Cobalt is one of the key components in production of electrified
vehicles and is used in significant quantities in high-voltage
batteries for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The challenge
facing companies that work with cobalt as a raw material is that risks
related to environmental standards and human rights cannot be
completely eliminated in cobalt mining.
Since the beginning, more than one and a half years ago, the BMW
Group has been participating in the Responsible Cobalt Initiative
(RCI), together with many other companies and organisations, the
government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development. The aim of this initiative
is to increase transparency and governance, and implement collective
measures to overcome social and environmental risks in the cobalt
supply chain.
In this context, the BMW Group has decided to take further steps:
First, the company will increase the transparency of its own cobalt
supply chain by the end of the year, by releasing information on
smelters and countries of origin for raw materials – even though these
smelters are not direct BMW Group suppliers, but companies named as
sources by BMW Group suppliers.
The BMW Group is also currently working with an independent partner
on a feasibility study to explore to what extent the social and
ecological situation can be sustainably improved through model mines
for artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The study is
specifically evaluating whether local model projects could be
implemented with the potential for scalability at a later date.
Ursula Mathar, head of Sustainability and Environmental Protection at
the BMW Group: “The BMW Group does not procure any cobalt itself; it
only comes into contact with this raw material through the purchase of
battery cells, for example. However, we are well aware that growing
demand for electric vehicles also goes hand-in-hand with a
responsibility for the extraction of relevant raw materials, such as
cobalt. As a premium manufacturer – and in the interests of our
customers – we aim to establish a transparent and sustainable supply
chain that meets the highest standards.”
The BMW Group currently expects the first steps in verifying a local
model project to coincide with the publication of smelters and
countries of origin in December 2017.
With the measures it is taking in the battery cell supply chain, the
BMW Group is emphasising its holistic approach to e-mobility — looking
at all areas of the value chain in order to drive forward sustainable
mobility solutions.