Nintendo: Manufacturers Promise Not To Use Congo Conflict Minerals In Wii, 3DS & Wii U

Nintendo claims that the companies that manufacture its platforms, including Nintendo 3DS, Wii and the forthcoming Wii U, have promised that they will not use conflict minerals in Nintendo consoles – conflict minerals are minerals that are mined in conditions of armed conflict, human rights abuses, and are often taken from the Democratic Republic of Congo, central Africa. Apparently, Nintendo is speaking about this issue now because a group called “Walk Free” was planning to protest against Nintendo during the Wii U Preview event in New York City.

“All production partners have agreed to comply with our guidelines. Further, we have obtained individual confirmation from each production partner that they agree not to use conflict minerals.”

“Nintendo outsources the manufacture and assembly of all Nintendo products to our production partners. We established the Nintendo Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Procurement Guidelines in 2008, which were revised in 2011. Nintendo disseminated these guidelines to all of our production partners.”

“Nintendo’s CSR Procurement Guidelines provide specific directions to our production partners regarding socially responsible procurement practices. We implemented these guidelines based on relevant laws, international standards and guidelines that focus on protecting human rights, ensuring workplace safety, promoting corporate ethics, and safeguarding the environment. These guidelines include provisions on avoiding the use of conflict minerals and the importance of investigating the source of raw materials.”