Overview
'Conflict minerals' refer to four minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the neighboring nations, including Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Congo, Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, and the Central African Republic. These territories are currently controlled by militant groups of insurgents and conquering armies that mine and distribute minerals to secure funds. This practice continues to cause disputes and often results in casualties, human rights violations, and labor exploitation
In July 2010, the U.S. Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which lay the foundation for legal restrictions on conflict minerals. Every company, listed in the U.S securities market, must fairly disclose and annually report the use of conflict minerals to the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) by May 31st. Some Korean companies with obligation are also influenced by this Act, as a supplier to the U.S firms.
Managing the supply chain of conflict minerals
Conflict minerals refer to the four major minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighboring countries. LG Energy Solution has established policies to prevent environmental pollution, human casualties, labor exploitation, and human rights violations in the respective conflict zones, and excludes the use of conflict minerals at the purchasing stage of raw materials. As part of an effort to eliminate the use of conflict minerals, we collect and manage information on the use of conflict minerals and the refiners of those minerals from suppliers of the four major minerals. Through our IT system, we are monitoring the components of materials provided by our suppliers. Moreover, we strictly prohibit the use of conflict minerals by our suppliers and distribute environmentally-friendly supply chain management guidelines to them. Joining LG Group's affiliates, we formed a consultative body that meets every year to share management policies for conflict minerals. We also conduct activities to dissuade our suppliers from using conflict minerals.