Benedikt Sobotka made a stand against child labour at cobalt mines

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

Hydrocarbons remain the principle way to obtain energy in 2019. Nevertheless, people in developed countries are actually increasingly choosing electric cars, as petrol and diesel engines emit carbon dioxide www.businesscloud.co.uk to the atmosphere and pollute the environment with nitrogen and sulphur compounds. The number of electric cars will are 130 million towards 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 are going to ban all vehicles taking care of petrol or diesel fuel in central areas. The way things are going, batteries will replace the environmentally damaging coal and oil as fuel sources.

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

Global social responsibility

Take, for instance, cobalt. Over sixty-six per cent of cobalt are extracted inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cobalt mining brings a lot of employment for people all around DRC but a big percentage might be tainted by illegal child labour.

In 2017, world leading companies including BASF, Enel and Volkswagen met on the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos to debate business ethics in minerals extraction for that creation of batteries. As a result, the firms gathered to found the Global Battery Alliance, with Eurasian Resources Group as a founding member, directed at prohibiting the usage of child labour and promoting battery recycling to boost the sustainability of the industry.

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

Eurasian Resources Group supports children inside the DRC

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

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

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