But it did not respond when asked to confirm its cobalt was 100% free from child labor.Ī Tesla 2017 financial filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged that the company's supply chain wasn't watertight when it came to tracking raw materials. "Tesla performs on-site audits to the best of our ability during the sourcing and vetting process for suppliers, to view operations and methods of risk management," it said in a statement. Tesla ( TSLA), which uses several pounds of cobalt in each of its car batteries, told CNN it sourced most of its cobalt from suppliers outside the DRC and was "committed to only sourcing responsibly-produced materials." Related: China is winning electric cars 'arms race' The firms listed various initiatives and industry standards they follow, but most did not provide full details about their suppliers. Renault ( RNLSY) told CNN it was conducting audits of companies in its cobalt supply chain and, if required, it could "reconsider commercial relations unless significant progress is made."ĬNN contacted several other companies to ask how they ensured child labor was blocked out of their supply chain. "To put it quite clearly, if any supplier or any subcontractor of any supplier does not adhere to these rules and initiate the necessary action, we will be forced to stop dealing with the supplier in case of doubt," it said in December. Volkswagen - which has plans to launch dozens of new electric cars - has introduced new rules for all its suppliers to ensure there's no child labor in the supply chain. CNN found children working in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.ĭaimler told CNN it was rolling out new processes requiring suppliers "to disclose their supply chain right through to the mine." "A further step could be to purchase directly from miners, which is an option we are looking into," BMW told CNN.Īpple ( AAPL), which stopped sourcing from artisanal mines last year, is also reported to be in talks to buy cobalt directly from regulated mines in the DRC. Now, it's considering buying the prized mineral directly from miners to avoid operations that exploit children. Children were found working alongside adults at cobalt operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.īMW ( BMWYY), Volkswagen ( VLKAY) and Mercedes-owner Daimler ( DMLRY) acknowledged how difficult it is to verify the source.īMW said it makes "every effort to ensure the highest possible standards in the labor practices of our suppliers" but admitted it could do more. They then send it for processing where it is mixed with cobalt from other mines before ending up in batteries that power devices around the world. Dealers at markets in the DRC were filmed buying cobalt without verifying its source and mining method. Glencore said it does not process or buy any materials from these informal mines, which are often small-scale operations in local communities.īut, as CNN found, it isn't easy for companies to avoid using cobalt from these smaller mines.
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