STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE - BATTERY SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE (BATTERY SAQ)

Considering the European Union’s Batteries Regulation (EU-Batt-R), Drive Sustainability initiated the development of a Battery SAQ in February 2024 to reflect and to integrate the the risk categories outlined in Annex X and the due diligence requirements of the legislation.

The Battery SAQ builds upon Drive Sustainability’s existing SAQ framework. While SAQ primarily assesses the sustainability performance of direct suppliers, the Battery SAQ extends this assessment to include midstream and upstream suppliers.

To contribute to the finalisation of the Battery SAQ, stakeholders (policymakers, civil society organizations, companies, and associations) are invited to bring their insights to express their position and assess the preliminary analysis and adaptation of the Drive Sustainability questionnaire in light of the EU Batteries Regulation.

Participating stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on the implemented changes and the content of a questionnaire.

READ MORE and participate in the Drive Sustainability Stakeholder Consultation on the Battery SAQ.

The Raw Materials Observatory is a process to:

• assess the sustainability risk of the top raw materials for the automotive sector

• identify potentially impactful activities that Drive Sustainability partners could pursue collectively to address such risk

Collective action will complement what Drive Sustainability partners are doing at the company level to integrate sustainability in the sourcing of raw materials.

In 2021 Drive Sustainability launched Raw Material Outlook (RMO), the platform dedicated to managing and mitigating the Human Rights violations and the ESG impacts of materials used in the automotive value chain. The platform was commissioned by Drive Sustainability and completed by Levin Sources.

This Drive Sustainability initiative empowers the automotive industry’s environmental and social due diligence and fosters sector and multi-stakeholder collaboration. It is a first step for unpacking each material value chain by mapping each stage, outlining principal actors, and identifying the most salient ESG risks.

The RMO provides a tool for individual automotive companies and the Drive Sustainability group to analyse materials’ value chains and advance responsible sourcing endeavours.

Discover the Raw Material Outlook Platform

In 2021, Drive Sustainability launched the Common Standards Recognition Framework, a set of criteria to assess the maturity level of sustainability standards in the minerals supply chain. The main idea of the common standards recognition lies within the common voice of Drive Sustainability. Our ambition is to send a coherent and unified message to our suppliers and stakeholders, to promote standardization, common and/or similar approaches throughout the value chain.

Following a Stakeholder Dialogue, held in October 2023, the Common Standard Recognition Framework will be reviewed in 2024.

There are five key criteria around which the common standards approach was built:

• 1) Assurance and oversight
• 2) Governance
• 3) Transparency of audit/certification results
• 4) ISEAL membership
• 5) Continuous improvement

Drive Sustainability engaged with more than 20 stakeholders, including suppliers, NGOs, industry associations, trade unions and upstream actors, and delivered capacity-building activities with the Drive+ members.

Furthermore, to improve the social & environmental situation on the ground, Drive Sustainability supported CSR Europe in the project Extractives for Sustainability, with the aim of establishing local sustainability networks of mining companies and their suppliers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Copper and Cobalt) and South Africa (Manganese and Iron Ore), by empowering the local industry associations.

In 2023, Drive Sustainability joined forces with IndustriALL, a global federation of trade unions, to deliver a pilot project addressing workers’ rights in Nickel production in Indonesia.