air products is concerned that the trade of conflict minerals mined in the eastern provinces of the democratic republic of the congo (drc) may be fueling human rights atrocities in the region. these minerals and their refined metals—tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold (3tg)—are widely used in the end markets served by air products. as a result, we support the actions of governments and organizations to increase supply chain transparency and enable companies to source conflict-free minerals.
on august 22, 2012, the u.s. securities and exchange commission (sec) approved the regarding the sourcing of conflict minerals under section 1502 of the dodd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act. under this rule, publicly traded companies must report to the sec the presence of conflict minerals originating in the drc or adjoining countries in the products they manufacture or contract to manufacture if the conflict minerals are necessary to the functionality or production of a product. these reports must be filed annually by may 31st beginning in 2014.
over 90 percent of air products’ offerings (by revenue) do not contain 3tg minerals. for our other products including equipment and specialty gases we have developed a process to determine which products contain 3tg minerals and are working to ensure the source is from conflict free mines.
air products is committed to sourcing materials from companies that share our values around human rights, ethics and environmental responsibility. we expect our suppliers to comply with our code of conduct and meet our sustainability expectations, including conflict free sourcing. likewise we support industry efforts such as the responsible business alliance and global e-sustainability initiative (gesi) to enable companies to source conflict-free minerals.
air products will address any concerns about or potential violations of this policy, which can be reported through our . we will disclose our progress in implementing this conflict minerals policy through public reporting, including our website, annual sustainability report, and sec reporting.