E-mobility inspected – due diligence in the e-bike industry

This publication takes a look at the human rights and environmental impacts of the e-bike industry and examines the extent to which players in the industry are implementing due diligence obligations.

The extraction of the raw materials used in e-bikes is associated with serious human rights and environmental impacts, as we show using the examples of lithium and nickel. The rapidly increasing demand for metallic raw materials, fueled in part by the needs of e-mobility, is further exacerbating this situation. The e-bike industry therefore has a responsibility to ensure transparency and compliance with standards along the entire value chain. International standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights formulate clear expectations and implementation steps in this regard.

Our survey shows: Human rights and environmental risks in the upstream stages of the value chain have so far been given too little consideration by manufacturers and industry representatives.Companies in the e-bike industry should see supply chain responsibility as a competitive advantage, not only to minimize their own risks, but also to reach additional customers.Cooperation in industry associations and forums could be an important step towards identifying common challenges and developing solutions, e.g. through membership of raw materials initiatives such as the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) or the establishment of a cross-company complaints mechanism.In addition, politicians should work to ensure that corporate due diligence obligations are enshrined in law at German, EU and UN level. E-bikes are an important building block for an ecological and globally fair mobility transition. Due diligence obligations should be consistently implemented to ensure that the industry lives up to this claim and that ecological and human rights problems are not passed on to other countries.