The show, key takeways and what the future of the EV sector looks like. — Last week, our CSO, Hakim Aceval, and Project Manager, Pavlina Spasovska, attended the London EV Show. Hakim had the opportunity to join the Revolutionary Technology Trends panel, and talk about “ Blockchain Product Passports for the EV supply chain”. At the same time Pavlina interacted with industry leaders from all…

“Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity.” -Mother Teresa On July 13, 2021, the U.S. Departments of: State; Treasury; Commerce; Homeland Security; and Labor, together with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, issued a Supply Chain…

Next generation transparency and traceability for minerals and carbon emissions on the blockchain. — A few months ago some of our academic partners at the University of British Columbia introduced us to members of the British Columbia Government who were creating a blockchain system for mine credentials. Their blockchain system, built on Hyperledger Aries, allows different participants to create and share credentials with each…

Building on the EU Battery Directive (2006/66/EC) — how to prepare your business for the upcoming regulation. — Summary: On the 10th of December 2020 the European Commission published the EU Battery Regulation Proposal. This proposal aims to substitute and build on the current EU Battery Directive (2006/66/EC) by incorporating the latest developments in the battery industry, with a special focus on sustainability, quality, and circularity. In this…

Mandating Due Diligence — A German Model for Wider Europe — On June 25th 2021, the strive to ensure more socially and environmentally sustainable business practices reached a new level. That day, the Bundesrat, the German upper chamber of parliament, approved the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Liefer­ketten­sorgfalts­pflichten­gesetz), which is now set to enter into force on January 1st, 2023.

What is a mine’s main output? Minerals would be the first, obvious answer: there are mines around the globe producing thousands or even millions of tons of minerals. So far, so good. But what else? Tailings would be a second response. The Global Tailings Review estimates that there are about…

Seeking a shift from China’s dominance to a more diversified global market. — Do you know what Neodymium, Praseodymium, and Dysprosium are? Odds are you held them in your hands in one form or another in the past days. They are part of a group of 17 elements collectively referred to as rare earths or rare earth elements (REE), used in virtually every…

On 1 January 2021, the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (or, in bureaucratic terms, Regulation (EU) 2017/821) went into effect. It is designed to ensure responsible sourcing of “Conflict Minerals”, namely tin, tantalum, tungsten, their ores, and gold (collectively referred to as 3TG). These minerals have long been under international scrutiny…

Understanding the debates, dates and possible outcomes. — Since the brunt of Corona-related legislation has passed, for the time being at least, the German government has re-directed its focus to the current term’s political agenda (which will end in September 2021). On top of the list: a supply chain law, mandating companies to conduct human rights due diligence…