Ethical cobalt is in the news again, with international Rights Advocates filing lawsuits against the likes of Tesla and Apple. According to Analytics India Mag these follow more child deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, we hear of other EV makers pushing hard for ethical cobalt supplies. There is considerable brand value riding on these matters.
Advocates Pushing Hard for Ethical Cobalt in Courts
International Rights Advocates have opened proceedings against the likes of tech superstars Alphabet, Apple, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla. We won’t attempt to comment on the merits of their case, because we don’t know enough about the details.
Although we will say we can’t support anything that has to do with child labor. We sincerely hope these claims are not true, because without cobalt we would not have lithium batteries. Pushing hard for ethical cobalt will at least clear the air, and encourage a transparent supply chain that North American consumers can trust. Meanwhile others may already be ahead of the game
Electric Vehicle Newbies Pushing for a Clean Start
The Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network is creating a step-by-step digital record for tracing cobalt from source to final manufacturing. The Detroit News reports buy-in from Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and others.
The known facts are nearly 70% of new cobalt comes from Democratic Republic of Congo. And the United Nations Children’s Fund says 40,000 children worked on cobalt mines there in 2014. We are in favor of pushing hard for ethical cobalt from Democratic Republic of Congo, and elsewhere. After all, if the green economy does not benefit everybody perhaps we are missing the point?
Possibly, we need to tackle the root cause first. The parents may have no other way to put food on the table than enroll their kids in child labor on cobalt mines. Are western consumers fueling the demand for lithium batteries that’s causing this? This is a tough question we should ask.
Related
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Preview Image: Small-Scale Cobalt Mining in Katanga DRC
