Conflict Minerals Policy

Policy Statement

1.1     This policy sets out Birmingham Metal Company Limited expectations of its suppliers with regards to conflict minerals.  Different countries where Birmingham Metal Company Limited operates have rules governing trade in four minerals – tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (known as “3TG”) – as sometimes 3TG minerals are used to finance armed conflict or are mined using forced labour.

1.2     Some of the rules in this area are more relevant to listed companies who are the ultimate purchaser in the supply chain, whereas other rules are more dependent upon the geographic region of the purchaser.   An overview of these rules can be found in Appendix A.

1.3     Birmingham Metal Company Limited is committed to conducting business with integrity and in a responsible, ethical and sustainable manner. This applies both to our business operations and to our global supply chain. Consistent with this commitment, when sourcing products or raw materials containing 3TG, Birmingham Metal Company Limited should adopt procedures to ensure that such 3TG minerals are sourced responsibly and from conflict-free regions (“3TG Conflict Free”).

1.4     Where the EU Conflict Minerals Regulations apply, each organisational segment within Birmingham Metal Company Limited (i.e. Business Line, each Group Function and Operations) is expected to establish a “culture” of compliance with this policy. The leader of each organisational segment must take direct responsibility for ensuring effective transmission of this policy throughout their part of the organisation, together with communicating relevant guidance and training, and appropriate safeguards, monitoring, and resources, in order to ensure compliance with this policy.

2. Supplier Expectations

2.1     We expect our suppliers to operate their businesses in a way that supports our commitment to acting ethically and responsibly.

2.2     In accordance with this policy, when sourcing products or raw materials containing 3TG, Birmingham Metal Company Limited will work with its suppliers to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and ensure that all 3TG materials sourced by Birmingham Metal Company Limited are considered 3TG Conflict Free. As a minimum, relevant suppliers are required to:

2.2.1   perform due diligence to ascertain the point of origin of 3TG minerals in products;

2.2.2   ensure that their respective suppliers are complying with applicable laws;

2.2.3   request that their next tier suppliers to perform due diligence;

2.2.4   obtain raw materials from audited sources as a matter of principle wherever possible, using independent, third-party assurance; and

2.2.5   disclose their supply chain upon request to Birmingham Metal Company Limited (with those requests permitted at the sole discretion of Birmingham Metal Company Limited).

2.3     In addition, where applicable local laws and regulations exist in the jurisdiction in which the supplier operates, we expect our suppliers must comply with such laws and regulations.

2.4     Suppliers are required to give their consent that audits may be performed by Birmingham Metal Company Limited (or third parties acting on behalf or for Birmingham Metal Company Limited), with those requests at Birmingham Metal Company Limited’s sole discretion.

2.5     Suppliers must ensure that all certification and documentation provided to Birmingham Metal Company Limited is complete, accurate, true and free of rights of any third-party and may be used by Birmingham Metal Company Limited for any kind of reporting it deems necessary.

3. CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

3.1     Certain of Birmingham Metal Company Limited’s US customers are publicly traded, and will typically require Birmingham Metal Company Limited to provide them with certain information regarding use of 3TG minerals in our products.  Some customers may even ban the use of 3TG minerals through contract provisions with us.

APPENDIX A: OVERVIEW OF RELEVANT CONFLICT MINERALS LEGISLATION

1.1     US legislation and OECD due diligence guidance generally define conflict minerals as cassiterite (tin), coltan (tantalum), wolframite (tungsten) and gold (or derivatives of these minerals) and which are mined in a conflict affected or high-risk area (CAHRA) worldwide, including, without limitation the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”) or an adjoining country (Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia), and directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the DRC or any adjoining country, and/or supports perpetrators of serious human rights violations in CAHRAs.

1.2     In EU member States, the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation^[1] applies to certain importers of minerals and metals into the EU containing or consisting of tin, tantalum, tungsten, their ores, and gold (collectively referred to in the EU legislation as “3TG” and for the purposes of this policy, known as “EU 3TG”). The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation applies to all EU Member States.

1.3     There are no parallel laws or regulations in Great Britain in relation to conflict minerals; the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation do not form part of retained EU law following Brexit and there are no statutory powers to implement the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation in Great Britain.

1.4     Where we import conflict minerals into the EU or the US Birmingham Metal Company Limited must comply with the relevant legislation and at all times comply with applicable law as described in paragraph 2.

1.5     Where EU 3TG minerals are being sourced by Birmingham Metal Company Limited, we should also ensure that we:

1.5.1.  have a strong company management system (Sec. 4 EU Regulation);

1.5.2.  identify and assess risks throughout the global supply chain (Sec. 5 EU Regulation);

1.5.3   design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks (Sec. 5 EU Regulation);

1.5.4   take steps to carry out independent third-party audits of supply chain due diligence (Sec. 6 EU Regulation);

1.5.5   annually report on supply chain due diligence (Sec. 7 EU Regulation).

1.6     If you are unsure about whether the EU Conflict Minerals Regulations apply to your activities, please contact your Business Line Head of Legal.

[1] 2017/821