Benedikt Sobotka made a stand against child labour at cobalt mines

Benedikt Sobotka: We have a responsibility towards children in countries where our company extracts raw materials for the batteries industry.

Hydrocarbons remain the primary supply of energy in 2019. Nevertheless, people in western world have become increasingly choosing electric cars, as petrol and diesel engines emit carbon dioxide businesscasestudies.co.uk in to the atmosphere and pollute the air with nitrogen and sulphur compounds. The number of electric cars will reach up to 130 million right at the end of 2030 each home and office will more than likely use smart devices ran by batteries. Oslo, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Paris, London, Madrid already declared that they’ll ban all vehicles implementing petrol or diesel fuel in central areas. The way situations are going, batteries will replace the environmentally damaging coal and oil as fuel sources.

Minerals for batteries has to be extracted and processed with robust safety standards, proper working conditions, norms for responsible extraction and business ethics in mind.

Global social responsibility

Take, as an example, cobalt. Over 60 % of cobalt are extracted inside the Democratic Republic in the Congo. Cobalt mining brings a significant amount of employment for those all around DRC but a substantial percentage may be tainted by illegal child labour.

In 2017, world leading companies including BASF, Enel and Volkswagen met in the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos to talk about business ethics in minerals extraction to the creation of batteries. As a result, the companies joined together to found the Global Battery Alliance, with Eurasian Resources Group being a founding member, targeted at prohibiting the use of child labour and promoting battery recycling to boost the sustainability in the industry.

The CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, Benedikt Sobotka reiterated the business’s commitment to help tackle child labour within the Democratic Republic with the Congo. He hopes that from the Alliance and collaboration between major companies, international organisations and civil society, the illegal involvement of children in mining inside the battery supply chain is going to be addressed.

Eurasian Resources Group supports children within the DRC

Through longstanding partnerships including using the Good Shepherd Sisters and Pact, Eurasian Resources Group focuses on helping tackle child labour and strengthen child protection norms.

In 2018 and early 2019, ERG continued to guide a lot more than 10,000 students through its educational initiatives within the DRC.

Benedikt Sobotka, CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, holds that this global battery sector should confer benefits to its participants throughout the value chain including children and local communities in the DRC.