Assent has officially announced major updates to its conflict minerals data management software to align with the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI)’s focus on responsibly sourcing a broader group of minerals from high-risk areas.
This expands the focus of responsible sourcing beyond tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TGs), and incorporates new data sources into the Assent Compliance Platform, offering companies deeper insight into potential smelter-level risk within their supply chains.
To identify risk, Assent’s new Responsible Minerals Module leverages data from several industry groups, including the RMI, to gather information such as details on Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry (RCOI). It is the only supply chain data management platform to align its responsible minerals offering with the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.
The new module can be scaled quickly to include additional materials as industry continues to expand and due diligence requirements related to the responsible sourcing of minerals evolve. By leveraging Assent’s supply chain data management platform, companies can ensure their responsible minerals initiative is integrated with their wider corporate risk programs.
Jared Connors, Corporate Social Responsibility Subject Matter Expert at Assent, understands the challenges companies face when responsibly sourcing minerals.
“Smelters have long been the ideal pinch point where information related to mineral origin can be collected but, traditionally, compiling this data has been an overwhelming challenge for most organizations because it can be prohibitively costly and time-consuming,” Connors said. “By integrating data from a number of industry groups and offering details on RCOI directly within the Assent Compliance Platform, companies are now able to have a clearer picture of the potential risk within their global supply chains without all of the manual effort and concern associated with reaching out to smelters one-by-one.”
Key features from the update include:
- The Responsible Minerals Module: This new module goes beyond conflict minerals to align with the RMI’s focus on responsible minerals mined in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. Assent’s infrastructure and data-agnostic platform can quickly scale to include additional minerals of concern.
- Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry Data: Access RCOI data related to conformant/non-conformant smelters as reported by multiple industry groups, and eliminate the need to manually contact each smelter to document where they obtain their ore. *Please note, this feature is only available to clients that are RMI members.
- The Cobalt Reporting Template: The RMI’s industry-standard Cobalt Reporting Template (CRT) has been built directly into Assent’s solution, allowing companies to add data related to their cobalt reporting program as demand for products such as lithium-ion batteries increases..
- An Enhanced Smelter Library: Integrated with RMI data, the Assent Compliance Platform’s Smelter Library includes details on the conformant or non-conformant status of approximately 3,000 smelters and presents a proprietary rating of low, moderate or high risk based on a number of external factors.
- An Upgraded Supplier Portal: Responsible minerals programs are only as good their data. With new automated validation of Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) and CRT declarations, plus additional customization options, the supplier experience is now smoother and more efficient.
To learn more about Assent’s Responsible Minerals Module or request a live demo, contact us today.
