The Global Battery Alliance ("GBA") is a public-private collaboration platform founded in 2017 at the World Economic Forum to help establish a sustainable battery value chain by 2030. In this project, the GBA proposes a “digital passport” for entities operating along the battery value chain: from mining though to refining; preparation and sale of batteries; sale of EVs and other goods; and decommission. In particular, the GBA has proposed an “Indigenous Peoples Rulebook” that an entity can choose to report against. By reporting against that, and other rulebooks, the entity will get “the GBA quality seal which will be the global one-stop verification for battery quality and responsible manufacturing processing”.
The FMB wrote to the GBA about its draft Indigenous Peoples Rulebook. Among other things, the FMB said that the “quality seal” is essentially a message to the world that, in this case, Indigenous rights have been respected. Because of that, the GBA needs to consult with Canada’s Indigenous Peoples to make sure that Indigenous Peoples agree with what the rulebook requires.
Read FMB's Letter on the GBA's draft of the Indigenous Peoples Rulebook