Results for: conflict minerals

No surprise here: SEC and Amnesty file petitions for en banc rehearing in the conflict minerals case

by Cydney Posner To no one’s surprise, on Friday, the SEC and Amnesty International filed petitions for en banc rehearing in the conflict minerals case, National Association of Manufacturers, Inc. v. SEC.  That case, decided two-to-one in August of this year by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit, reaffirmed […]

New GAO report on conflict minerals compliance

by Cydney Posner By coincidence, the same day that the three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit  struck down (again) a portion of the conflict minerals rule (see this post), the GAO issued a report to Congressional Committees entitled “SEC CONFLICT MINERALS RULE Initial Disclosures Indicate Most Companies Were Unable to […]

Three-judge panel of D.C. Circuit again holds that mandatory disclosure requirement of conflict minerals rule violates First Amendment

by Cydney Posner In November 2014, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the petitions of the SEC and Amnesty International for panel rehearing in connection with the conflict minerals case, National Association of Manufacturers, Inc. v. SEC. Today, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit, by a vote of two […]

New study gives mixed reviews to companies filing conflict minerals reports

by Cydney Posner A new study on conflict minerals compliance from Tulane University and Assent Compliance, a compliance software and services firm, revealed that about 90% of filers of conflict minerals reports indicated that they were unable to determine if their products were conflict free, the primary object of the conflict […]

This year’s conflict minerals filings show some improvement, according to early review

by Cydney Posner An early review of conflict minerals filings for the 2014 reporting period shows improvement in “detail, clarity and quality,” according to this article in BNA. As reported by Elm Sustainability Partners, a conflict minerals consulting firm, there were 1,272 filers for the 2014 reporting period, compared to 1,328 for […]

Amnesty International and Global Witness scold companies for poor performance in complying with conflict minerals rule

by Cydney Posner Amnesty International and Global Witness have posted a paper, “Digging for Transparency,” evaluating the performance by 100 public companies in their inaugural season of conflict minerals reporting. The overall reaction: major disappointment.

What have the conflict minerals rules cost the SEC?

by Cydney Posner Sure, companies have spent millions and millions on conflict minerals compliance. But what have the conflict minerals rules cost the SEC? According to Reuters, reporting on a response by SEC Chair Mary Jo White to a request by a group of Republican House members, the SEC “has […]

CFSI posts “Five Practical Steps to Support SEC Conflict Minerals Disclosure”

by Cydney Posner The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative has posted an updated 2015 version of its practical guidance white paper on conflict minerals specifically for downstream companies, called “Five Practical Steps to Support SEC Conflict Minerals Disclosure.” CFSI’s Practical Steps is designed  to provide more flexible guidance to downstream companies in satisfying […]

Will Congress revisit the conflict minerals rule?

by Cydney Posner According to a Bloomberg BNA report, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce, one of the plaintiffs in National Association of Manufacturers, Inc. v. SEC, the conflict minerals case currently pending in the DC Circuit, claims that the litigation “is sparking new interest by Congress in the requirements.” Don’t […]

House Republicans pressure SEC to end court battle over conflict minerals rule

by Cydney Posner According to this article from The Washington Post with Bloomberg, in February, House Financial Services Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling and three other House members (Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Bill Huizenga of Michigan, and Ed Royce of California) sent a letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White urging […]