SupplyChainBrain Op-Ed Examines Automaker Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Due Diligence
SupplyChainBrain published Cleaner Automotive Supply Chains Start with Indigenous Peoples’ Consent, an op-ed by Nalori Chakma, Transition Minerals Advocacy Manager at Tallgrass Institute and Bryan Bixcul, Global Coordinator for the SIRGE Coalition secretariat.
The article examines how automakers “identify, assess and address impacts on Indigenous Peoples remains an area of risk that is inconsistently understood and managed across the industry.” It points to impacts from unconsented projects in the U.S., Chile and Indonesia, noting that strengthened Indigenous Peoples’ rights due diligence is needed to build resilient supply chains. “Automakers have made some encouraging steps in this direction, though progress tends to be reactive rather than systemic, and there remains significant gaps between policy language and sourcing decisions,” write the authors.
The article raises concern specficially for due diligence for Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and how automakers define and verify FPIC given consent disputes from increasing mining and processing projects that feed supply chains.
“More work must be done to develop tools that can distinguish consultation from FPIC, recognize indigenous peoples’ own representative institutions and decision-making processes, and respond more clearly to all facets of FPIC compliance in EV manufacturing,” says the article, linking to SIRGE Coalition’s compliance recommendations. The article concludes:
Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy and growing scrutiny of mineral supply chains are moving their rights closer to the center of responsible sourcing debates. As the industry expands, cleaner cars will be judged not only by tailpipe emissions, battery efficiency or carbon intensity, but also by whether their supply chains are resilient and respect the rights of the Indigenous Peoples affected by mineral extraction and processing.