Unassociated Document

This Conflict Minerals Report for ASML Holding N.V. (“ASML”, “we”, “us” or “our”) covers the reporting period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, and is filed in accordance with Rule 13p-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

In an effort to curb the violence and exploitation occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) and adjoining regions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted rules pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). Section 1502 of the legislation addresses Conflict Minerals and requires companies to publicly disclose information related to the use in their products of minerals originating in the DRC and the countries adjoining the DRC (“Covered Countries”), including the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Zambia, Angola, The Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The minerals currently subject to the SEC’s disclosure requirements, referred to as “Conflict Minerals” are columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, wolframite, gold and their derivatives, including tin, tantalum and tungsten (“3TG”).

ASML designs, develops, integrates, markets and services advanced lithography systems used by our customers—the major global integrated circuit manufacturers—to create chips that power a wide array of electronic, communication and information technology products. Our product development strategy focuses on the development of product families based on a modular, upgradeable design and encompasses our PAS 5500, TWINSCAN, TWINSCAN NXE lithography systems and YIELDSTAR enhancement systems.

Our PAS 5500 lithography systems (which we no longer manufacture but continue to refurbish), comprise advanced wafer steppers and Step-and-Scan systems equipped with i-line, KrF and ArF light sources for processing wafers up to 200 mm in diameter and are employed in volume manufacturing and in special applications to achieve semiconductor design nodes requiring imaging at a resolution down to 90 nm.

The modular, upgradeable design philosophy of the PAS 5500 product family has been further refined and applied in the design of our TWINSCAN lithography systems, which are the basis of our current and next-generation Step-and-Scan systems. TWINSCAN systems are equipped with i-line, KrF and ArF light sources for processing wafers up to 300 mm in diameter and are capable of extending semiconductor shrink technology down to 38 nm and beyond with multiple patterning techniques. The dual-stage advantage of TWINSCAN immersion systems enables our customers to benefit from the process enhancement of immersion while continuing to use familiar and proven technology. ASML’s TWINSCAN NXE platform is the industry’s first production platform for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL), currently offering 16 nm resolution with off-axis illumination and 2.5 nm match machine overlay performance.

In addition, we continuously develop and sell a range of product options and enhancements, including the YIELDSTAR system, designed to increase semiconductor manufacturing productivity and improve imaging and overlay to optimize value of ownership over the entire lifecycle of our systems.

Certain 3TG minerals are necessary to the functionality and production of our products. For example, gold is used in coating critical electronic connectors to enhance connectivity performance, totaling approximately 250 grams per TWINSCAN system. Each TWINSCAN system also contains approximately 1,500 grams of tin, used primarily for welding electronic components on printed circuit boards.

All 3TG minerals included in our systems are sourced as prefabricated component parts. ASML does not directly source any of the 3TG minerals as a raw material. As a result, we are only able to determine whether the 3TG minerals included in our systems are derived from a Covered Country through information provided to us by our suppliers.

ASML’s reasonable country of origin inquiry (“RCOI”) was designed to determine whether any of the minerals that are necessary to the functionality and production of our products may have originated from the Covered Countries.

Our RCOI primarily consisted of conducting a supply chain survey using the reporting template provided by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (“EICC”) and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (“GeSI”) together, the (“EICC/GeSI Conflict Minerals Reporting Template”).

We also utilized resources provided by the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (“CFSI”), including the Conflict-Free Smelter Program (“CFSP”). The CFSP uses a third-party audit firm to identify smelters and refiners that have systems in place to assure sourcing of only conflict-free materials, to provide additional country of origin information.

ASML conducted a RCOI survey with 75 of our ’Business Critical Suppliers. The results of the RCOI indicate that some of the 3TG minerals included in our systems may originate from the Covered Countries. Therefore, we conducted supply chain due diligence on the source and chain of custody of the Conflict Minerals, in a manner consistent with the framework promulgated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) and its Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (“OECD Guidance”).

Since the inception of the Dodd-Frank legislation relating to Conflict Minerals, ASML has taken a number of steps to adhere to the regulations and OECD Guidance. In an ongoing effort, we have taken the following actions:

ASML has established its position and commitment to implementing the Conflict Minerals regulations in written declarations for both internal and external use. ASML adopted a corporate policy on Conflict Minerals in 2013 for internal use, which describes the efforts made to address the concern that certain minerals that are contained in our systems may contribute to the funding of military conflict and human rights violations in the Covered Countries. ASML has also published on its website a Conflict Minerals Statement. In both of these documents, we state that we will continue to encourage our suppliers and their sub-suppliers to responsibly source Conflict Minerals and their derivatives. The ASML Conflict Minerals Statement has been published and made available online at www.asml.com

To ensure compliance with the Conflict Minerals legislation, we formed an ASML Conflict Minerals Implementation Team (the “Implementation Team”). This inter-departmental Implementation Team aligns on the approach to meet ASML’s reporting requirements with respect to Conflict Minerals and to ensure that the RCOI and due diligence is carried out annually. The goal of the Implementation Team is to further embed the execution of the related compliance requirements within ASML.

The Implementation Team utilizes a risk-based, strategic approach towards supplier awareness and due diligence, the full execution of which we estimate will take several years. Our risk-based approach focuses on informing our suppliers to our expectations with respect to Conflict Minerals and conducting supply chain due diligence of selected Business Critical Suppliers.

In 2014, we examined our products and direct spending volumes to select those suppliers which provide us with the product parts most likely to contain tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold. This generated a survey size of 55 suppliers for the 2014 reporting year. During the past year, we collaborated much more with our peers in the region to further improve the overall awareness and efficiency of our own internal Conflict Minerals initiatives. We believe this co-operation was deemed helpful by our peers and more efficient because we share a number of first- and second-tier suppliers in the region. Through this cooperation, we lessened the burden on our suppliers and coordinated our awareness efforts. We aligned on the timing of surveys and the scope of suppliers for inclusion; focusing on the suppliers considered to be the ‘Business Critical Suppliers’. For this reporting year 2015, we surveyed 75 Business Critical Suppliers. This represented an increase in the total number of suppliers surveyed over the previous year.

To create awareness of ASML’s requirements, methods and importance of supply chain due diligence on Conflict Minerals, we communicated with our selected suppliers in a variety of ways to inform them of our reporting obligations with respect to Conflict Minerals under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the Form SD. We referred them to ASML Conflict Minerals Statement and we sent additional information describing our approach to creating a more sustainable supply chain.

In an effort to further improve our due diligence procedures and results, ASML worked in close collaboration with several other technology-related Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”) and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (“SMEs”) in the Brainport Development region in and around Eindhoven, the Netherlands. There is a strong, technology focus in the region and a great deal of overlap exists in the regional supplier bases of the OEMs and SMEs. Through the coordination efforts of Brainport Development, these OEMs and local SMEs jointly seek to enhance awareness and effectiveness of the OEM due diligence efforts. The (shared) suppliers were also encouraged to utilize the same, standard Conflict Minerals Reporting Templates (“CMRT”) to attempt to map and trace the supply chain back to the smelter level.

In 2015 we organized several in person awareness and training sessions between the regional OEMs and approximately 30 of our suppliers who are members of Brainport Development. A representative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs also attended the session(s). These efforts between regional OEMs and members of Brainport Development resulted in further alignment of the due diligence approaches of the regional OEMs regarding timing, communication (i.e., supplier engagement letters and frequently asked questions) and use of the EICC CMRT for the due diligence reports.

Once the Implementation Team received completed EICC/GeSI Conflict Minerals Reporting Templates from our selected Business Critical Suppliers, we compared the smelters and refiners identified by our direct suppliers against the list of smelter facilities identified and/or designated as “DRC conflict free” under the EICC and the CFSP lists for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold smelters.

Due to our active participation in the Brainport Development program, individual follow-up on supplier’s survey results and sharing of FAQs, we are able to report a response rate of 86.66% of the 75 Business Critical Suppliers who were surveyed in 2015. The majority of the suppliers surveyed returned a declaration in the CMRT format. Based on a detailed assessment of the templates returned, we believe

1 *Brainport Development is a new-style development company working with representatives from industry, knowledge institutions and government to strengthen the Brainport top technology region in the Netherlands. Brainport is an important cornerstone of the Dutch economy in which high tech systems & materials, food, automotive, lifetec and design are the focal sectors. Brainport Development encourages and develops regional and (inter)national projects and programs, promotes Brainport at home and abroad and facilitates regional industry through business advice and funding, incubation facilities, business premises and business centers.

that the quality of the templates can be further improved. For example, we noted inconsistencies in some suppliers’ declarations between the smelter information provided and information provided by the CFSP on those smelters. In addition, a majority of the suppliers surveyed are not able to map and trace their supply chains back to the smelters used or to otherwise identify smelters supplying 3TG minerals within the timeframe provided. We will continue to encourage our suppliers to trace the origins of the 3TG minerals within their supply chain.

In addition to working closely with our own suppliers and other OEMs, we are also participating in global initiatives led by the EICC and GeSI to address the industry-wide concerns surrounding Conflict Minerals. These organizations support information sharing among suppliers and OEMs, including the identification and conflict-free status of 3TG smelters and refiners. ASML is a full member of the EICC and fully supports such efforts.

Through our membership and participation in both the EICC and the CFSI, we also continue to support the development of the CFSP, which aims for certification of smelters and promotion of responsible sourcing from the Covered Countries, such that the legitimate miners involved in those countries do not suffer. Since the start of the CFSI, representative(s) of the ASML Conflict Minerals Implementation Team have attended CFSI workshops and joined CFSI meetings on a regular basis to remain informed of developments and best practices in this area. Workshops and meetings are organized by the EICC, focusing on in-region traceability and certification programs, practical aspects of Conflict Minerals legislation and reporting and compliance best practices.

As of April 27th 2016, the CFSI verified the identity of 330 eligible smelters world-wide, 215 of them are compliant. As a result of our due diligence efforts, we can report that we have identified 317 eligible smelters verified by the CFSI within our supply chain, 215 of which are certified compliant as “DRC Conflict-Free”.

Due to the incomplete nature of the data available from our supply chain, a direct result of the 3TG supply chain complexity and the limited number of certified conflict free smelters for all Conflict Minerals, we are unable to determine the precise origin of the 3TG minerals which are included in our products.

Continue to bring to our suppliers’ attention the need to be able to map and trace 3TG minerals back to the smelters used and encourage and challenge our suppliers to create more transparency in their mineral usage.

This document contains statements that are forward-looking, including statements relating to our compliance efforts, our plans to take additional actions or to implement additional policies or procedures, including plans with respect to our due diligence efforts to determine the origin of certain minerals contained in our products, our EICC and CFSI membership and our plans to work to improve the CFSP. You can generally identify these statements by the use of words like “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “project”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “plan”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “potential”, “intend”, “continue” and variations of these words or comparable words.

Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, our reporting obligations under the Conflict Minerals rules, our ability to implement certain processes and policies, our ability to obtain information from our suppliers, our ability to improve our Conflict Minerals due diligence procedures and results and steps we intend to take in 2016 to improve our due diligence procedures and increase transparency of our mineral supply chain and other risks indicated in the risk factors included in ASML’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and its other filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this document. ASML does not undertake to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.