Gold mined from conflict areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is reaching the supply chains of major US companies and finding its way into consumer products, according to an NGO report. The report by The Sentry – an initiative of NGO Enough Project and human rights charity Not On Our Watch (NOOW) – says that the African Gold Refinery (AGR), located in Uganda, is sourcing illegally smuggled gold from eastern Congo and then exporting it to a Belgian affiliated refinery. The gold, it says, may find its way into the supply chains of major western corporations, including "Amazon, Sony, General Electric, and 280 other US publicly traded companies". All of these companies, it continues, listed the Belgian refinery as an entity that may be in their supply chains, according to 2018 SEC filings. This is despite it failing an international conflict minerals audit, the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) – formerly the Conflict-Free Smelter Programme. It was subsequently removed from RMI's active refiner/smelter list in November last year.
EcoVadis's insight:
Aligning overall business strategy with the company’s sustainable mission creates a holistic sustainability philosophy that touches all company activities and operations. Buyers must map out supplier risks and see how much spend is invested in each of their suppliers, which will help them identify the suppliers carrying the biggest risks and determine which improvement efforts should be prioritized.