Launch of Human Rights and Child Labour Indices for Battery Passport

The Global Battery Alliance (“GBA”), a multi-stakeholder organisation to establish a sustainable battery value chain, today launched its Human Rights Index and Child Labour Index for the Battery Passport, ahead of Human Rights Day on 10th December. The indices are the world’s first frameworks to measure and score the efforts of any company or product specific to the battery value chain towards supporting the elimination of child labour and respecting human rights.

The indices were developed by the GBA’s Human Rights and Child Labour working group, led by Levin Sources and including Tesla, UNICEF, Volkswagen, Eurasian Resources Group, Responsible Mica Initiative, and the Cobalt Institute, among other members.

Child labour and human rights violations are a critical and growing issue in the battery supply chain, particularly as demand for batteries continues to increase to achieve the green transition. To address this, the GBA’s indices will incorporate and go beyond existing international standards and frameworks, including guidance from the United Nations, OECD, International Labour Organization and UNICEF. They will enable all reporting companies to more comprehensively assess their performance and that of their products according to more than 100 indicators across their operations, business relationships, and supply chains. To reduce the burden for reporting entities, the indicators include indicative standard equivalency assessments for commonly used responsible mining and sourcing standards.

Alongside the recently published Greenhouse Gas Rulebook to calculate the battery carbon footprint, the Human Rights Index and Child Labour Index will serve as key performance indicators for the GBA’s Battery Passport – a transparency framework integrating technical data, with provenance data and sustainability performance at the product level of the individual battery. In the long term, the GBA will issue a battery quality seal based on data benchmarking to provide consumers with trusted data on a battery’s characteristics, provenance and ESG performance. In doing so, the Passport will certify whether a battery was produced with respect for human rights, including those child rights that determine the occurrence and severity of child labour. In the future, the Battery Passport may include additional standard equivalencies and automated scoring.

For start-up businesses, or those that are rapidly scaling, these indices offer a checklist for building a robust human rights due diligence system. For companies that already have human rights and/or child labour due diligence systems in place, the indices enable them to run a “health check” on their systems and set out a roadmap to improve their performance, including how to address the root causes.

The current versions of the indices serve as a self-reporting tool for companies and are precursors to more comprehensive indicator frameworks to be developed in 2023. The GBA’s members will work collaboratively to refine the scoring logic, incorporate findings from the pilots, and develop assurance mechanisms for the indices over the next year. While the current versions can be used by companies sourcing from or adjacent to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), the GBA plans to roll out additional indices in the future, including a dedicated index for use by ASM producers. Benedikt Sobotka, Co-Chair of the Global Battery Alliance and CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, said: “It is crucial that rapidly rising demand for batteries does not come at the expense of adults’ or children’s basic human rights. The GBA is proud to have launched these Human Rights and Child Labour Indices, which aim to immediately and urgently eliminate child and forced labour, strengthen communities and respect the human rights of those employed by the battery value chain. The roll-out of these indices has been possible thanks to the GBA’s global, collaborative approach, and we look forward to developing them further with valuable input from our members.”

Inga Petersen, Executive Director of the Global Battery Alliance, said: “These are the first universally applicable indices to measure and score companies’ efforts to control risks and drive positive impacts in relation to child labour and human rights in battery supply chains. The indices are applicable to every enterprise that participates in our flagship Battery Passport or is involved in the production, trade or transportation of battery components. We hope that they will help meaningfully reduce the likelihood and severity of human rights violations and child labour in the battery value chain.”

Tom Einar Jensen, Co-founder and CEO of FREYR, said: “We anticipate significant scale across the battery industry in the coming decades. As we deliver on the immense demand, it is fundamental that we do so sustainably. We must keep the people across our entire value chain top of mind. Everyone must take part in the value creation. It’s about creating job opportunities, building competence, ensuring safe working conditions, generating tax income for municipalities, and making a nature positive impact in our communities. For many new companies like FREYR, the GBA Human Rights and Child Labor Indexes provides both insights as well as guidance on how to secure the rights of all people. We have already learned from this work and will implement the steps and requirements into our processes, contracts and conversations.”

and we welcome the indices as a means to ensure that violations of human rights don’t go undetected. The rights of the workers along this increasingly important value chain need to be respected. Workers’ rights are human rights.”

Fanny Frémont, Executive Director of the Responsible Mica Initiative, said: “As mica is used extensively in electrical batteries and is associated with significant risks of child labour and human rights abuses, it was only natural for the Responsible Mica Initiative to contribute to the definition of these two indices. We are deeply pleased with their publication, and we are confident that they will be useful to the entire industry in identifying and implementing the necessary remedial actions towards eradication of child labour and human rights violations”.

Susannah McLaren, Head of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability, Cobalt Institute, said: “Building a transparent battery value chain can only be achieved if it is underpinned by robust human rights due diligence aligned with international authoritative frameworks that enables companies to address their most salient issues, beginning with child labour. Over the past two years, the Cobalt Institute is proud to have invested time and effort in the Global Battery Alliance to bring the battery passport to fruition which we believe can be a catalyst for achieving positive outcomes for people and planet.”

The Child Labour Index and Human Rights Index have been developed through a participatory process led by Levin Sources on behalf of the Global Battery Alliance since January 2021. This index has been drafted by Levin Sources in close consultation with and with significant input from the following contributors: BASF, Battery Associates, Cobalt Institute, Eurasian Resources Group, Everledger, Freyr Battery, GIZ, Glencore, IndustriALL Global Union, Natural Resources Canada, Pact, RCS Global, Renault Group, the Responsible Business Alliance, Responsible Mica Initiative, Tesla, Umicore, UNICEF, and Volkswagen. The following historical contributors are also gratefully acknowledged: IMPACT, the London Metal Exchange, SAFT, The Good Shepherd International Foundation, and Volvo Group.

Alliance for Responsible Mining, RCS Global, Systemiq (on behalf of the Battery Pass Project), The International Institute for Sustainable Development, and The Centre for Child Rights and Business also provided invaluable guidance to the indices’ development by “stress testing” each index against the themes of auditability, ASM responsiveness, child rights responsiveness, gender responsiveness and EC regulatory alignment.

The Global Battery Alliance (GBA) brings together around 120 leading international organisations, NGOs, industry actors, academics and governments to align collectively in a pre-competitive approach, in order to drive systemic change across the battery value chain. Incubated by the World Economic Forum in 2017 until its incorporation as a notfor-profit organisation in 2022, members of the GBA collaborate to achieve the goals set out in the GBA 2030 Vision and agree to the Ten GBA Guiding Principles. The GBA’s multi-stakeholder governance structure aims to ensure inclusivity in decision-making and strategic focus. Its Action Partnerships provide a collaborative platform for members to pool their expertise and achieve the shared goals of circularity, environmental protection and sustainable development.

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As mine workers continue to work long hours across consecutive shifts, heavy duty mining vehicles and machinery – for overground and underground operations – is often required to work 24/7 to meet tight schedules.

Operating in the high-risk mining environment, with dust, extended use and prolonged vibration all raising risk of equipment overheating, heavy duty mining vehicles are susceptible to increased fire risk.

Fredrik Rosén, business manager, Dafo Vehicle Fire Protection, discusses the various fire risks associated with mining heavy vehicles, particularly as technology advances, and explains the steps mining operators can take to minimise downtime and risk, while maximising safety.

Individual site risks will depend on unique risk assessments, which should consider a mine’s overall operations, including how its vehicles and machinery operate in context. There are, however, some key factors that are influencing risk for heavy duty vehicles and machinery for the majority of mines.

Due to the harsh operating environment, mine vehicles and machinery are inevitably prone to dirt and dust buildup. Of course, maintaining a clean engine compartment does reduce risk for heavy duty equipment. However, in the mining industry, where operations regularly generate excess dust, it can be complicated to keep things clean. If not controlled, this can increase the equipment’s risk of overheating.

While overheating alone doesn’t necessarily lead to fire risk, when combined with other factors, it can increase overall risk of fire.

For example, as mining vehicles are often in operation for extended periods of time, the prolonged vibration as a result of engine operation can cause friction between vehicle components. Over time, this can increase wear and tear – while also increasing risk of overheating further.

This wear and tear has the potential to cause loose cables and sparks, or damage to vehicle components, for example, causing a leak to the injection pipe of combustion engine vehicles. When combined with overheating, this can lead to dangerous electrical or spray fires, which can spread rapidly.

As many mine operations drive to improve sustainability and reduce environmental footprints, the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in place of traditional combustion engine vehicles is on the rise.

Although naturally less prone to overheating, the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs do bring about different kinds of fire risks. There are four main factors that influence battery fire risks: • Over or undercharging • Mechanical influences – for example, crashes or mechanical failures

• Excess heat exposure • Protection issues, where particles can enter battery cells.

Each of these factors can cause internal short circuits within the battery cells, putting the battery at high risk of thermal runaway – that is, where rapid temperature rises can quickly lead to fire, toxic gas emissions and potentially even large explosions.

EVs require a unique fire protection solution, which is able to detect toxic gas venting before temperatures increase. Traditional fire detection solutions will often only identify thermal runaway after temperatures have begun to rise – which can be irreversible.

Exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic, automation in mining is at an all-time high, as driverless vehicles being operated remotely are helping to increase operational uptime and reduce health risks for mine workers.

However, driverless vehicles does mean there is often less personnel on site, or in the near proximity of mining vehicles, which can make it more complicated to detect fire risks. This is making automatic detection and suppression solutions key, as they can increase response time to mitigate risk and minimise downtime and vehicle damage.

Mine operators first need to understand the site’s individual risks. As technology onsite changes, it’s important to regularly revisit your risk assessment map, reassessing the suitability of your fire detection and suppression solutions. All mining vehicles – whether diesel or electric, manual or automatic – bring different fire risks, which should be addressed effectively in your site’s prevention solution.

Suppressing mining fire risk is all about considering the site as a whole, developing a tailored solution that tackles the pertinent risks effectively – all to minimise downtime and maximise safety.

The collaboration, culminating in the ERG Mining Academy, will enhance engineering degrees through a unique post-graduate programme to build critical mining-related competencies

Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) and the University of Kolwezi (UNIKOL) have partnered to launch the ERG Mining Academy, with its first student intake in January 2023. The collaboration will see UNIKOL partnering with global teaching institutions, such as the University of Mons, and ERG as an industry partner, to develop a postgraduate engineering curriculum with a focus on exploration, geology, metallurgy, mining and cross-cutting subjects, including ESG.

Benedikt Sobotka, ERG’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “In addition to producing the critical resources needed for a sustainable future, mining plays a vital role in the social and economic upliftment of its host communities. As an established and growing operator in the DRC, we want to ensure that the communities near us benefit from our operations and evolve alongside our business. We are honoured to work with UNIKOL to equip local engineers with industry-relevant skills that will help them seize opportunities within the sector as it continues to scale.”

200 Congolese nationals holding a civil engineering, or a geology and mines degree from UNIKOL, will be eligible to apply for the programme. This study path will culminate in a recognised Professional Master’s degree, endorsed by the Ministry of Higher and University Education, providing graduates the opportunity to secure highly soughtafter positions within the rapidly-growing mining industry in the DRC.

The DRC has some of the largest reserves of critical minerals required to power the green energy transition. With most major economies across the globe committed to this shift, the demand for these materials continues to rise. The DRC currently accounts for 73% of the world’s cobalt supply and 9% of globally mined copper – both essential to the production of EV batteries and renewable energy systems.

“The DRC is home to many great resources – one of which is our bright and talented youth. When the programme starts next year, as educators, and community members – we will be proud knowing that we are creating futureready professionals that can enter the workforce and contribute to the overall economic upliftment of our country,” said Professor Yvon Mwengwe Muhongo, Rector of UNIKOL.

Under the collaboration, colloquially referred to as Project Kesho (meaning future), UNIKOL will ensure the delivery of the programme, whereas ERG will provide the resources for its implementation including securing staff, guest lecturers, lecture rooms, multimedia equipment and training opportunities, as well as supporting the development of the programme’s curriculum content and materials. Furthermore, ERG is developing the online learning and management platform where students can re-watch lessons, download course and reference materials, view videos, submit assignments, and communicate with lecturers.

“The ERG-UNIKOL collaboration is an exemplar of an innovative partnership that allow us to invest in Congolese people and position ourselves in regard to the issues of the day, including actively contributing to the global energy transition. The ERG Mining Academy in Lualaba will enable young Congolese to take ownership of the production chain of critical minerals through exploration, production, processing and distribution of raw materials,” said the Minister of Higher and University Education, His Excellency, Mr. Muhindo Nzangi Butondo

Prospective students can apply for this two-year programme until 10 December via www.academiedes-mines-erg.unikol.ac.