The Buffalo, New York facility of Materion Microelectronics & Services,
a Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) business, has been certified as a
Conflict-Free Gold Refiner and is in compliance with the Conflict-Free
Smelter (CFS) Program protocol of the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative.
“This demonstrates Materion’s commitment to conducting business in a
manner that protects people and the environment,” says Mike O’Neill,
Vice President of Commercial Integration & Metal Management Services.
“Through our CFS certification, we validate that gold materials supplied
by Materion in Buffalo are derived from conflict-free sources.”
CFS Certification
The Conflict-Free Smelter Program is a voluntary global initiative
developed by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) and
the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) to provide a credible
system for companies to substantiate responsible sourcing. Under the CFS
Program, an independent third-party evaluates smelter and refiner
procurement activities and verifies that relevant materials are from
conflict-free sources. Upon successful review by the organization’s
Audit Review Committee (ARC), the applicant site is added to the CFS
Compliant Smelter and Refiners List. Materion’s Buffalo facility has
now been qualified for CFS
listing as a compliant Gold Refiner. This commits Materion to the CFS
Gold Supply Chain Transparency Audit Protocol standards.
Legislation Drives “Conflict-Free”
Publicly traded companies such as Materion Corporation are required to
comply with the Conflict Minerals Rule, 1502 of the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act. The overall goal
of the Conflict Minerals Rule is to eliminate the human rights
abuses occurring in Africa by discouraging the purchase and use of
Conflict Minerals that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed
groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and surrounding
countries.
Materion’s Conflict-Free Policy
Materion has in place a conflict-free mineral policy that ensures that
its products meet the due diligence and reporting requirements of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) rule under the Conflict Minerals
Rule. Using gold derived from Materion’s own reclaim and recycling
programs enables adherence under this policy as does the CFS compliance
status. As a company with more than 100 years of experience in refining
precious metals, Materion is committed to responsible stewardship
practices that include the use of conflict-free minerals.
Microelectronics & Services is a Materion Corporation business. Materion
Corporation is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The company,
through its wholly owned subsidiaries, supplies highly engineered
advanced enabling materials to global markets. Products include precious
and non-precious metals, inorganic chemicals and powders, specialty
coatings, specialty engineered beryllium alloys, beryllium and beryllium
composites, and engineered clad and plated metal systems.
Copyright Business Wire 2013