Ranking
Comparison
Total Score
Environment
Human Rights
Summary
Together with Geely, BYD was this year’s strongest improver, improving its total overall score by 9 percentage points, with important improvements both on Climate and the Environment and Human Rights. With the exception of Indigenous People’s rights, the company has progressed steadily across all the Leaderboard subsections this year, enabling the company to move up two places in the overall ranking to 14th place.
In the Climate and Environment section, BYD was among the top improvers in the General, aluminium, and batteries subsections. These improvements were due to more comprehensive and precise supplier requirements on decarbonization, water management, and deforestation that BYD and FinDreams Battery disclosed this year. However, the company has still not made progress in areas such as green steel and aluminum procurement, as well as environmental due diligence on battery minerals.
Similarly, BYD’s performance improved in three of the four Human Rights subsections. On the General Human Rights Due Diligence subsection alone, the company has achieved an impressive 22 percentage point increase. Among the improvements are a new Code of Conduct for suppliers that requires respect for a number of human rights, and a supply chain grievance mechanism which the company previously lacked.
However, BYD’s disclosure practices remain very poor across the board, and the company continues to trail behind most Asian automakers on most subsections.
Key Findings
- Established a 2045 carbon neutrality target in 2024, but lacks interim targets that cover upstream Scope 3 emissions and still does not disclose its Scope 3 emissions due to purchased goods and services.
- Has a new Code of Conduct for BYD Suppliers with requirements for suppliers on decarbonization, deforestation, water management and respecting a range of human rights, as well as to cascade these requirements along the supply chain and undertake minerals due diligence in accordance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.
- Made progress on aluminium circularity, disclosing an internal recycling line for aluminium waste from both production and automobile dismantling processes.
- Made notable progress in the battery subsection, rising 4 places, mainly due to improved disclosure on battery circularity and enhanced decarbonization efforts by its battery subsidiary FinDreams.
- Continues to score low in steel and aluminium subsections, with a 0% score in steel and 8% in aluminium. Also scores 0% across the battery mineral due diligence indicators.
- Discloses a process for identifying human rights risks in the supply chain, provides greater disclosure regarding supply chain monitoring and has put in place a new supply chain grievance mechanism, although more granular data to demonstrate implementation is still lacking.
- Completed a pilot supply chain map in the second round of the Global Battery Alliance's ‘Battery Passport’ pilot project, although the company does not provide much detail about the process or information about the results of this mapping effort.
- Made progress on Workers’ Rights in the Supply Chain by expressly requiring suppliers to respect the five fundamental principles and rights at work in its new Code of Conduct, and by prohibiting recruitment fees. However, the company does not meet any other indicator in this subsection.
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
Compare by year
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.
