Ranking
Comparison
Total Score
Environment
Human Rights
Summary
BYD continues its leadership on the transition to electric vehicles. However, BYD is not yet demonstrating the same level of leadership as some of its peers on clean and responsible supply chains, improving its total score this year by just 2 percentage points. This has resulted in the company remaining near the bottom of the 2025 Leaderboard rankings.
BYD made minimal progress on supply chain decarbonization and sustainability, which stands in stark contrast to its leadership in electrification. However, BYD did make some progress in the General and Battery subsections. The company has a significant opportunity to improve its performance on steel and aluminum decarbonization, for which it still scores 0%.
BYD’s performance on supply chain due diligence continues to lag behind most automakers in the Leaderboard. However, it is notable that BYD published a human rights policy last year and also made additional progress on some human rights areas, enabling BYD to improve its score in the General subsection. Nonetheless, with a 2 percentage point score improvement in the responsible sourcing section overall, BYD is falling further behind key competitor, Geely, who achieved a commendable 11 percentage point score improvement in the human rights and responsible sourcing section this year.
It is notable that BYD’s battery production subsidiary, FinDreams Battery, has disclosed more comprehensive supply chain sustainability and due diligence policies than its parent company. BYD should leverage its subsidiary’s greater progress in these areas to strengthen its group-wide supply chain policies and targets.
Key Findings
- Has set up a Carbon Emission Control Committee in response to national policies in China, and now discloses requirements for suppliers to implement continuous improvement programs to minimize environmental impacts, including by reducing carbon emissions. However, continues to be one the few companies evaluated that does not disclose its scope 3 emissions and has not set science-based targets for supply chain emissions reductions.
- Continues to strengthen its leadership on battery technology innovation, including through the further development and the commercialization of its Blade Battery technology that improves the energy density, safety and recyclability of LFP batteries, which are free of nickel and cobalt.
- Made important progress this year by publishing its first Human Rights Policy Statement expressly recognizing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles, and other international human rights instruments. This was complemented by disclosing additional details about its supplier assessment and monitoring processes.
- Still fails to disclose information on formal supplier requirements or any overall system for identifying, assessing, and monitoring ESG risks in its supply chain. Nonetheless, the initial steps taken this year can provide important foundations for the company to improve its performance across each of the responsible sourcing subsections next year.
Score Breakdown
Fossil-Free & Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chains
General
Steel
Aluminum
Batteries
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Human Rights & Responsible Resourcing
General
Minerals
Indigenous' Rights
Workers' Rights
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Supply Chain News & Progress
Latest on BYD
Supply chain transformation is a risk management imperative and opportunity for a competitive edge. Leading brands are already securing a first-mover advantage and leveraging their power to transform legacy supply chains into a force for good. The revolution is underway.
Progress on battery chemistries holds potential to reduce demand for high-intensity minerals
During the first few months of 2023, several automakers have made announcements of investments and / or progress made on new battery chemistries that promise to reduce their demand of high-intensity minerals such as cobalt, nickel and lithium. In March, the JAC Group’s joint venture with Volkswagen in China made history by introducing the world’s first electric vehicle (EV) powered by a sodium-ion battery – a battery technology that, according to the IEA, “has the potential to completely avoid the use of critical metals.” BYD has also said that it plans to use sodium-ion batteries in its vehicles later in the year. In May, Stellantis announced an investment in lithium-sulphur battery developer Lyten, working on a novel three-dimensional graphene material platform that is free from nickel, cobalt, and manganese.
Pollution allegations against BYD’s factory in China
BYD’s Changsha factory has faced allegations of damaging pollution, which left citizens and children unwell, with 600 children near the factory reporting repeated nosebleeds according to reports.
Our Vision
01 — Equitably
Respecting and advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples, workers, and local communities throughout the supply chain.
02 — Sustainably
Preserving and restoring environmental health and biodiversity across supply chains, while reducing primary resource demand through efficient resource use and increased recycled content.
03 — Fossil-free
100% electric and made with a fossil fuel-free supply chain.