Not going to argue that any form of child or forced labour is anything other than completely unacceptable. However, that's a very different definition of 'green' than what was being discussed around the environmental impact. That's why it is such a frustrating turn of phrase as it is woefully vague and can be far too easily thrown into the debate by either side without real meaning.
On the specifics of where materials are sourced; it is a known problem within the industry, although sadly not limited to battery materials nor (as you highlight) the automotive industry. Any reputable manufacturer will have a corporate responsibility and materials compliance program to ensure all materials are from legal and ethical sources. It is something that we take very seriously at my company as it is absolutely not something we can ever condone. As of 2021,
new EU regulations were introduced specifically to target this problem.
Regarding your second link about lithium-ion battery production, again it is a known problem in the industry and there are huge efforts in place to improve the situation. As this
article highlights, the overall environmental impact of an electric vehicle (even accounting for the battery production) is still less than a petrol or diesel equivalent. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries may be replaced altogether in the not too distant future as better battery technologies become available, another area we are actively exploring.
Unfortunately a lot of the negative press around electric vehicles is fuelled by a resistance to change (both socially and economically). Peel back the layers and you often find the arguments against electric vehicles aren't particularly strong when considering the bigger picture. That's of course not to say that those in favour of electric vehicles don't play the same game. Any article worth reading should consider both electric and petrol/diesel vehicles rather than selectively bashing/lauding one or the other.
