All Conflict Minerals articles
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PremiumESG experts see shades of conflict minerals for SEC climate disclosure rule
The climate-related disclosure rule proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission will eventually pass but not before undergoing some changes, practitioners speaking at CW’s virtual ESG Summit predicted.
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Blog
SEC backs away from conflict minerals rule enforcement
With the May 31 deadline for conflict minerals disclosures fast approaching, a court ruling has prompted the SEC to ease its enforcement posture regarding those requirements while it rethinks the rule.
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Senators demand investigation into SEC rule reconsiderations
A quartet of Senate Democrats are demanding that the SEC’s inspector general conduct an investigation into Acting Chairman Michal Piwowar’s “reconsideration” of the agency’s pay ratio and conflict minerals rules.
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Yes, there is still a conflict minerals rule
Lest you think recent developments—a leaked White House memo, a resolved lawsuit, and the reopening of public comments to the SEC—mean an end to the conflict minerals rule, be assured that the May filing deadline remains in place.
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Conflict minerals, extractive payments rules suffer fatal blows
The SEC’s controversial conflict minerals rule and extractive payments disclosures will soon be gone, leaving companies to rethink corporate sustainability and compliance. Joe Mont has more.
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Cobalt may be next big challenge for corporate sustainability
Yes, there still remains some uncertainty about the SEC’s conflict minerals rule. Four years later, notes Joe Mont, add another concern: cobalt.
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Government report details conflict minerals challenges
Companies have already turned the corner on their third year of “conflict minerals” filings to the SEC, but a newly released review of last year’s efforts by the Government Accountability Office nevertheless offers a valuable assessment of compliance challenges. Joe Mont has more.
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BlogHouse votes to defund enforcement of SEC's pay ratio, conflict minerals rules
The House of Representatives has approved Rep. Bill Huizenga’s (R-Mich.) amendments to a financial services appropriations bill that would defund enforcement of the SEC’s controversial pay ratio and conflict minerals rules, both requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act. Joe Mont provides a closer look.
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Latest conflict minerals filings show improved due diligence
Regardless of legal disputes and other challenges, companies still had a deadline last month for filing conflict minerals disclosures with the SEC. This year Joe Mont says, many companies appeared to be taking their reporting much more seriously with some already getting a jumpstart on 2017.
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BlogEU moves forward on conflict minerals framework
European Union officials have agreed on a regulatory framework regarding “conflict minerals” and the responsible sourcing of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold. It includes obligations for the “upstream” part of the conflict minerals supply chain, including smelters and refiners, but exempts imports of finished products. Joe Mont reports.
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SEC forgoes Supreme Court appeal for conflict minerals rule
The SEC had until April 7 to defend its controversial conflict minerals rule by appealing to the Supreme Court. While many watched for the filing of a writ of certiorari on the deadline day, there was a twist: A decision to forgo a challenge was made, with little fanfare, last ...
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Blog
Is Cobalt the Next Conflict Mineral?
Under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s conflict minerals rule, public companies are required to track the source of tantalum, tin, gold, and tungsten in their supply chains. A push is on to require similar measures for cobalt, with a call for additional supply chain due diligence made in a new ...
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SEC’s Latest Extractive Payments Rule Still Leaves Unanswered Questions, Concerns
The Securities and Exchange Commission has once again proposed a rule requiring oil, gas, and mining companies to disclose payments made to governments for extraction rights. And, once again, legal teams are sharpening their pencils while covered companies sweat the details. An earlier try at the Dodd-Frank Act-required rulemaking lingered ...
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Piwowar: SEC Must Focus on Materiality, Not Social Issues
Image: Don’t believe the hype about divisiveness at the SEC. The increasingly common occurrence of split votes along party lines is a byproduct of Congressional mandates, notably through the Dodd-Frank Act, that wedge social issues into the disclosure regime at the expense of materiality. That’s the word from Commissioner Michael ...
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SEC’s Next Move on Conflict Minerals Rule Could Open a Pandora’s Box
The SEC finds itself yet again at a legal crossroads concerning its embattled Conflict Minerals Rule. One path leads to the Supreme Court; the other, a retreat from a cornerstone of the rule’s disclosure requirements. At stake is not just the Conflict Minerals Rule alone, but potentially a wide range ...
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Supreme Court May Be Last Stop for Conflict Minerals Rule
The SEC’s Conflict Minerals Rule may be headed to the nation’s highest court after suffering another legal setback in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week. To preserve the rule’s full slate of intended disclosure requirements, the Commission has one last legal option: a review of ...
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Undermined! Court Ruling Chisels Away at Conflict Minerals Rule
Corporate America has won a bit of a reprieve (emphasis on “a bit”) in conflict minerals compliance, thanks to the Aug. 18 court decision barring the SEC from requiring companies to disclose whether they are conflict mineral-free. But the duty to analyze your supply chain remains and, thankfully, this year’s ...
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Appellate Court Dings Conflict Minerals Rule Again
Image: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has upheld an earlier ruling that prohibited the SEC from requiring companies to report publicly whether certain minerals used in their products are conflict free or could support militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Citing free speech ...
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Bill to Require SEC Disclosures on Human Trafficking
U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Chris Smith (D-N.J.) have introduced the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015. The bill would require large public companies to disclose measures to prevent human trafficking, slavery, and child labor in their supply chains as part of annual ...
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As SEC Delays on Extractive Payments, World Moves Ahead
The SEC has fought all sides on its proposed rule to disclose payments to governments for mining rights: oil and gas companies on one hand saying the rule is flawed; activists on the other saying the rule is overdue. The trouble, however, is that while the SEC tussles in court, ...