Drivers and barriers of voluntary sustainability initiatives in mining raw materials for batteries

Abstract

The increasing adoption of electric vehicles (EV) is growing demand for battery raw materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese. The potential for Voluntary Sustainability Initiatives (VSI) to mitigate the social and environmental impacts of mine development and operation is now in focus as resource supply scales rapidly. This study examines and synthesizes the drivers and barriers that influence extractive companies to voluntarily adopt sustainability initiatives, including certification and reporting, to mitigate social and environmental impacts. The methodology involved a thematic analysis of articles, initially identified through a systematic keyword search and further expanded with a snowball search technique. Thematic insights were classified and mapped against actors operating within the lithium-ion battery value-chain. The research found that drivers for adopting voluntary sustainability initiatives include maintaining market access, and addressing the increased need for frameworks to facilitate communication between companies and local communities. Barriers encompass short-term greenwashing undermining VSI legitimacy, and the lack of comprehensiveness of such initiatives regarding risk identification and risk mitigation for responsibly sourced commodities.