Skip to main content
Skip to footer

Conflict Minerals Policy

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") contains conflict minerals provisions to address the exploitation and trade of certain minerals which contribute to violence and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighboring countries. Under rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission implementing these conflict minerals provisions (the "Conflict Minerals Rules"), public reporting companies having "Conflict Minerals" that are necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured or contracted by that company to be manufactured must disclose annually whether those Conflict Minerals originated in any of the "Covered Countries," and if so, information about the source and chain of custody of those Conflict Minerals. The "Conflict Minerals" for purposes of the Conflict Minerals Rules are gold, columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, and wolframite (including their derivatives, tantalum, tin and tungsten) and any other minerals designated by the U.S. Secretary of State in the future. The "Covered Countries" are the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola. "DRC Conflict Free" means that the product does not contain Conflict Minerals that directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the Covered Countries.

Policy Statement

Cerner Corporation and its subsidiaries ("Cerner," "us", "we" or "our") support efforts to end the human suffering and environmental impact that has been associated with mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo and adjoining countries. We are committed to meeting all legislative and regulatory requirements that seek to eradicate this suffering. We also support greater transparency with regard to our supply chain, in particular the sourcing of Conflict Minerals. Accordingly, we have adopted this Conflict Minerals Policy, and we expect our suppliers to adopt a similar policy and meet our expectations below.

Our Expectations for Suppliers

Tracing the origin and chain of custody of minerals throughout a global supply chain is a complex process. This can only be accomplished with the cooperation and support of a vast number of industries and public and private stakeholders. To this end, we have the following expectations of our suppliers and their suppliers to acquire minerals only from responsible sources:

  • Suppliers should not supply us with any products or other materials that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the Covered Countries.
  • Suppliers should use their best efforts to source Conflict Minerals only from sources that are identified as DRC Conflict Free.
  • Suppliers should develop policies, procedures, due diligence processes and management systems that are reasonably designed to prevent products or minerals that are not DRC Conflict Free from entering our supply chain and to provide transparency as to the source of any Conflict Minerals.
  • Suppliers are expected to take steps to identify the steps in the supply chain through which Conflict Minerals are introduced, and to undertake all due diligence efforts necessary to identify the smelter, refiner and/or mine from which Conflict Minerals originate, including requiring direct or indirect suppliers to our suppliers to cooperate in diligence efforts and to provide any information necessary to facilitate our compliance efforts with respect to the Conflict Minerals Rules.
  • Suppliers are encouraged to support industry efforts to enhance the traceability and responsible sourcing of Conflict Minerals.

In seeking to meet these expectations, our suppliers will be expected to:

  • Implement and communicate policies that are consistent with this Conflict Minerals Policy, and require that their direct and indirect suppliers do the same.
  • Establish procedures and contractual provisions that facilitate the traceability of Conflict Minerals within our supply chain.
  • Provide us with timely and accurate information, at our request, regarding the source of Conflict Minerals in our supply chain and the steps that have been undertaken to determine whether such products and materials directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the Covered Countries, including whether the source has been verified by a recognized, independent third party.
  • Use reasonable efforts to source Conflict Minerals from smelters and refiners that have been validated by a recognized, independent third party as DRC Conflict Free.
  • Advise us as promptly as possible of any determination that any products or materials in the supply chain are not DRC Conflict Free.

We evaluate our relationship with our suppliers on an ongoing basis, and we reserve the right to evaluate the extent to which a supplier has failed to reasonably comply with this Conflict Minerals Policy. If we determine that a supplier's efforts are deficient, we reserve the right to evaluate the supplier relationship and to take any appropriate action, including terminating our relationship with the supplier.

Nothing in this Conflict Minerals Policy is intended in any way to grant any additional rights or expectations to any of our suppliers, or in any way modify or otherwise limit our contractual or legal rights.

Additional Information

Our associates, suppliers and other interested parties may contact us regarding this Conflict Minerals Policy at conflictminerals@cerner.com.