Responsible Minerals Sourcing Policy and Requirement | ACER ESG

Responsible Minerals Sourcing Policy and Requirement

Responsible Minerals Sourcing Policy and Requirement

Acer’s Policy on Responsible Minerals Sourcing

For many years, Acer has been focusing on responsible minerals sourcing, which began with the Conflict Minerals issue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has long been the center of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The revenue from the illegal mining and trading of the ores of tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold (3TG) from the DRC and its adjoining countries is exploited to fund armed groups, and serious human rights abuses are connected to those groups and to the mines. Over the years, growing evidence has shown that mining is an intensive process involving social and environmental risks that must be managed and involves metals and minerals that extend beyond 3TG and the DRC.

Acer is committed to best practices and we expect our supply chain to respect and support internationally recognized human rights movements and to contribute to minimizing social/economic and environmental risks. While sourcing minerals, we will NOT, by any means, tolerate, knowingly profit from, contribute to, assist with or facilitate the commission by any party in any forms of human rights violations or abuses, or support operations that result in the degradation of socioeconomic and environmental stability.    

Acer also requires its suppliers to adhere to the Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct and commit to the Acer policy elements below. As part of this responsible minerals sourcing policy, Acer commits to:

  • Identify and prioritize minerals for inclusion in our responsible sourcing strategy (currently 3TG, cobalt, and mica), using nationally recognized data, industry tools, and methods to assess materiality to Acer business and level of risk, including a Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Area (CAHRA) identification;
  • Require that suppliers neither directly nor indirectly finance armed groups;
  • Conduct due diligence on prioritized minerals in accordance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from CAHRAs;
  • Require suppliers to conduct due diligence on prioritized minerals in accordance with OECD Guidance and provide routine reporting using the tools developed by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) to enable supply chain transparency;
  • Co-work with its supply chain, industry groups (RMI), government, civil society, and other organizations (OECD Responsible Minerals Forum & Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade) to develop supply of conflict-free products when sourcing prioritized minerals;
  • Seek to support organizations that focus on a responsible and sustainable minerals trade and diverse and stable economies; and
  • Publicize Acer’s progress on due diligence and supply chain risk mitigation.

Supplier Requirements

Acer communicates the following expectations to its suppliers with respect to the responsible sourcing of minerals:

  • Acer suppliers must conduct their operations in a socially and environmentally responsible way.
  • Acer suppliers shall exercise due diligence based on national or international recognized standards or guidance on the source and chain of custody of these priority minerals (such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas) and make their due diligence measures available to Acer upon request. These measures shall include the completion of the RMI Due Diligence Template tool and the support of the RMI Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP).
  • Beginning with the 2022 calendar year, Acer expects all of its suppliers to only accept tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold, and cobalt from smelters or refiners (SORs) that have been audited and are deemed conformant by the RMAP.

To confirm that suppliers implement our requirements, we work with third-party auditing companies. On-site audits check that minerals are sourced with due diligence and according to our policies. We make all efforts to verify that the materials used to make Acer products are not from conflict minerals.