Company Name and page strapline

The issue
‘Conflict minerals’ is the term given to minerals that are mined in conflict regions. This generally refers to minerals from mines controlled by armed groups in the war torn eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The sale of conflict minerals from these areas is used to fund rebel armies, fuelling conflict and human rights abuses.

Conflict minerals include:

• Columbite-tantalite (coltan), refined to produce tantalum
• Cassiterite, refined to produce tin
• Wolframite, refined to produce tungsten
• Gold.

A number of NGO campaigns have targeted the ICT industry on the issue of conflict minerals, including Make IT Fair, The Enough Project and Global Witness. ICT is one of several industries using metals from these minerals, which are used in components for a wide range of products from mobile phones and computers to vehicle airbags, airplane engines and hearing aids. Around 60% of tantalum supplies are used in electronics and an estimated 15–20% of the global supply comes from mines in the DRC.

It is currently very difficult to be certain that products do not contain conflict minerals due to the complexity of the ICT supply chain. We do not buy these minerals or metals directly and there are typically between four and eight layers of suppliers between us and the smelters and mines that provide them.

Our approach
Mining activities that fuel conflict are unacceptable. We are working with our direct suppliers to ensure conflict minerals do not end up in our products. To tackle this industry-wide issue, we are taking an active part in initiatives to improve the overall traceability of the ICT supply chain led by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC).

For a number of years, we have made an annual request to the manufacturers of Vodafone-branded devices for details of products containing tantalum. We ask for information on the metal’s origin and seek assurances from manufacturers that they are taking all necessary steps to ensure it does not come from conflict regions.

We are taking a number of steps to strengthen our approach. Our Environmental Principles for handset suppliers include a requirement to demonstrate progress in developing systems to track and disclose the sources of all four conflict minerals listed above.

Vodafone and suppliers of Vodafone-branded devices also participated in a due diligence pilot developed by GeSI/EICC to allow companies to track minerals used in their products back to the smelter (see below). We continue to work with these suppliers to trace any tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold from the products through the supply chain to the smelter.

Responding to legislation
Developing a common industry approach supports efforts to meet US legislation – the Dodd Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act 2010 – that requires companies trading on the US stock exchange to disclose whether their products contain conflict minerals.

While we support the legislation and are optimistic that it will improve supply chain transparency, we recognise that its timing presents a challenge because in-region sourcing programmes may not be fully operational in time for companies to report on the conflict-free status of their products.

We recognise that cutting off legitimate mines as well as those funding armed groups could have an impact on livelihoods and development in the region. To reduce this risk, the GeSI/EICC Extractives Working Group is working to accelerate the development of in-region sourcing programmes.