Due diligence rules: what next in the implementation?

Extraction of all manner of resources, including fossil fuels and minerals, has a history of mismanagement. As the world shifts to renewables and electric vehicles, which are indispensable for climate change action, attention is also turning to the centuries’ old problem of how supply chains can become more responsible and sustainable. 

In 2016, Amnesty International came out with its famous report on human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which at the time put extreme pressure and scrutiny on mining companies and cobalt buyers. Fast-forward a few years, the issues denounced by Amnesty and many others, as evidenced by the more than 500 allegations of human rights abuses collected by the BHRRC in the past decade, are finally being tackled in the regulatory landscape with real solutions. 

The EU battery regulation due diligence rules will be a turning point for sustainable batteries, but to ensure that they are truly effective, not only across cobalt, but also nickel, lithium and graphite supply chains they must be implemented well. 

This briefing explains the due diligence provisions of the EU Battery Regulation, which entered into force in 2023. It also outlines what is key for effective compliance and what governments and other stakeholders should be looking for as the provisions are being implemented.