“[BYD’s] The disclosures demonstrate a serious lack of transparency regarding human rights in battery supply chains,” Amnesty International’s Callamard said. “Other low-performing companies such as Hyundai and Mitsubishi lack the necessary in-depth knowledge and information on how to implement human rights due diligence in key areas.”
“The commitments these companies report are often unclear and provide little evidence of meaningful action, showing they have a long way to go to meet international standards,” Callamard said.
While companies such as Renault and GM have stated that they engage in human rights due diligence and rank higher compared to some of the lowest-scoring companies, they still provide confined evidence that they have fully incorporated these commitments into their downstream operations supplies, with scant information about them, according to the Recharge for Rights report.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and VW have ‘more to do’ to ‘identify real and potential threats to human rights across Europe’ [their] supply chains,” Amnesty International said, but the fact that they scored “moderate” “should serve as an example for others to follow,” Recharge for Rights said.
Automatic compatibility
Six of the 13 companies included in the Recharge for Rights report responded to WIRED, emphasizing that they take the issues raised by Amnesty International seriously. BMW, GM, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Hyundai sent statements regarding their poor performance.
Mitsubishi said Amnesty International’s report was based on information from 2023, “but we have made numerous efforts since then.” These measures, the Japanese company says, include the use of artificial intelligence to “analyze potential links with suppliers related to conflict minerals and other issues.”
Nissan provided WIRED with a Sustainability Databook that included best practices in mineral sourcing, adding that the company respects the “human rights of all stakeholders” and complies with “applicable laws, regulations and standards.”
“Our supply chain compliance program sets the highest standards,” Hyundai said, adding that it is “committed to a sustainable, ethical supply chain that upholds human rights, environmental protection and safety.”
“We have been committed to respecting human rights for years, even going beyond legal requirements,” said Mercedes-Benz, emphasizing that in the Amnesty International report “it ranks first among the rated car manufacturers.”
BMW pointed WIRED to the group’s compliance management documents. General Motors said it is committed to “sustainably and responsibly sourcing goods and services.” A Ford spokesman offered to give an interview via a Zoom call, but he did not show up at the scheduled time.
History of criticism
Extracting minerals can be extremely profitable for mining companies, but the people living near these resources rarely, if ever, benefit from it. For some Brazilian communities, the situation changed last month after a court hearing that will be closely scrutinized by industries that depend on such minerals, including the automotive sector.
It was the largest class action lawsuit in English history filed in London on October 21a claim covering 700,000 people seeking compensation after a devastating tailings dam burst in 2015 on the Doce River in southeastern Brazil. Nine years later, the Doce River – which the indigenous people of Krenak worship as a deity – is still poisoned by toxins from an iron ore mine resulting from the flood.