Overview

Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is an effort to help cut off financing to armed groups and members of the Congolese national army that are making millions of dollars through illegal control of mines and mineral trading routes in eastern DRC while inflicting appalling suffering on the local population. The law aims to achieve this by requiring companies to undertake supply chain due diligence on any minerals sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or adjoining countries and to publically report on measures undertaken to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This study aims to paint a picture of the costs and benefits of compliance with Dodd-Frank Section 1502 at the level of individual firms. This information is designed to provide some insight that will help companies follow best practices, minimize the costs of compliance, and take advantage of the business benefits that the process of compliance may present. The questions the research sought to answer include:

Study Methodology