Sustainability covering three dimensions (Environment, People and Society, Responsible Business Practices) is an inherent part of Barco’s Values. Managing our obligations for Conflict Minerals is part of Barco’s corporate responsibility. We, just like many other stakeholders, are concerned about human rights violations in different forms (child labor, human-trafficking, forced labor etc.) as well as the armed conflicts causing extreme violence across so-called “Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas” (CAHRAs). We recognize the risk related to illegal extraction and trade of materials such as tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold and cobalt, which can fuel military conflicts, human rights violations and environmental degradation.
Barco aligns Responsible Minerals Sourcing Policy with the “OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas” (OECD Due Diligence Guidance1). Barco’s Responsible Minerals Sourcing Policy addresses the risks defined in Annex II of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance. In addition, Barco has indirectly obligations in various regions, including the United States of America and the European Union.
Barco has implemented the following:
- Supply chain due diligence process based on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas;
- Identification which suppliers are in scope of the supply chain due diligence process (i.e. suppliers of components containing the minerals tungsten, tantalum, tin, gold or cobalt);
- Require all our suppliers to adhere with the latest “Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct”;
Contractually commit our key and core suppliers to this Code of Conduct and, in turn, expect them to promote these standard to their own direct and indirect suppliers; - Uniform and Enterprise-wide Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP2) that includes the risk determination of: usage, source and origin of the relevant minerals in Barco’s supply chain (“Supply Chain Due Diligence”);
- Engage with suppliers to remediate risks and perform additional due diligence
- Require from in-scope suppliers, to establish a due diligence management system consistent with OECD guidelines;
- Require from in-scope suppliers, to establish and maintain a publicly available Responsible Minerals Sourcing statement;
- Require from in-scope suppliers to submit complete Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) containing conflict minerals information in a timely manner to Barco;
- Require from in-scope suppliers that any conflict minerals contained in the products and materials supplied to Barco originate from conflict free sources; Suppliers who do not comply with this expectation will be reviewed, escalated and evaluated accordingly for future business and sourcing decisions.
Barco has implemented measures to avoid the use of raw materials, sub-assemblies or suppliers, containing conflict minerals that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the DRC3 or adjoining countries or are connected with other Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. In summary:
- Barco does not directly source minerals from mines in any covered region.
- Barco suppliers are expected to source from responsible sources and shall actively cascade this requirement to the next tier actors in the supply chain.
We are committed to engage with our customers regarding their disclosure obligations.
To request information about conflict minerals or to report violations of Responsible Minerals Sourcing statement, please contact the Environmental Compliance Office at green.compliance@barco.com
1 OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas” (OECD Due Diligence Guidance) – Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chain of Minerals from Conflict Affected and High-Risk Areas, Third Edition and related supplements on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten and on Gold.
2 Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) – the program of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) uses an independent third-party audit of smelter or refiner management systems and sourcing practices to validate conformance with RMAP protocols and current global standards. The audit employs a risk-based approach to validate smelters’ company level management processes for procurement of minerals in a responsible way.
3 Democratic Republic of Congo
