Compliance & Responsible Sourcing

Prove your supply
chain is clean.

European regulation now requires companies to prove where their materials come from and how they were produced. We collect the evidence, verify it, and package the proof your buyers and auditors require. We do not trade the goods we verify. We assure them.

Independent·Aligned to OECD guidance·English & French·Fixed fees

Independent by design
Field-level evidence collection
Aligned to OECD Due Diligence Guidance
Local teams, local languages
Why This Matters

Regulation moved the burden of proof
onto the buyer.

A decade ago, a European company could buy from a supplier and take their word for it. That era has ended.

Under the EU Batteries Regulation, the EU Deforestation Regulation and the incoming Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the company placing goods on the European market carries the legal obligation to prove those goods are traceable, legally produced and free of human rights abuse. Fail, and you lose market access.

That proof cannot be assembled from a desk in Europe. It has to be gathered at source, by people who can visit the sites, speak the languages and be trusted by the communities. That is exactly where we work.

The Regimes We Work Across
EU Batteries RegulationAug 2027
EU Deforestation RegulationDec 2026
OECD Due Diligence GuidanceIn force
Conflict Minerals (3TG)In force
CSDDDPhasing in
Liability sits with the company placing goods on the EU market
What We Do

Assurance, Not Extraction

Six capabilities that turn an undocumented supply chain into a defensible compliance position.

Site Monitoring

Independent checks on conditions, safety and human rights risk at the point of production, with photographs, structured data and honest reporting.

Traceability at Source

We follow material from origin through the chain, acting as the field layer for international traceability platforms and chain-of-custody systems.

Producer Formalisation

Helping cooperatives and small-scale producers meet recognised responsible sourcing standards through registration, training and record-keeping.

Audit Readiness

Preparing producers and processors for OECD-aligned third-party audit and scheme certification, then closing the gaps we find.

Due-Diligence Dossiers

Packaging the evidence international buyers need to satisfy their legal obligations, in the format their regulators and auditors expect.

Grievance & Community Engagement

Local-language complaint and remediation systems, designed and operated as the regulation requires them to be.

Standards

Aligned to the Standards That Matter

We do not invent frameworks. We help you meet the ones your buyers, regulators and auditors already use.

OECD Due Diligence Guidance
The global foundation every other framework builds on.
EU Batteries Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Enforced from August 2027.
EU Deforestation Regulation
Traceability and legality for listed commodities.
CIRAF, Copper Mark & Cobalt Mark
Site-level responsible production assurance schemes.
Responsible Minerals Initiative
Industry audit programme and reporting templates.
CSDDD
EU corporate sustainability due diligence directive.
Why ICONGRP

Why Buyers Trust Our Data

Evidence at Source

We hire in the markets we serve. Field teams work close to producers, in French and local languages, where the evidence actually is.

Independent

We do not buy, sell or trade the goods we verify. We have no commercial interest in the finding. That is why our data is data you can trust.

Compliance Expertise

We understand precisely what European regulators, buyers and auditors require, and how to produce it to their standard.

Honest Reporting

Child labour and abuse are the core issue. We never overstate what we find. Accuracy is the entire product.

Where the Pressure Is Highest

Cobalt is where this regulation bites first.

Focus Sector

Around 70% of the world's cobalt originates in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It sits in every electric vehicle, phone and laptop battery sold in Europe.

Under the EU Batteries Regulation, any company placing batteries on the European market must prove that cobalt is responsibly sourced, traceable, and free of human rights abuse. The obligation falls on the importer. But the evidence sits with the producer, thousands of miles away, in a language they do not speak.

That gap is the whole problem. Closing it is the whole service.

We support both sides of it: Congolese exporters who must produce the evidence, and European buyers who must hold it. ICONGRP has an established operation in Kinshasa and a UK compliance team that knows what the regulators will accept.

Who Needs This
Battery manufacturersObligated
EV and electronics brandsObligated
Cobalt exportersMust supply evidence
Refiners and tradersMust supply evidence
Enforced fromAugust 2027
Our DRC operation is based in Kinshasa. We do not operate in the conflict-affected eastern provinces.
Beyond Cobalt

The same model applies wherever the burden of proof outruns the available evidence.

Cobalt under the Batteries Regulation is where the pressure is greatest today. The EU Deforestation Regulation places identical obligations on timber, cocoa, coffee, rubber, soy, palm oil and cattle. The CSDDD extends the principle across entire corporate supply chains. As our clients' obligations widen, so does our practice.

Who We Help

Four Kinds of Client

Importers & Brands

Battery makers, EV manufacturers and electronics brands placing goods on the EU market, who carry the legal obligation to prove responsible sourcing.

Producers, Exporters & Refiners

Mining companies, exporters and refiners who must supply evidence to their buyers in order to keep selling into European markets.

Cooperatives

Artisanal and small-scale producer groups formalising their operations to meet recognised responsible sourcing standards.

Assurance & Traceability Firms

International providers who need a trusted field delivery partner in the markets they cannot reach.

How It Works

Start With One Site

A single-site pilot tells you where you stand before you commit to anything larger.

01

Talk to Us

Tell us the site or the supply line you need to stand behind. We will tell you what the regulation asks of you.

02

Pilot

We run a monitoring visit or gap assessment on one site, and show you exactly what we find.

03

Deliver

We collect and verify the data, then hand you an audit-ready report or a complete due-diligence dossier.

04

Sustain

Ongoing monitoring and reporting that keeps your compliance position current as the rules move.

Get Started

Need to prove your supply chain is responsibly sourced?

Start with a single-site pilot. We will show you what we find, and what it takes to be audit-ready.

Request a Pilot

Tell Us About Your Supply Chain

We respond within one working day with an honest assessment of what the regulation requires of you, and what a pilot would involve.

Thank you. We have received your enquiry and will respond within one working day.
Speak to Us Directly

Contact the Compliance Desk

WhatsApp
+44 XXXX XXXXXX
Email
compliance@icongrp.co.uk
Phone
+44 1268 20 30 10
DRC Operation
Kinshasa, DR Congo

Enquiries welcome in French. Nous parlons français.