Ranking
Comparison
Total Score
Environment
Human Rights
Summary
GM only marginally improved its performance in this year’s Leaderboard, increasing its overall score by just one percentage point and moving up the rankings from 8th to 7th place.
GM’s performance in the Climate and Environment section was especially lackluster, where the company improved its score against just one indicator across all four subsections. This stands in stark contrast to its performance last year, when GM improved its score by 13 percentage points.
GM’s performance on human rights was a mixed bag but also disappointing overall. While the company has made progress on the General human rights indicators, this has been offset by a marked drop on transition minerals, and no progress at all on Indigenous Peoples’ rights or workers’ rights. GM’s human rights ranking has improved by one place, but the company continues to be the worst performing US company on human rights: scoring half of Ford’s overall human rights score, 21 percentage points less than Tesla and 6 percentage points less than Stellantis.
Key Findings
- Has set a commitment for its rubber supply chain to be free of sourcing from HCS and HCV forests, but does not disclose any information regarding its progress towards achieving this commitment.
- Despite joining the First Movers Coalition’s groups on steel and aluminum in 2022, has not disclosed any evidence of progress towards decarbonizing its steel and aluminum supply chains.
- Did not improve its score against any of the indicators in the fossil-free and environmentally sustainable batteries subsection.
- Maintained and, in some areas, increased its level of transparency regarding its human rights due diligence policies and processes, achieving an important score increase of 8 percentage points in the General subsection.
- Score on responsible transition minerals sourcing dropped by 7 percentage points, primarily due to disclosing less information on smelters and refiners, including a decision to no longer publish a list of SoRs in its supply chain.
- Despite commitments for suppliers to respect Indigenous Peoples’ and workers’ rights, fails to disclose sufficient information or, in some cases, any information at all to demonstrate that these commitments are effectively operationalized and enforced in practice.
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 General Motors
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.
GM criticized for not responding to Indigenous groups over FPIC concerns with Lithium Americas
A report released by Mighty Earth highlights GM’s $650 million investments in Lithium Americas Corp to help the company develop its Thacker Pass lithium mine project, which has proceeded without obtaining Indigenous Peoples’ rights and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) and is widely opposed by the People of Red Mountain.
ArcelorMittal to supply recycled and renewably produced steel to General Motors
ArcelorMittal North America said on Tuesday the steelmaker will supply General Motors (GM.N) with recycled and renewably produced steel, which substantially lowers CO2 emissions.
Material will be supplied from ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, Ontario and shipments are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2023, the company said. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Recycling and unionization in GM’s battery supply chain
In November 2022, GM and Cirba extended an agreement for the recycling “of lithium-ion batteries and cell scrap generated by manufacturing and research at select GM facilities through 2024.”
In December 2022, workers at a battery plant of GM supplier Ultium voted overwhelmingly in favor of union representation by the United Auto Workers Union.
Allegations of forced labour, workers’ rights violations and environmental degradation
According to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, GM’s supply chains have been implicated in forced labour, environmental damage and workers’ rights violations.
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.