IPC invited to participate in pilot evaluation of OECD conflict minerals due diligence guide

BANNOCKBURN, USA: IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries and six IPC-member companies have agreed to participate in a pilot evaluation program to review and refine the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) due diligence guidance for conflict minerals.

IPC members participating in the study encompass the breadth of the electronics supply chain: PCB manufacturer Circuit Connect; component manufacturers Freescale Semiconductor and TriQuint Semiconductor; raw material supplier Alpha, a business of Cookson Electronics; and two EMS firms, including EPIC Technologies. IPC believes participation in this study by these members will help the OECD identify important changes to their draft guidance.

“We are being given a chance to test the practicality of guidelines that may be required by our customers,” says Bruce Moloznik, VP 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 US 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 US 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.