Group of Investors Urge European Union to Adopt Stronger Conflict Minerals Legislation

BRUSSELS and SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, global sustainable and responsible investors and investment organisations representing more than €855 billion in assets under management sent a joint statement to the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Council. The statement urges EU policy makers to ensure more compatibility between the proposed EU conflict minerals regulation and Section 1502 of the US Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (known informally as "Dodd-Frank Section 1502"), which aims to prevent mineral sourcing revenues from fuelling the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The statement was initiated by a working group composed of Boston Common Asset Management, Calvert Investments, Eurosif, Responsible Sourcing Network, Trillium Asset Management, Triodos Investment Management, and US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment and has been signed by other organisations.

As the new European Commission will be inaugurated in the coming weeks and the European Parliament is scheduled to discuss the proposed regulation in December 2014, the statement signatories are expressing their concern about human rights risks related to mineral sourcing and their views on how regulation can help to limit this risk. To reinforce positive developments following the U.S. rules and to maximize effectiveness, the proposed EU regulation requires two key changes. In their statement, investors call on the European legislative bodies to better align the proposed EU regulation with Section 1502, by making the regulation mandatory and including in its scope all companies that manufacture products containing "conflict minerals."¹

Eric Holterhues, Head of Socially Responsible Investments at Dutch Triodos Investment Management, regards the US conflict minerals disclosure rule as a ground-breaking example of mandatory human rights impact reporting. "It has turned conflict minerals disclosure in the United States from a reputation issue for a few leading brands to a multi-sector reporting requirement," said Holterhues. "We believe that European regulation of at least comparable strength is needed to make sure that both investors and consumers can make informed choices to avoid complicity in human rights abuses."

Link to Investor Statement and full list of 24 signatories.

¹ Dodd-Frank Section 1502 mandates that all US publicly-traded companies that manufacture or contract to manufacture products containing so-called "conflict minerals" must conduct due diligence and report on the origins of these minerals. More specifically, companies must indicate whether the conflict minerals—tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold, also known as "3TG"—in their products derive from the DRC or surrounding countries and therefore may have links to that region's ongoing conflict. A regulatory proposal currently before the EU also aims to address conflict minerals, but, if adopted, would establish a voluntary, rather than mandatory, framework and would apply only to companies that import 3TG or their ore into the European Union.

CONTACTS:

Europe: Anastasius Mpulassikis, Eurosif, +32(0)2.274.14.35 [email protected]

US: Andrew Montes, As You Sow/Responsible Sourcing Network, +1.510.735.8144, [email protected]

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SOURCE Boston Common Asset Management