A press release by the SIRGE Coalition

Automakers Must Account for Indigenous Peoples to Improve Sustainability and Human Rights Commitments

Global automakers are exposed to material, operational and reputational risk from persistent failings to account for rights violations and impacts to Indigenous Peoples throughout supply chains. How can the industry rise from a 6% average to eliminate the risk of harm to Indigenous Peoples?
 

“An auto supply chain that relies on violence, land dispossession, and abuse of Indigenous Peoples’ rights is not only unjust but also poses considerable financial risks to automakers.” – Lead the Charge 2025 Clean Car Leaderboard

February 11, 2025,  — For the third year running, automakers scored lowest in accounting for rights violations and impacts to Indigenous Peoples among 88 clean car indicators. 

The annual Auto Supply Chain Leaderboard again surveyed 18 global EV manufacturers and found the average score for Indigenous Peoples’ rights is 6%, two percentage points higher from 2024. This is compared to 25% for human rights generally, an area diminished by “particularly poor performance on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and workers’ rights, and the failure by all companies to provide information and evidence of actual implementation across the board.”

“The general lack of information across all companies shows that despite some commitments, no company is yet demonstrating with concrete and complete evidence whether and if so, how, they are operationalising their commitments on Indigenous Peoples’ rights throughout their supply chains,” said the report.

Those that ranked on Indigenous Peoples’ rights are Ford (42%), Tesla (28%), GM (26%),  BMW (25%), Mercedes (21%), Renault (15%), Volkswagen (9%) Volvo (6%), and Geely (4%).

Top scorers on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) – a critical indicator of a company’s engagement practices and impacts to Indigenous Peoples – were Tesla (26%), Mercedes (21%), Ford (20%), BMW (12%), and GM (11%). Where most companies stalled at ratings similar to previous reports, “Ford was the only company that progressed significantly, managing to increase its score by 12 percentage points.”

At the time of analysis, two-thirds of automakers made no progress, and half had no policy to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including Toyota, Stellantis SAIC, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, GAC, and BYD. (Stellantis released a policy after deadlines for the Leaderboard, which will be analyzed and included in the 2026 report.)

“We recognize that a few leading companies have taken steps to adopt policies aimed at respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and we expect to see these policies being implemented throughout their supply chains,” said Galina Angarova (Buryat), Executive Director of SIRGE Coalition. “However, we remain deeply concerned that the auto industry as a whole continues to disregard the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples. All automakers must urgently move beyond acknowledgment and take concrete actions to uphold these rights.”

When considering the impacts on Indigenous Peoples, the Leaderboard examines companies with the following criteria:

1. Explicit commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and Indigenous Peoples’ Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC); 
2. Processes to assess risk from violation to Indigenous Peoples’ rights;
3. Processes to prevent, mitigate, and account for violations of Indigenous Peoples’ FPIC; and 
4. Readiness to investigate and remedy breaches of FPIC inclusive of impacted Indigenous Peoples.

These are critical indicators to understand the harm and enduring on-the-ground impacts that business operations may have. As the Leaderboard discusses, a large quantity of minerals and materials used in EV and renewable energy technologies are located on or near Indigenous Peoples lands. Projects are often designed and permitted without consultation with Indigenous Peoples, and extraction often occurs without their FPIC, which results in displacement from lands and destruction of life-sustaining resources.

“When Indigenous Peoples resist these projects, they often come under further attack,” said the report. “An auto supply chain that relies on violence, land dispossession, and abuse of Indigenous Peoples’ rights is not only unjust but also poses considerable financial risks to automakers.”

There are two essential steps automakers must take to improve their commitments to sustainability and rights-centered supply chains.

1) Full Commitment to Highest Standards of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights.

Commitment to minimum standards of Indigenous Peoples’ rights as articulated in the UNDRIP is paramount for automakers to achieve sustainable and rights-aligned EV production. First, due diligence thresholds vary widely (or are non-existent) across the automotive industry, as well as among global standard-setting bodies in related sectors (e.g. mining, battery production, energy development, etc.) Secondly, countries that lead in EV sales and manufacturing do not fully respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights to international standards,including China, Sweden, Germany, the United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Therefore automakers and their suppliers must operationalize consistent FPIC due diligence across jurisdictions where a project or supplier operates.   

At present, the Leaderboard indicates great disparity in this area. Among the few companies that have commitments to respect the UNDRIP and FPIC, most offer only limited or qualified commitments. According to the report:

Ford, GM, and Renault all commit expressly to the UNDRIP in their human rights policies with Ford and Renault also including full commitments towards FPIC. Tesla makes an explicit commitment towards FPIC, but does not make any reference to UNDRIP, whilst the reverse is true for GM. As far as requirements on suppliers are concerned, only BMW, Ford, and GM lay out express obligations on suppliers to respect both the UNDRIP and FPIC.

2) Operationalize and Report on FPIC Protocols.

Following the 2024 report, Angarova reflected that “recognition, respect, and upholding of Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination, operationalized through the full implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), stands as the cornerstone for a truly just and equitable energy transition benefiting all.”

One year later, companies’ commitments to FPIC remain stagnant. The 2025 report found no company “explains how they engage with mining companies directly on FPIC risks, discloses how they are prepared to respond to FPIC breaches, or has a process in place for investigating and remedying these breaches.”

SIRGE Coalition makes the following among several recommendations for automakers towards FPIC operationalization: 

• Implement robust due diligence processes to trace the origins of their raw materials. This involves identifying and assessing the presence of Indigenous Peoples in sourcing regions, understanding potential impacts to their land, territories and communities, and ensuring that these findings inform sourcing decisions.
• ​​Engage with Indigenous Peoples from the earliest stages of project development, including exploration and planning. This engagement must be continuous and transparent, involving direct dialogue with community representatives. It can be through methods like stakeholder meetings, appointing community liaison officers, and conducting cultural, social, and environmental impact assessments.
• Establish clear reporting mechanisms to disclose efforts to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and obtain FPIC. Reports should detail engagement activities, the outcomes of consultations, and measures taken to address community concerns.
   

“What is particularly concerning about automakers’ low-to-no accountability on impacts to Indigenous Peoples is that they have not considered how integral Indigenous Peoples’ rights are to every aspect of the clean car promise,” said Kate R. Finn (Osage), Founder and Executive Director of Tallgrass Institute. “Accounting for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and operationalizing FPIC gives requisite data for ground-level impacts. This is a priority for social and impact investors who are requesting disclosures that clearly delineate where companies are exposed to risks related to failure to respect and protect Indigenous Peoples.”

Despite some improvement towards Indigenous Peoples’ rights readiness (five automakers either made new commitments or improved existing commitments since the last report) the automotive industry has a long way to go. 

“Indigenous Peoples’ rights are non-negotiable,” said Aimee Roberson (Choctaw and Chickasaw), Executive Director of Cultural Survival. “It is discouraging that not much movement has been made by automakers over the past year to ensure our rights are respected despite numerous efforts to bring attention to concrete steps companies can take. Nevertheless, automakers have an opportunity to get this right and transform the industry by putting people and the environment over profit. Indigenous Peoples’ rights are central to that and the method is through transparent and honest Free, Prior and Informed Consent processes as well as the 11 Indigenous Peoples’ Principles and Protocols for Just Transition.” 

Members of SIRGE Coalition will continue to engage with automakers and work with Lead the Charge and other allies to improve the industry from its abysmal 6% position on Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The best way forward: and industry-wide shift to respect Indigenous Peoples and their FPIC.

Further Reading

• Recommendations to Ensure Electric Vehicle Compliance with Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and FPIC
• SIRGE Coalition analyzes the 2024 Clean Car Leaderboard
• SIRGE Coalition members analyze the 2023 Leaderboard

About Lead the Charge

Lead the Charge is a diverse network of local, national, and global advocacy partners working for an equitable, sustainable, and fossil-free auto supply chain. Network members work across multiple geographies and issues, with expertise in climate, environmental justice, human rights, Indigenous rights, heavy industry, ESG and more. Earthworks, Securing Indigenous Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition, Tallgrass Institute , and others contributed to the annual report  .

Earthworks, Cultural Survival, and Tallgrass Institute are part of the Securing Indigenous Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition, a coalition of Indigenous Peoples and leaders, who, along with allies, champion a just transition to a low-carbon economy. As the global demand for the minerals necessary for renewable and green technologies continues to grow, SIRGE calls upon government, corporate, and financial decision-makers to avoid the mistakes of the past: avoid dirty mining and protect the rights and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples around the globe, many of whom live in areas rich in these minerals.