companies are encouraging the SEC to declare one calendar date when all companies will have to submit. This would make it easier for suppliers who have multiple customers filing to collect and distribute their information just once every year, rather than meet the timing of many different fiscal periods. In a consolidated industry such as the IT sector, it would be easiest for the entire industry to be asking for the information simultaneously. This might even motivate the unresponsive sub-sub-contractors to provide information.
Will companies have to report on 100% of the materials in their products in their first report? Many companies have been pushing for a “phase in” period, while many NGOs have been animatedly opposed. Last March in a House Appropriations Committee Hearing, Chairman Schapiro made reference to there being a phase in period for companies…. for how long, we are all looking for the rule to say.
If you are new to this topic and all of the above sounds overwhelming, do not despair! The electronics and telecommunications industries have already started verifying conflict-free smelters and there are a variety of industry-led and multi-stakeholder efforts underway such as the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Mineral trade, a LinkedIn group, and an update call the first Thursday of every month hosted by the Responsible Sourcing Network. In regards to abiding by the new Conflict Mineral rule, take a lesson from EICC and GeSI, join together with your industry peers and associations to join existing efforts, or implement your own industry-wide accountability and traceability systems.