Takeaways: IIPWG March 2026 Newsletter
Items excerpted from the March 2026 Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group (IIPWG) Newsletter. IIPWG strategy calls take place the third Thursday of the month. Learn more.
Poor Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Due Diligence in the Auto Industry
The fourth annual Lead the Charge Leaderboard findings indicate that Indigenous Peoples’ rights due diligence is still critically low in automaker supply chains. On the March IIPWG call, Franziska Grüning (Raw Materials Policy Officer, T&E) and Vuyisile Ncube (Lead Corporate Campaigner, Earthworks) discussed report findings and recommendations for investors.
While 12 of the 18 automakers have taken steps on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and FPIC in supply chains, practical implementation of existing commitments remains limited and the average achievement for Indigenous Peoples’ rights remains unacceptably low at just 9%. Ncube encouraged investors to draw on the emerging best practices to support progress. For instance, Honda discloses general sustainability expectations for suppliers while Mercedes, Ford, and Volkswagen take a crucial step further by requiring battery mineral suppliers to undergo IRMA audits.
Grüning also underscored the ways policies drive sectoral progress and can be leveraged by U.S. investors. The EU Batteries Regulation, which goes into effect in 2027 and mandates companies to adopt battery due diligence policies, will be key to accessing European markets.
For more information, please read the summary article and Recommendations to Ensure Electric Vehicle Compliance with Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and FPIC by the SIRGE Coalition.
Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society Adopt the Jakarta Declaration for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation
More than 70 Indigenous Peoples’ representatives and civil society organizations convened in Jakarta, Indonesia January 26-29, 2026, to come together for the protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation in the context of the rising demand for transition minerals.
The gathering culminated in adoption of the Jakarta Declaration, which outlines urgent calls for States, Multilateral Institutions, financial institutions, and global supply chains to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact. Investors may note the call to “cease all financing of projects that threaten Indigenous territories, natural resources, and Indigenous knowledge systems, particularly those of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation.” More than 28 organizations have endorsed the declaration. For more information, read the press release by the SIRGE Coalition.
March 2026 IIPWG Canada Call
On the March IIPWG Canada call, Chief Marilyn Slett of the Heiltsuk First Nation shared about the Coastal First Nations’ leadership to ensure the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act is upheld. The Coastal First Nations is an alliance of First Nations who hold rights and title of territories in the Northern Coast of British Columbia and work together to protect the coast and build a conservation-based economy.
Despite First Nations’ longstanding lack of support and a 2019 ban prohibiting oil tanker traffic off the coast, a recent memorandum of understanding between Alberta and Canada reignited discussion on a new pipeline and oil tanker route in the region. Chief Slett emphasized the current multi-billion dollar sustainable economy developed by First Nations and encouraged investors to sign the North Coast Protection Declaration and the petition to parliament to protect the coast.
The call also included a presentation on SHARE’s recently published resource, Social Risk Factors in Investment Portfolios: Emerging Investor Practices. A recording of the IIPWG Canada call is available upon request; sign-up for IIPWG Canada here.