Amnesty International has published two major reports on human rights and environmental issues associated with cobalt mining and launched an initiative that challenged the electric vehicle industry to produce a battery with a completely clean human rights record for all its components.
At the Responsible Business Alliance, the Responsible Minerals Initiative is helping companies understand and improve the social and environmental performance of their cobalt supply chains.
The alliance recently teamed up with RCS Global Group, a company that specializes in responsible sourcing of materials, to expand assessment, monitoring and improvement of artisanal and small-scale cobalt mining practices in the DRC.
Butler says the Responsible Business Alliance now has over 50% of globally identified cobalt refiners -- the companies buying and processing cobalt from small-scale and artisanal mines -- in its program, largely because of customer demand for ethical and sustainable products, investor expectations of responsible sourcing, and global interest in the social and environmental costs of minerals.
Photo courtesy of Sumitomo Metal Mining
A Japanese company, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., recently announced it had developed a method for melting down spent electric vehicle batteries and recovering the cobalt.
