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Global Battery Alliance’s Battery Passport: Implications for Indigenous Peoples and Opportunities for Feedback

GBA Value Chain Map

The Global Battery Alliance (GBA) Battery Passport is a digital tool designed to enhance transparency and accountability in the battery industry. The passport, currently in second-wave pilots, provides detailed information about the life cycle of batteries, from raw materials extraction to recycling, including data on the origin of materials, environmental and social impacts, and compliance with regulatory and voluntary standards.

Because many energy transition mineral (ETM) projects and global reserves of ETMs – such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and rare earth elements – are located on or near Indigenous lands, it is crucial for Indigenous Peoples to understand this initiative and its scope.

Indigenous Peoples have opportunities this month to provide feedback on GBA’s interim Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Rulebook, which guides the scoring of batteries; the rulebook is slated to publish in 2025 (further details below).

What is the Battery Passport and how does it work?

The Battery Passport is a digital label affixed to batteries, including electric vehicle batteries, that provides information on its journey from origin to composition and the movement of battery materials throughout their life cycle. It encourages transparency and accountability by documenting the origins, environmental and social impact, and responsible sourcing of ETMs.

The passport digitally documents and tracks every stage of a battery's life cycle. Using blockchain and other tracking and tracing technologies, it records information about the origin of raw materials, combining it with technical data on the production processes and the final product, and sustainability data at different phases of the value chain. This data is accessible to stakeholders. GBA’s framework builds on emerging regulatory requirements and voluntary standards, and uniquely includes Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scoring, which assesses the battery's environmental and social impacts, providing a comprehensive view of its sustainability. The passport provide the battery industry pathways to achieve the highest level of sustainable sourcing of materials and production.

Key features relevant to Indigenous Peoples include:

Tracking and Tracing: The Battery Passport details the industry’s often opaque supply chain data. One passport feature provides full traceability of battery materials from extraction to end use. This information about materials sourcing helps Indigenous Peoples understand the impact on their lands and advocate for their rights.

ESG Scoring and Rulebooks: The Battery Passport awards an ESG score to each battery, guided by comprehensive rulebooks. To date, the GBA has drafted seven rulebooks for its Battery Passport initiative, covering areas such as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions, Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence, Child Labor, Biodiversity, Forced Labor,  Circular Design, and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. These rulebooks provide standardized methodologies for data aggregation and key performance indicators to ensure comprehensive reporting by companies and responsible sourcing throughout the battery value chain. Scores are significant to evaluate the performance of companies and ensure they apply the highest industry standards.

GBA’s Forthcoming Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Rulebook

GBA has developed an interim Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Rulebook with substantial input from various GBA member organizations, including First Peoples Worldwide at CU Boulder. Utilizing indicators from the rulebook, the Battery Passport provides transparency in the following practices:

  • Impacts on Indigenous Peoples: The rulebook highlights the need to recognize and mitigate the impacts of the battery value chain on Indigenous Peoples, who often live in areas rich in natural resources required for battery production. It acknowledges the importance of respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including self-identification, historical continuity, connection to land, and distinct cultural, social, economic, and political systems.
  • Consultation and FPIC: The rulebook emphasizes the importance of meaningful consultation and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in all projects affecting Indigenous Peoples in line with international conventions. It outlines the need to engage with legitimate representatives of Indigenous Peoples through a process that ensures sufficient prior information, culturally appropriate consultation, and the necessary time for decision-making. This process respects Indigenous Peoples' right to give or withhold consent for projects that may have negative impacts on their lands and resources, while also encouraging trust and long-term relationships beyond the project.
  • Indicators and Requirements: The rulebook provides an indicator framework that includes regulations, standards, and specific indicators and requirements to measure the impact on Indigenous Peoples. Key indicators include the identification of impacts, meaningful consultation, FPIC, mitigation of negative impacts, realization of positive impacts, and access to remedy.

For Indigenous Peoples, transparency and comprehensive due diligence for these indicators are critical in a number of ways:

  • Ensure FPIC is obtained - Tracking all documents related to FPIC to ensure companies respect Indigenous Peoples on their collective decision-making rights.
  • Benefit-Sharing and Accountability - Documents agreements with Indigenous communities to hold companies accountable for fair benefit agreements.
  • Cultural Heritage and Environmental Impact -  Assesses the impacts on cultural sites and local ecosystems to prevent harm.
  • Monitoring Environmental Impact - With detailed data on the environmental impacts of battery production, Indigenous communities can monitor how their local ecosystems are being affected. This allows for interventions and the implementation of measures to mitigate any adverse effects.

Call for Feedback on the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Rulebook

It is essential for the GBA to gather insights and feedback from Indigenous communities and networks across all seven socio-cultural regions. The GBA is organizing a consultation in October to finalize the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Rulebook, a crucial step for ensuring that the rulebook reflects the diverse perspectives and priorities of Indigenous communities globally. All Indigenous communities and networks are encouraged to participate in this consultation to provide their valuable input and ensure that their voices are heard and incorporated in the rulebook.

The consultations will be carried out in three sessions:

For more information and detailed description of the sessions, visit Indigenous Peoples' Rights Rulebook Consultation • RSVPify.