<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000909832-24-000022.txt : 20240522
<SEC-HEADER>0000909832-24-000022.hdr.sgml : 20240522
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20240521183329
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000909832-24-000022
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	SD
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
<RULE>
<RULE-NAME>13p-1
<ITEM>
<ITEM-NUMBER>1.01
<ITEM-PERIOD>20231231
</ITEM>
<ITEM>
<ITEM-NUMBER>1.02
<ITEM-PERIOD>20231231
</ITEM>
</RULE>
FILED AS OF DATE:		20240522
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20240521

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000909832
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	RETAIL-VARIETY STORES [5331]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	07 Trade & Services
		IRS NUMBER:				911223280
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			WA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0901

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		SD
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	000-20355
		FILM NUMBER:		24971158

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		999 LAKE DRIVE
		CITY:			ISSAQUAH
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98027-
		BUSINESS PHONE:		4253138100

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		999 LAKE DRIVE
		CITY:			ISSAQUAH
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98027

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	COSTCO COMPANIES INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19970401

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	PRICE/COSTCO INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19930728
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>SD
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>a2023formsd.htm
<DESCRIPTION>SD
<TEXT>
<html><head>
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<title>Document</title></head><body><div id="ic847b02929f54629b31d350145592a48_1"></div><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:18pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">UNITED STATES </font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:18pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION </font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Washington, D.C. 20549</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:18pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">FORM SD</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:18pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">SPECIALIZED DISCLOSURE REPORT</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font><br></font></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font><br></font></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:24pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Costco Wholesale Corporation</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;margin-top:5pt;text-align:center"><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:99.851%"><tr><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:34.220%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:28.259%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:34.221%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="9" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">(Exact name of the registrant as specified in its charter)</font></div></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Washington</font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">000-20355</font></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">(Commission File Number)</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">98027</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">(Address of principal executive offices) </font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">(Zip Code)</font></td></tr><tr style="height:15pt"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">John Sullivan</font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:bottom"><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">(425) 313-8100</font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="9" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">(Name and telephone number, including area code, of the<br>person to contact in connection with this report.)</font></td></tr></table></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Check the appropriate box to indicate the rule pursuant to which this form is being filed, and provide the period to which the information in this form applies&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#9746;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13p-1) for the reporting period from January 1 to December 31, 2023.</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt;padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-36pt"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-36pt"><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div></div><div id="ic847b02929f54629b31d350145592a48_4"></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="-sec-extract:summary"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Section&#160;1 - Conflict Minerals Disclosure</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Introduction</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco or the Company), a Washington corporation, and its subsidiaries operate membership warehouses and e-commerce websites. On December 31, 2023, Costco operated 871 warehouses worldwide. In accordance with Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Rule 13p-1), Costco files this Specialized Disclosure Form (Form SD). A copy of Costco Wholesale Corporation&#8217;s Form SD is publicly available at </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;text-decoration:underline">https&#58;&#47;&#47;investor.costco.com</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">SEC Final Rule Applicability Determination</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">To comply with Rule 13p-1, Costco followed a three-step process&#58; first, determine the applicability of the rule to the Company&#8217;s products&#59; second, conduct a &#8220;reasonable country of origin inquiry&#8221; (RCOI) to determine whether there is reason to believe that tin, tungsten, tantalum or gold (3TG), also referred to as conflict minerals, are present in and necessary for the functionality or production of the Company&#8217;s products were sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries (collectively, DRC or covered countries)&#59; and third, conduct due diligence to determine the source and chain of custody of those conflict minerals, unless the Company has no reason to believe its necessary conflict minerals were sourced from a covered country based on the RCOI. </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">RCOI Description </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Costco is required to conduct an RCOI on products that it manufactures or contracts to manufacture that contain 3TG necessary for the functionality or production of the product. While Costco continues to assess which of its products are in scope of Rule 13p-1, it believes that it has interpreted &#8220;contract to manufacture&#8221; broadly for purposes of this filing. Costco&#8217;s objective is that our sourcing practices not support armed conflict or human rights abuses in the DRC.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">To aid in identifying suppliers to include in its RCOI, Costco provided a third-party service, Source Intelligence (SI), with descriptive information for nonfood products that Costco sold during 2023, including whether Costco may have manufactured or contracted to manufacture those products. SI reviewed the product data using automated queries and a detailed quality-control check to determine which of those products might contain 3TG. If SI had doubt regarding the use of 3TG in products, the suppliers of the products were initially included in the RCOI process.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The products SI initially flagged as potentially in-scope due to their likelihood of containing 3TG were those that are electronic or electrical, solar powered, contained any kind of metal (e.g., metal covering including alloys or metal hardware), or had unclear material content. The Company&#8217;s scoping inquiry included nonfood products sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Australia, Iceland, France, Spain, New Zealand, and Sweden.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Next, Tier 1 suppliers (those selling directly to the Company) were asked to confirm whether the products they supplied contain 3TG that are necessary to the functionality or production of the product and whether Costco contracted with the supplier to manufacture the product or Costco influenced the manufacturing, and whether the products were supplied to Costco during the 2023 reporting year. This information was used to determine which of our suppliers were in-scope for RCOIs. If in-scope, SI asked the suppliers to provide additional conflict minerals information. Suppliers were then engaged to collect information regarding the presence and sourcing of 3TG used in items sold to Costco. Out of scope suppliers are classified on SI&#8217;s platform. </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry (RCOI)</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">SI engaged Costco&#8217;s Tier 1 suppliers to collect information about the presence and sourcing of 3TG used in the products and components supplied to Costco. The program utilized the Responsible Minerals Initiative&#8217;s (RMI) Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT). Only supplier reports using CMRT&#8217;s version 6.31 or higher were accepted.</font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="-sec-extract:summary;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">1</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Supplier Engagement</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Costco provided SI with methods of contact for each supplier designated as in-scope. Generally, Costco and SI used email as the method of communication and followed with phone calls where appropriate. The RCOI began with an introduction email from Costco to suppliers describing the Conflict Minerals Compliance Program (CMCP) requirements and identifying SI as a partner. SI then sent a subsequent email to suppliers containing a registration and survey request link for the online data collection platform.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%"> </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">To increase awareness of the CMCP, the initial registration email sent to Costco&#8217;s suppliers provided them with guidance on the regulations and frequently asked questions concerning 3TG mineral tracing. Following the initial introductions to the program and information request, up to 14 reminder emails requesting survey completion were sent to each non-responsive supplier. </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Escalation</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">If after these efforts a supplier still did not register with the system or provide the information requested, an escalation process was initiated. It consisted of direct outreach by Costco. We contacted these suppliers by email to request their participation. SI followed up with a re-invitation to the platform.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Information Requested</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Suppliers were given a final deadline of April 5, 2024 to provide information about the mineral processors in their supply chains. Suppliers were asked to provide information regarding the sourcing of their conflict minerals, with the ultimate goal of identifying the 3TG smelters or refiners (SORs) and the country of origin of the 3TG. Suppliers who had already performed an RCOI through the use of the CMRT were asked to upload this document into the SI system or to provide this information in the online survey version. Suppliers had the ability to share information at a level with which they were most comfortable, i.e., company, product or user-defined, but the scope of the declaration had to be specified. Suppliers were asked to provide an electronic signature before submitting their data to Costco to verify that all answers submitted were accurate to the best of the supplier&#8217;s knowledge.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Quality Assurance</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Supplier responses were evaluated by SI and Costco&#8217;s Conflict Mineral Team for plausibility, consistency, and completeness. Additional supplier contacts were conducted to attempt to resolve potential quality control flags, including&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.15pt">One or more smelter or refiners (SORs) were noted for a metal not listed as being in the product&#59;</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">SOR information was not provided for a used metal, or SOR information provided was not a verified metal processor&#59;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:6.5pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;position:relative;top:-3.5pt;vertical-align:baseline">1</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">Supplier answered yes to sourcing from the covered countries but none of the SORs listed are known to source from the region&#59;</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">Supplier indicated that it had not received conflict minerals data for each metal from all suppliers&#59;</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">Supplier indicated it had not identified all of the SORs used for the products included in the declaration scope&#59;</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">Supplier indicated it had not provided all applicable SOR information&#59; and</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">&#8226;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;padding-left:14.5pt">Supplier indicated 100% of the 3TG for products covered by the declaration originated from scrap&#47;recycled sources, but one or more SORs listed are not known to be exclusively recyclers.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="border-bottom:1pt solid black;margin-bottom:5pt;margin-top:10pt;width:150pt"></div><div style="-sec-extract:summary"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:6.5pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%;position:relative;top:-3.5pt;vertical-align:baseline">1</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%"> </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:9pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%">SI maintains a smelter&#47;refiner database, which includes verified metal processors, companies that are exclusively recyclers, mine country of origin information, and DRC conflict-free certification status. SI collects SOR data submitted by suppliers in CMRTs and compares it against its existing database. Supplier responses listing entities that are not verified smelters&#47;refiners are flagged and suppliers are asked for further clarification. </font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="-sec-extract:summary;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">2</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="margin-bottom:10pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">RCOI Results </font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">A total of 438 Tier 1 suppliers were flagged as potentially in-scope and contacted as part of the RCOI process. The response rate was 95%. Of the 438 suppliers flagged, 187 (43%) scoped in and provided a conflict minerals reporting template, indicating that a product they supplied to Costco contained 3TG. Of these, 88 (47%) indicated one or more of the regulated metals (3TG) as necessary to the functionality or production of the products supplied to Costco and that Costco &#8220;contracted to manufacture the products.&#8221; Based on SI&#8217;s smelter&#47;refiner database, plus the RMI Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP), there was an indication of potential sourcing from the DRC and covered countries for 40 out of 211 verified smelters&#47;refiners.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:6.5pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;position:relative;top:-3.5pt;vertical-align:baseline">2</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Due Diligence</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">For supply chains with SORs that are known or thought to be sourcing from the DRC, additional investigation was conducted to determine the source and chain-of-custody of the regulated metals. Costco and SI relied on the following internationally accepted audit standards to determine which SORs are considered &#8220;DRC Conflict Free&#8221;&#58; the RMAP, the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Program, and the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain-of-Custody Certification.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">SI assigned red flags to SORs where there was evidence of sourcing from&#58; an RMI Level 2 country, meaning low to medium risk countries with known or plausible involvement in the smuggling, export or transit of mineral out of conflict affected regions&#59; or from an RMI Level 3 country meaning high-risk countries outlined in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act as those affected or bordering conflict-affected regions&#58; currently defined as the DRC and covered countries. If any of these SORs is not certified, Costco requires its supplier to address the SOR by either moving it toward certification or eliminating it from the supply chain.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Costco also leveraged its membership in the RMI to attend its periodic plenary conference calls to discuss emerging issues and best practices on responsible mineral sourcing and to work on addressing shared challenges. In addition, SI is an official vendor member of the RMI, to further facilitate the exchange of supply chain data and technical information. This membership provides SI access to the following working groups&#58; Engage with the CMRT Development Team, Smelter Engagement Team, Smelter Data Management Team, RMI Stakeholders Call, and RMI Plenary.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Due Diligence Summary</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">As a result of the information provided by our suppliers for reporting year 2023 and SI&#8217;s research, there were 38 certified conflict-free SORs with indications of sourcing from an RMI Level 2 country and 39 certified conflict-free SORs with indications of sourcing from an RMI Level 3 country.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">In addition, the research identified one non-certified SOR with evidence of sourcing from a RMI Level 3 country and two non-certified SORs with evidence of sourcing from an RMI Level 2 country, as shown in the table below&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:100.000%"><tr><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:6.740%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.391%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:24.787%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:8.367%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:14.876%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:17.391%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:9.402%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:6.451%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Metal</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Official Smelter Name</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">RMI Smelter ID</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Smelter Country</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Country of Origin</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Smelter Country RMI Risk Level</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Certified SOR</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Gold</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Emirates Gold DMCC</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">CID002561</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">United Arab Emirates</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">United Arab Emirates</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">2</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">No</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Tungsten</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Hunan Jintai New Material Co., Ltd.</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">CID000769</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">China</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Mozambique</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">2</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">No</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Tin</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">PT Bangka Tin Industry</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">CID001419</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Indonesia</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">DRC - Congo (Kinshasa)</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">3</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">No</font></td></tr></table></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="border-bottom:1pt solid black;margin-bottom:5pt;margin-top:10pt;width:150pt"></div><div style="-sec-extract:summary"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:6.5pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;position:relative;top:-3.5pt;vertical-align:baseline">2</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Times New Roman',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%"> </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:9pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The information in the smelter&#47;refiner database begins with supplier-provided information (CMRT data)&#59; Source Intelligence then performs additional research (internet, industry and government associations) and outreach (email and telephone) directly with these companies to confirm the data provided via CMRTs. The Source Intelligence Smelter Verification and Outreach Process includes research in an attempt to verify types of metal processing performed (including exclusive recycling), mine countries of origin, conflict-free certification status, and due diligence measures being conducted for those entities that are not conflict-free certified.</font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="-sec-extract:summary;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">3</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Section&#160;2 - Resource Extraction Issuer Disclosure and Report</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Not applicable.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Section&#160;3 - Exhibits</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">The following exhibit is filed as part of this report&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#0000ff;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline"><a href="exhibit101-conflictmineral.htm" style="-sec-extract:exhibit;color:#0000ff;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%;text-decoration:underline">Exhibit 1.01 - Conflict Minerals Report</a></font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="-sec-extract:summary;text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">4</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div><div id="ic847b02929f54629b31d350145592a48_7"></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;padding-right:18pt;text-align:center;text-indent:-36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">SIGNATURES</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-36pt"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the duly authorized undersigned.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-36pt"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Costco Wholesale Corporation</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-indent:-36pt"><font><br></font></div><div style="margin-top:5pt;text-align:center"><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:99.851%"><tr><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:3.072%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:56.873%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:2.029%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:33.626%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">By&#58;</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:top"><div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%">&#47;s&#47; G</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%">ARY</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%"> M</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%">ILLERCHIP</font></div></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">May 21, 2024</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:1pt solid #000000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%">Gary Millerchip</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:1pt solid #000000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Date</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:top"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:112%">Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td></tr></table></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="text-align:center"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">5</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div></body></html>
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-1.01
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>exhibit101-conflictmineral.htm
<DESCRIPTION>EX-1.01
<TEXT>
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<title>Document</title></head><body><div id="iacb447ab2663496fa7e35b1471be76bf_1"></div><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font></div></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;padding-right:18pt;text-align:center;text-indent:-36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">Conflict Minerals Report of Costco Wholesale Corporation</font></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;padding-right:18pt;text-align:center;text-indent:-36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">Reporting Year 2023</font></div><div style="padding-left:18pt;padding-right:18pt;text-align:center;text-indent:-36pt"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">This Conflict Mineral Report (CMR) of Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco or the Company) is made for calendar year 2023.  </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Costco initiated measures to exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of the tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG or conflict minerals) found in products it contracts to manufacture and that are necessary for the functionality or production of the products.  The goal was to determine whether smelters and refiners within the Company&#8217;s supply chain sourced conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding area (DRC or covered countries). The Company based its due diligence process on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines and accompanying Supplements (OECD Framework).</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:6.5pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;position:relative;top:-3.5pt;vertical-align:baseline">1</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">  The OECD Framework identifies five due diligence steps&#58;</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">1&#58; </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Establish Strong Company Management Systems</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;2&#58; </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Identify and Assess Risk in the Supply Chain</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;3&#58; </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Design and Implement a Strategy to Respond to Identified Risks</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;4&#58; </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Carry out Independent Third-Party Audit of Supply Chain Due Diligence at Identified Points in the    </font></div><div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:36pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Supply Chain</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;5&#58; </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Report on Supply Chain Due Diligence</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Our implementation of the OECD Framework generally consisted of the following&#58;</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">1.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%;padding-left:27.67pt">Establish Strong Company Management Systems</font></div><div style="padding-left:36pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The Company identified product categories (which it refers to as departments) it believed were reasonably likely to contain conflict minerals. These included&#58; health and beauty aids, office supplies, tires, hardware, automotive accessories, sporting goods, lawn &#38; garden, toys &#38; seasonal, apparel, housewares, small electrics, major appliances, domestics, jewelry&#47;luggage&#47;handbags, media&#47;books&#47;DVD&#47;CDs, and furniture.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Adopt a Conflict Minerals Policy</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The Company has adopted a Conflict Minerals Policy Statement (Policy).</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:0.1pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:133%;text-decoration:underline">https&#58;&#47;&#47;www.costco.com&#47;sustainability-resources-updates.html</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:133%">.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:133%">  </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Structure internal management to support supply chain due diligence</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Staff members with appropriate authority and responsibility were established and adequately resourced to oversee the supply chain due diligence process. Communication channels were in place to ensure critical information reached relevant employees and suppliers.</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:0.1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Establish a System of Controls and Transparency over the Mineral Supply Chain</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">To provide better transparency within Costco&#8217;s supply chains and to help facilitate communication with international suppliers, Costco engaged a third-party information service provider, Source Intelligence (SI), to complement internal management processes.</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:0.1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Strengthen company engagement with suppliers</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Suppliers identified as potentially being in-scope of the Company&#8217;s due diligence efforts were provided with communication laying out&#58; a) Costco&#8217;s expectations on responsible supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, and b) the potential for business interruption for non-compliance. Multiple sources of information were also provided to help suppliers learn more about relevant areas of risk.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Establish a Company-level Grievance Mechanism</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Our Confidential Ethics Hotline can be utilized by members, suppliers and other interested parties to report (among other things) complaints or violations of the Conflict Minerals Policy. </font></div><div style="margin-bottom:0.1pt;text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:133%;text-decoration:underline">www.costco.ethicspoint.com</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:133%">.</font></div><div style="border-bottom:1pt solid black;margin-bottom:5pt;margin-top:10pt;width:150pt"></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:5.85pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;position:relative;top:-3.15pt;vertical-align:baseline">1</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:9pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%"> </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:9pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas&#58; Third Edition</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:9pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">, OECD Publishing, Paris (2016). </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:9pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;text-decoration:underline">https&#58;&#47;&#47;www.oecd.org&#47;daf&#47;inv&#47;mne&#47;OECD-Due-Diligence-Guidance-Minerals-Edition3.pdf.</font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font></div></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">2.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Identify and Assess Risk in the Supply Chain</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Costco is committed to tracing the origin of its necessary conflict minerals so that it avoids supporting armed conflict or human rights abuses in the covered countries. </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The Company&#8217;s scoping inquiry included nonfood products sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Australia, Spain, Iceland, France, New Zealand, and Sweden. The Company sought to identify nonfood products that may possibly be the subject of &#8220;contract to manufacture&#8221; agreements </font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">or that the Company may possibly have &#8220;influenced the manufacturing.&#8221;</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Identify the Smelters or Refiners (SORs) in the supply chain</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Costco took steps to identify and verify SORs and the source of conflict minerals through a country of origin inquiry.  See Specialized Disclosure Report (Form SD) for reporting year 2023 filed in accordance </font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">with Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">.  </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">After determining products to include in its due diligence efforts, the Company identified suppliers potentially in scope from a list of the Company&#8217;s purchase orders for products it purchased and received during 2023.  Costco implemented a process to engage those suppliers, including, but not limited to, facilitating the identification of upstream participants in the chain of custody. Costco engaged SI to identify conflict minerals processors in Costco&#8217;s supply chains and collect, store, and review information on 3TG sourcing practices. Communications were sent to the Company&#8217;s direct suppliers describing the compliance requirements and requesting conflict minerals information. </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Suppliers were requested to use the Responsible Minerals Initiative&#8217;s (RMI) Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT), to identify 3TG SORs and associated countries of origin. SI advised suppliers that it tracks information on SORs and flags risks based on smelter or refiner sourcing practices. SI verified the SORs were matched against available lists of processors that have been certified by internationally-recognized industry validation schemes, such as the RMI Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP).</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The Company reviewed </font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">the products of suppliers that listed&#160;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">SORs deemed to be higher risk. </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">3.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Design and Implement a Strategy to Respond to Identified Risks</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">  </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Due Diligence Strategy </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">For supply chains with SORs that are known or thought to be sourcing from the DRC, additional investigation was conducted to determine the source and chain-of-custody of the regulated metals.  Costco and SI relied upon the following internationally accepted audit standards&#58; the RMAP&#59; the London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery Program&#59; and the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain-of-Custody Certification.  </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">SI assigned red flags to SORs where there is evidence of sourcing from an RMI Level 2 country, meaning low to medium risk countries with known or plausible involvement in the smuggling, export or transit of minerals out of conflict affected regions&#59; or from an RMI Level 3 country, meaning  high-risk countries outlined in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act as those affected or bordering conflict-affected regions&#58; currently defined as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its nine adjoining countries (Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia). </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The Company used its membership in RMI to assess risks in the supply chain. Costco attends RMI&#8217;s periodic plenary conference calls to discuss emerging issues and best practices on responsible mineral sourcing and to work on addressing shared challenges. </font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Additionally, the RMI</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%"> provides a range of tools and resources, including the RMAP, the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template, Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry data and a range of guidance documents on conflict mineral sourcing.</font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%"> See </font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;text-decoration:underline">www.responsiblemineralsinitiative.org&#47;.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">SI is an official vendor member of the RMI, to further facilitate the exchange of supply chain data and technical information. This membership provides access to the following working groups&#58; Engage with the CMRT Development Team, Smelter Engagement Team, Smelter Data Management Team, RMI Stakeholders Call, and RMI Plenary.</font></div><div style="margin-bottom:0.1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="margin-bottom:0.1pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font></div></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Due Diligence Summary</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The results of the information provided by our suppliers and SI&#8217;s research revealed that&#58; (1) there were 38 certified conflict-free SORs with indications of sourcing from an RMI Level 2 country&#59; and (2) 39 certified conflict-free SORs with indications of sourcing from an RMI Level 3 country.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">In addition, the research identified one non-certified SOR with evidence of sourcing from an RMI Level 3 country and two non-certified SORs with evidence of sourcing from an RMI Level 2 country, as shown in the table below&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="margin-bottom:0.1pt"><table style="border-collapse:collapse;display:inline-table;margin-bottom:5pt;vertical-align:text-bottom;width:100.000%"><tr><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:6.740%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.391%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:24.787%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:8.367%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:14.876%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:17.391%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:9.402%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:0.539%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td><td style="width:1.0%"></td><td style="width:6.451%"></td><td style="width:0.1%"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Metal</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Official Smelter Name</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">RMI Smelter ID</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Smelter Country</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Country of Origin</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Smelter Country RMI Risk Level</font></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:bottom"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:700;line-height:100%">Certified SOR</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Gold</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Emirates Gold DMCC</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">CID002561</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">United Arab Emirates</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">United Arab Emirates</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">2</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;border-top:1pt solid #000;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">No</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Tungsten</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Hunan Jintai New Material Co., Ltd.</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">CID000769</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">China</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Mozambique</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">2</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">No</font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Tin</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">PT Bangka Tin Industry</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">CID001419</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">Indonesia</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">DRC - Congo (Kinshasa)</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">3</font></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:0 1pt"></td><td colspan="3" style="background-color:#cceeff;padding:2px 1pt;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:8pt;font-weight:400;line-height:100%">No</font></td></tr></table></div><div style="margin-bottom:9pt;text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The final conflict minerals findings were reported to  leadership on April 22, 2024.  </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">Steps to Be Taken </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The Company expects to take the following steps in 2024 to seek to lessen the risk that its in-scope suppliers&#8217; 3TG may benefit armed groups in the DRC region&#58;</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="padding-left:63pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">1.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;padding-left:9.67pt">Address non-certified smelters to move them toward certification or eliminate them from the supply chain&#59;</font></div><div style="padding-left:63pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">2.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;padding-left:9.67pt">Continue to educate our buyers on the importance of our Conflict Minerals Policy&#59; </font></div><div style="padding-left:63pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">3.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;padding-left:9.67pt">Continue to engage with and promote industry-based efforts to educate suppliers on the Conflict Minerals Rule, including supporting the work of the RMI&#59;</font></div><div style="padding-left:63pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">4.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;padding-left:9.67pt">Continue to enforce risk management procedures that, in particular, address supplier non-responsiveness and non-compliance&#59; and</font></div><div style="padding-left:63pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:-18pt"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">5.</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;padding-left:9.67pt">Encourage our suppliers to provide the product level information for 2024 through ongoing outreach with suppliers and buyer education.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">4.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">Carry out Independent Third-Party Audit of Supply Chain Due Diligence at Identified Points in the Supply Chain</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%"> </font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">For Costco&#8217;s due diligence, we used information we gathered along with information made available by the RMAP, RMI, LBMA, SI, and RJC.  Costco does not directly do business with any smelters or refiners of 3TG.  We rely upon our suppliers to provide accurate, information about 3TG in our supply chain. In most instances, we are several tiers removed from the smelters and refiners of 3TG used in our consumer products. Costco intends to conduct the audit required by Rule 13p-1 when required.</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:115%">5.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Report on Supply Chain Due Diligence</font></div><div style="text-align:justify"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">The Form SD and CMR, </font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">publicly available at </font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%;text-decoration:underline">https&#58;&#47;&#47;investor.costco.com</font><font style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">, m</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:115%">eet the OECD recommendation to report annually on supply chain due diligence.</font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div style="text-align:center"><font><br></font></div></div></div></body></html>
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