There’s this advice that everyone has probably heard before: It’s better not to make promises that you can’t keep. That’s exactly what people want to say to the car manufacturer BMW after an international research team found out that the supposedly sustainable cobalt that the Munich-based company sources from Morocco for its electric car batteries is apparently not that clean after all. According to research, people and the environment in and around a mine, whose operator BMW buys the raw materials, are said to suffer from mining.
It would be wrong to portray BMW as a big sinner that is the only company that doesn’t care about what is going on in the places where the important raw materials for its cars are obtained. Like other car manufacturers, the Munich-based company is now very careful to take a close look at its supply chains. With the decision to no longer purchase cobalt from the Congo, where it cannot yet be ruled out that children also work in the mines, BMW, for example, went further than other companies. The approach of buying directly from the mines and not taking the detour via the battery manufacturers is also correct.
BMW could have inspected the mine itself
However, the car manufacturer has to accept the accusation of having exaggerated its sustainability promises. Anyone who emphasizes at every opportunity that they are particularly responsible and also uses this as a selling point for their own products needs to really look closely. Journalists and scientists documented decades ago that the mine in Morocco is anything but a beacon of sustainability.
You can still decide to buy raw materials there. But then BMW cannot rely on any certifications and labels, which are often only based on questionnaires that the mine operator fills out himself. The car company could also have spoken to unions and residents themselves or taken water samples. At least he could have hired someone independent to do it.
Cobalt mining in Morocco is just one of many places where we need to take a closer look. By the way, it is wrong to attribute the problems only to the switch from combustion to electric cars. Cobalt, lithium, rare earths and nickel are not only found in electric cars, but in many other products – in cell phones, laptops, tools or wind turbines. Cobalt is also used to desulfurize diesel fuel.
This shouldn’t be an excuse for the companies, but for a long time most customers weren’t interested in where the raw materials for their vehicles came from. Fortunately, that has changed. Laws that make companies responsible for their supply chains can also help ensure that people finally take a closer look. But there is a long way to go until then, and there will always be black sheep – especially where demand and therefore prices are exploding, as is currently the case with raw materials for electric cars. Openly naming this and admitting mistakes would at least be a good start.