Ending Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Intel
Ending Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Intel Over 5.4 Million Congo Civil Conflict Deaths …
Did you know that microprocessors, the brain of your electronic devices, contain minerals such as gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten? These minerals are referred to as “conflict” minerals because they are often mined in conditions of armed conflict with the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Many miners are “hired” with life threats at gunpoint and physically forced to work harvesting these minerals. Work conditions are poor and dangerous. Realizing that their company’s supply needs could be inadvertently fueling such poor conditions and conflict for the people of the Congo, Carolyn Duran, and the Intel Corporation has made it their mission to make change in how their supplies are acquired.
“A small group of us got an action required to make sure the products we sell don’t have minerals in them that are not inadvertently or directly funding violence.”
Awareness it the first step to change. Consumers are mostly unaware that there is a terrorist group who uses the profits from these minerals to hurt innocent people and families, so Intel took the reigns and chose to find the solutions as both their consumers’ advocate and in the spirit of using business to change the world for the better. After awareness comes action. So, how can change begin? It takes…
1. Accepting responsibility for each part played in fueling the conflict.
2. Responsible sourcing from the Democratic Republic through systems to manage the mining of materials all the way through to exportation.
3. Lobbying of related industries to work together as a whole.
4. Building trust with mine workers.
5. Requiring resourcing documentation.
6. Reaching out and educating the general public in responsible purchasing practices.
Keeping responsible practices is a huge job as there are so many steps and industries involved in the process from mine to manufacturing. “As it was with Fair Trade and Organic in the tea business for us, I used to put it in perspective for our staff by saying ‘It takes a lot of paperwork to save the world!’” ~Zhena Muzyka
Standard business practices set the tone. Each industry cannot solve the conflict alone. It takes everyone working together. Small changes build upon one another to create larger change. It takes be willing to do your part and say, “How about you do this and I do this and together we’ll do something that makes it move even more.”
When company after company begins to realize that it matters, we see change.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Be sure to catch this week’s episode of Change Maker: Ending Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Intel with Carolyn Duran for more tips on how we can all work together for a better world: http://cbsloc.al/1bbY3KJ
Are you ready to be a Change Maker?
