“We are being given a chance to test the practicality of guidelines that may be required by our customers,” says Bruce Moloznik, vice president of Global Marketing with Alpha. “It’s important that we take this proactive approach to make sure the guidelines are practical and can be implemented from a commercial perspective.”
Recently endorsed by the U. S. State Department, The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas provides recommendations for global responsible supply chains of minerals to help companies to respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral or metal purchasing decisions and practices. Because it is anticipated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may base regulatory compliance with the Dodd-Frank conflict minerals laws on the OECD guidance, participation in the pilot evaluation program is vitally important to the electronics manufacturing industry.
Bhawnesh Mathur, CEO, Epic Technologies agrees, “We appreciate the opportunity to help define appropriate due diligence steps while at the same time reviewing our own compliance program.”
The pilot study of the OECD due diligence guidance will run for one year and is scheduled to be completed in June 2012.