Benedikt Sobotka: We have a responsibility towards children in countries where we extracts raw materials for your batteries industry.
Hydrocarbons remain the main source of energy in 2019. Nevertheless, people in civilized world have become increasingly choosing electric cars, as petrol and diesel engines emit co2 Sobotka Benedikt to the atmosphere and pollute air with nitrogen and sulphur compounds. The number of electric cars will are as long as 130 million towards the end of 2030 and each home and office will probably use smart devices ran by batteries. Oslo, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Madrid already declared that they’ll ban all vehicles taking care of petrol or diesel fuel in central areas. The way things are going, batteries will replace the environmentally damaging coal and oil as fuel sources.
Minerals for batteries must be extracted and processed with robust safety standards, proper working conditions, norms for responsible extraction and business ethics at heart.
Global social responsibility
Take, as an illustration, cobalt. Over 60 % of cobalt are extracted in the Democratic Republic in the Congo. Cobalt mining brings a significant amount of employment for folks throughout DRC but a sizable percentage may be tainted by illegal child labour.
In 2017, world leading companies including BASF, Enel and Volkswagen met at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos to discuss business ethics in minerals extraction to the creation of batteries. As a result, nokia’s came together to found the Global Battery Alliance, with Eurasian Resources Group as being a founding member, aimed at prohibiting the usage of child labour and promoting battery recycling to increase the sustainability with the industry.
The CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, Benedikt Sobotka reiterated the business’s resolve for help tackle child labour inside the Democratic Republic with the Congo. He hopes that through the Alliance and collaboration between major companies, international organisations and civil society, the illegal involvement of kids in mining within the battery supply chain will be addressed.
Eurasian Resources Group supports children inside DRC
Through longstanding partnerships including with the Good Shepherd Sisters and Pact, Eurasian Resources Group concentrates on helping tackle child labour and strengthen child protection norms.
In 2018 and early 2019, ERG continued to aid a lot more than 10,000 students through its educational initiatives inside the DRC.
Benedikt Sobotka, CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, holds the global battery sector should confer benefits to its participants throughout the value chain including children and local communities inside the DRC.