Nintendo praised for its improvements in sourcing minerals from conflict zones

In his 2024 annual report on the state of mineral sourcing in the gaming industry, Unlosing Writer’s Brendan Sinclair, a veteran reporter formerly affiliated with GamesIndustry.biz, gave the thumbs up to both Nintendo- which reached a 99% conformity rate with conflict mineral law- and Microsoft for the inroads they had made since last year’s report, while noting that the latter, which jumped from a 65% conformity rate last year to 87% this year, still had a ways to go.

Conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, collectively known as 3TGs) are minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its surrounding countries- all of which are sometimes refered to as “covered countries” in the context of conflict mineral law.

In the gaming industry, 3TGs are used by manufacturers to build hardware, mainly consoles, and the “big three” of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have all had issues with ethical sourcing in the past.

The United States and European Union mandate that companies disclose their sourcing of 3TG minerals from covered countries, whose regimes and armed militia have been known for forced labor and human rights violations, on top of using the sales of 3TGs to fund their agendas and fuel war.

In the U.S, Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has, since it was enacted in 2010, required companies to have their mineral supply chains inspected by independent auditors, and for businesses to release reports to the public ensuring that they were making progress in their push towards ethical sourcing.

And in the EU, the Conflict Minerals Regulation law, enacted in 2021, took the example set by Dodd-Frank further by looking past the DRC and its neighbors to any region designated as a conflict zone or high-risk area by the United Nations. Notably, however, it continues to only target 3TGs, and not all minerals that the regimes in these areas may be selling to finance their rule.

As mentioned previously, Nintendo made progress in 2024 by going from 95% conformity to nearly 100% over the past year. However, Sinclair also notes that, prior to 2022, Nintendo steered clear of partnering with businesses and suppliers from covered countries- which ran counter to international opinion as it kept cashflow (and thus, stability) out of regions that desparately needed it. Having fixed their mistake since then, Nintendo now has ethical sources in and around the DRC- praised by Sinclair as a “good sign” of the company’s improvements- and it may even be on track to get a perfect 100% conformity rate.

Though 100% conformity on Nintendo’s part wouldn’t be entirely “clean,” as regulation does not cover all possible blindspots, it would still be a notable achievement.

In that same report, Sinclair also dove into how other gaming companies like Sony, GameStop, and Logitech had been handling the issue.

Sony contiinued its trend of regression from previous years, with it drudging up a 69% conformity rate, down from 73% last year, and 75% the year before.

GameStop, previously decried by Sinclair as “shameful,” chose ambiguity over transparency, with it saying that all of its suppliers had been confirmed to be conflict-free, but adding that “not all of our suppliers, however, identified the sources for their raw materials.” Sinclair points out that not only did GameStop not disclose how many suppliers withheld information on their sources- information that conflict mineral regulation was designed to put in the spotlight to begin with- but that it also failed to elaborate on why this wasn’t a serious ethical and adminstrative issue.

Meanwhile, Logitech came in with a 98.3% conformity rate, and it even audited its sources for mica and cobalt, ensuring that its mineral sourcing was responsible and ethical beyond what was covered by regulation.

As he wrapped up, Sinclair hoped that the industry would continue to make improvements over the next year. Though some companies in 2024 saw declines in ethical sourcing, others leaped ahead, and if the progress made by the likes of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Logitech is any indication, there remain many in the gaming industry willing to alter their business practices in accordance with trade regulation and in response to ethical concerns raised by the international community.

Source / Via