Responsible Minerals Sourcing

Strict legal frameworks have been put in place around the world to regulate the use of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold: a group of elements that are collectively known as “3TG” or “conflict minerals.” The European Commission has singled out T3 minerals [A1] [A2] (Tin, Tantalum & Tungsten) as those which are most likely to be associated with armed conflict in high-risk countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They are present in welding wire, capacitors, electronic contacts, and the coatings of electrical connections – all of which are used in many of our products.

The eastern portion of the DRC has long been the site of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises – and the conflict there continues. Revenue from the illegal mining and trading of the DRC’s natural resources has been exploited to fund armed conflict – to which serious human rights abuses are linked – and to mines for certain ores, now known as conflict minerals.

Under the Dodd–Frank Act in the United States, the following minerals and their derivatives are defined as conflict minerals (the 3TG):

1.       Columbite-tantalite (Coltan), refined into tantalum (Ta)
2.       Cassiterite, refined into tin (Sn)
3.       Wolframite, refined into tungsten (W)
4.       Gold (Au)

In August 2012, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its final rules regarding conflict minerals (tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold) as defined in and required by section 1502 of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. As a result, many companies are now investigating whether and to what extent their products contain conflict minerals and whether such conflict minerals come from the DRC and the adjacent countries named in the Act.

For more information on the Dodd–Frank Act Final Rule and Summary, follow the links below:

• Dodd-Frank Act – Final Rule
• Final Rule Summary

On January 1, 2021, a new law went into force across the EU: the Conflict Minerals Regulation.
It aims to help stem the trade in four minerals – tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold – which sometimes finance armed conflict or are mined using forced labor.

For further information, please refer the regulation explained in the European Commission Conflict Minerals page.

For Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (CAHRAs) under Regulation (EU) 2017/821, please refer the following project website.

In working towards these commitments, we have taken a number of steps:

• establishing a “Conflict Minerals Compliance Program,” supported and sponsored by ABB’s Executive Committee, to review the use of conflict minerals and other minerals in our products and to be in a position to fulfill our reporting obligations to the SEC and respond to customer inquiries;
• requiring our suppliers to implement a policy regarding conflict minerals and to exercise due diligence in investigating the source of these minerals;
  
• engaging with our suppliers so they respond in a timely manner to our requests for evidence of compliance. In the future, our suppliers’ willingness to comply with this initiative will be a factor in our sourcing decisions; and
• updating the ABB Supplier Code of Conduct and our purchasing terms and conditions to reflect this policy