Corporate Responsibility
Suppliers

Mining of metals

Motorola is concerned about poor social and environmental practices at some mine operations around the world. Mining activities that fuel conflict are unacceptable.

We require high labor and environmental standards in our own operations, and make concerted efforts to drive improvements. We expect our suppliers to do the same, as reflected in our supplier code of conduct.

The mining and processing of raw materials raises serious concerns. We don't procure these materials directly; however, we are working to effect positive change. For example, when Motorola first became aware of the illegal mining of coltan in early 2001, we took swift steps to cease the use of materials containing tantalum derived from illegally mined Congolese coltan.

Tantalum is used in the production of materials, such as capacitors, for a wide range of electronic products. Motorola requires all of our suppliers of tantalum-containing capacitors to verify, in writing, that capacitors sold to Motorola do not contain tantalum derived from illegally mined Congolese coltan. Our suppliers share our concerns and have complied with this requirement.

Motorola supports the development of U.S. legislation that helps companies determine whether or not the sources of the materials they use are associated with conflict. We are very concerned that currently no credible independent systems exist to allow companies to verify the source of the metals in their products.

Motorola is collaborating with others in the industry to tackle the challenges of traceability/tracking and other issues through the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) extractives workgroup, which we co-lead. We believe this effort will drive greater transparency in the mining industry.

In 2008, the extractives workgroup commissioned a study into the sustainability of metals sourced by electronics companies:

Social and Environmental Responsibility in Metals Supply to the Electronic Industry 

The report acknowledged many challenges. Motorola supports the recommendations identified in the study, listed below:

• The electronics industry should engage with appropriate existing social and environmental responsibility initiatives and stakeholders, as identified in this study, possibly in partnership with other end-use sectors, to both strengthen efforts and reduce proliferation of overlapping initiatives.
• The electronics industry should continue to emphasize activities in management of end-of-life electronic products, including efforts to enhance materials efficiency after product use, and attention to recycling of metals.
• Individual electronics companies need to further characterize specific metal content and use in electronic products. This supports the tracking of metals used in electronics, helps in tracing sources of materials and facilitates recycling.

In 2009, the extractives workgroup launched a project to improve visibility in the minerals supply chain, with particular focus on identifying sources of specific minerals and understanding how the minerals move through their lifecycle — from mine to electronics manufacturing. Motorola is actively involved in this project. Additionally, this workgroup has engaged companies from all levels of the tantalum mining and processing industry to drive toward a solution that promotes the responsible sourcing of tantalum.

Motorola will continue to champion more responsible metal sourcing by engaging our suppliers and by participating in collaborative efforts with other stakeholders including mining companies, non-government organizations, labor organizations involved in mining, other industrial sectors that purchase and use metals, the governments and multi-government organizations with jurisdiction over these issues and the end users.