• Responsible Minerals Sourcing
• Responsible Minerals Survey Program
• Survey Results

• Partnerships with External Organizations
• Reporting to Mitigate Mineral Sourcing Risks

Profits from the extraction and sale of minerals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (3TG) in conflict-affected areas such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and adjacent countries are a source of funding for armed groups and anti-government forces carrying out atrocities and gross human rights abuses. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that cobalt mines in the southern part of the DRC have become breeding grounds for child labor. Mineral mining and trade carry social and environmental risks.

It is Epson’s corporate policy to avoid engaging in any form of human rights abuses or environmental destruction. While sourcing minerals that are used in Epson products, we will not tolerate any form of human rights violations or gross abuses. We will not engage in business relationships with any party involved in human rights abuses, nor will we support operations that result in the degradation of socioeconomic and environmental conditions.

Epson’s management team recognizes that responsible sourcing of minerals is a societal issue that needs to be addressed. In order to confirm the responsible sourcing of minerals throughout the entire supply chain, we advocate the establishment of a survey system in the Principles of Corporate Behavior and further define the details of our efforts as "key sustainability themes".

Moreover, as a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), we require our suppliers to adhere to this policy and expect them to require compliance within the supply chain. We also ask them to understand and comply with the Epson Group Supplier Guidelines and the Epson Supplier Code of Conduct (RBA Code of Conduct). And Epson has direct material suppliers submit an agreement letter stating that they will comply with responsible mineral sourcing requirements.

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Epson recognizes that the responsible sourcing of minerals is an important societal issue that it should address. To ascertain whether minerals are being sourced responsibly throughout the supply chain, Epson has established a survey system as stated in Principles of Corporate Behavior. The nature of actions to be taken is set forth in Key Sustainability Topics. Policies and results are discussed and reported at meetings of the Sustainability Strategy Council, a corporate management meeting that includes members of the board of directors.

We ask our suppliers to source minerals only from conflict-free SORs (CFS) certified by RMI’s Responsible Minerals Assurance Program (RMAP). If suppliers indicate that they are unable to determine whether the source SORs is a CFS, Epson tries to avoid or mitigate risk by asking them to do additional checking or to source minerals from a different supplier.
Epson holds supplier conferences for CSR at our production sites around the world. We use these conferences as well as other opportunities to promote understanding of Epson policies, ask suppliers to improve survey accuracy, and share information about trends involving conflict minerals. We also endeavor to educate suppliers about survey templates and foster understanding of the surveys. Epson will continue working with suppliers to make sure the minerals used in our products fulfill the standards set in our responsible minerals sourcing policy.

To responsibly source minerals used in Epson products, our program follows a five-step framework according to the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas issued by OECD.

Epson conducts surveys using the reporting templates (CMRT and EMRT) provided by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI). The CMRT and EMRT allow users to select one of three declaration scopes: (1) Company-wide, (2) Product (or List of Products), or (3) User-Defined. However, Epson asks that suppliers select Product and answer with respect to specific products that are delivered to Epson so that we can verify the smelter of the minerals included in parts and materials used in Epson products. We believe that conducting the survey in this way will enable us to identify where we should mitigate risk and will result in effective due diligence.

In 2023, Epson conducted a survey of 3TG and cobalt and received completed surveys from 100% of the suppliers of parts/materials containing 3TG and 98% of the suppliers of parts/materials containing cobalt. We analyzed suppliers’ answers and provided them with individual feedback based on the results within about a month or two. Suppliers with identified risks were asked to submit a corrective action plan and mitigate those risks.

Confirmed risks

• There are smelters that cannot be identified.
• There are smelters have not been certified as conforming to RMAP (including smelters in high-risk areas).

Risk management plan

• Explained and proposed possible risk mitigation measures to suppliers.
• Asked suppliers to submit a plan for addressing identified risks.

Tracking and monitoring of suppliers' risk mitigation efforts

• Meetings were held with individual suppliers to ascertain whether they have mitigated identified risks in their parts and supply chains.
• The results of surveys from suppliers who were asked to resubmit them were re-analyzed.

Concrete examples of risk mitigation

• We asked suppliers that were unable to identify smelters used for multiple minerals, including gold, to recheck whether they used a smelter that are not RMAP certified. As a result, it was found that no minerals from that smelter were used in parts delivered to Epson.
• We asked suppliers that sources tin in a procurement route that includes a smelter or smelters that is/are not RMAP certified to switch to a different source (or procurement route). We confirmed that the supplier made the change.

3TG Survey Results

¹ Conflict-free SORs (smelters/refiners) (CFS) certified by RMI's Responsible Minerals Assurance Program (RMAP).
^* For detailed information on conflict minerals surveys for individual products, please contact your local Epson sales company.

¹ Conflict-free SORs (smelters/refiners) (CFS) certified by RMI's Responsible Minerals Assurance Program (RMAP).
^*  For detailed information on conflict minerals surveys for individual products, please contact your local Epson sales company.

3TG survey results (for products/procured parts)

To ensure that our products are conflict-free and, moreover, that the information we provide to customers is as accurate as possible, Epson manages information on the basis of procured parts that are tied to products. By product, the results of the FY2023 survey confirmed that only RMI-certified smelters/refiners (SORs) are used for products such as semiconductors.¹ We were also able to confirm from the survey that about 76% of the 50,000 procured parts and materials that were subject to the 2023 survey contained 3TG. Of those, 66% (roughly 25,000 parts) were sourced only from RMI-certified SORs.

¹ For information (name, country, etc.) about identified SORs(smelters/refiners), see "List of the smelters and refiners identified in Seiko Epson's Supply chain which were known by RMI"(PDF 219 KB) For detailed product-specific information, please contact your local Epson sales company.

Information and education for suppliers

Epson believes that responsible sourcing of minerals is an important societal issue that needs to be addressed, and since supplier cooperation is essential for achieving this, Epson strives to inform and educate its suppliers.

Throughout the year, we provide the following tools and information to ensure that suppliers always have up-to-date and easily accessible information:

• Excel Check Tool to check a SOR’s RMAP certification information
• RMAP certification renewal information for SORs

The feedback, which is issued on each reporting template, is intended to clearly indicate where a supplier needs to exercise due diligence. 
We also explain the reporting templates and provide individual support for completing them in response to requests from suppliers.

We hold annual supplier conferences when we ask suppliers to complete the survey. At these conferences, we talk about responsible mineral sourcing, global trends in mineral issues, Epson's policies, and OECD’s due diligence guidance. We also provide ongoing education on survey methodology and on how to answer survey questions. In 2023, a total of more than 1,100 suppliers participated.

Third-Party Audit Results

Epson’s global manufacturing sites undergo RBA VAP audits.

* D7 in the RBA Code of Conduct: Responsible Sourcing of Minerals D7
Participants shall adopt a policy and exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of the tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold and cobalt in the products they manufacture to reasonably assure that they are sourced in a way consistent with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict- Affected and High-Risk Areas or an equivalent and recognized due diligence framework.

For more information about RBA VAP audit

Epson had an independent, third-party auditing firm conduct a review to verify that Epson sources minerals responsibly in line with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance Framework. The audit firm, in a written opinion following the review, stated that it had not found any discrepancies between the information disclosed on Epson’s website regarding its conflict mineral program and the company’s conflict minerals survey policy, its survey program and reporting, internal organizational preparations, or the implementation of the survey according to the plan.

The conflict minerals problem is a global issue that we cannot solve alone. We are therefore participating in alliances and initiatives to address the issue of conflict minerals and to enhance conflict minerals surveys in global supply chains.
We support and actively participate in the programs of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), which was established to address responsible mineral sourcing issues, and of JEITA, a domestic Japanese industry association. We also contribute to the RMI's audit fund, believing that it is the responsibility of downstream companies to shoulder the costs of smelter and refiner audits.

Number of member companies: 50+
Some of the activities of JEITA
- Collaborating with international initiatives such as RMI/GeSI
- Monitoring and sharing information on the regulatory situation in various countries and regions
- Educating and raising awareness among suppliers
- Pressuring smelters that are not RMI-certified to undergo audits

Epson complies with the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas and accepts reports from suppliers concerning mineral sourcing risks.