The Ethics of the Cobalt Supply Chain: Unveiling the Hidden Costs of the Green Transition
- Simone Buffa
- Feb 10
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 26

As the world transitions toward cleaner energy and digital technology, the demand for minerals critical to batteries and electronics has surged. Among them, cobalt has emerged as a cornerstone of the green revolution. Used in lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), smartphones, and renewable energy storage systems, cobalt plays a vital role in decarbonization efforts. However, behind the gleaming promise of sustainability lies a darker, often overlooked reality: a supply chain riddled with ethical violations, environmental harm, and systemic exploitation. This essay examines the ethical implications of the cobalt supply chain, focusing especially on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which produces approximately 70% of the world’s cobalt.
The Human Cost: Child Labor and Exploitation
The most damning ethical concern surrounding cobalt is the widespread use of child labor in its extraction. The United Nations defines child labor as work that deprives children of their childhood, education, and well-being. As reported in a CNN investigation (CNN10, 2019), children as young as seven are employed in dangerous artisanal mines in the DRC, working in shifts that extend up to 24 hours, often without light, oxygen, or basic safety equipment. In many cases, children are not only physically endangered but also kept from accessing education—perpetuating cycles of poverty.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented similar abuses, indicating that despite corporate claims of ethical sourcing, much of the cobalt used in global supply chains may be tainted with child exploitation [1], [2]. This raises serious questions under the ethical frameworks of human rights and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative—treating individuals as ends and not merely as means—it becomes clear that allowing child labor in the pursuit of low-cost resources is morally indefensible.

Structural Complicity and the Illusion of Traceability
One of the core challenges is the opacity of the supply chain. As shown in CNN’s video report, companies such as Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW claim to audit their cobalt sources and issue certificates of origin. However, the investigation found that these certifications are often controlled by the same Congolese authorities who were complicit in hiding the presence of child labor from journalists. Red trucks linked to major suppliers like Congo Dongfang Mining (a subsidiary of China’s Huayou Cobalt) were seen transporting unverified cobalt, with no evidence of ethical oversight at the depots [3].
This leads to a structural ethical dilemma: even if a company intends to avoid child labor, the complexity and corruption within the supply chain make it nearly impossible to ensure full compliance. From a utilitarian perspective—maximizing benefits and minimizing harms—this failure implies that the pursuit of sustainable technology may come at the unacceptable cost of human suffering.
Environmental Degradation and Intergenerational Justice
Beyond labor abuses, cobalt mining in the DRC contributes to significant environmental harm. Artisanal and industrial mining alike degrade local ecosystems, pollute water supplies, and expose communities to toxic substances such as uranium and heavy metals [4]. These ecological damages disproportionately affect future generations, violating the principle of intergenerational justice: the ethical responsibility to protect the planet for those yet unborn.
The environmental injustice is compounded by the fact that the DRC, one of the poorest nations globally, bears the brunt of ecological harm while the benefits—economic, technological, and environmental—are largely enjoyed in the Global North.
Corporate Responsibility and the Limits of Voluntary Action
In response to public outcry, several companies have joined initiatives like the Responsible Cobalt Initiative and the Cobalt Refinery Supply Chain Due Diligence Standard, coordinated by organizations such as the Responsible Minerals Initiative and OECD [5], [6]. Yet, these frameworks are largely voluntary and lack enforceability.
From a business ethics lens, companies often use CSR language without ensuring substantive change, a phenomenon known as "ethics washing." When corporations continue to profit from ambiguous or flawed certification systems while publicly declaring zero-tolerance policies for child labor, they erode trust and responsibility. Ethical theorists such as John Rawls would critique such systems for failing to uphold fairness, especially to the least advantaged, those miners and their families whose rights and health are routinely violated.
Geopolitical Power and Neocolonial Patterns
Another ethical layer emerges when analyzing cobalt through the lens of global inequality. Chinese companies dominate much of the DRC’s cobalt trade, often operating with little oversight and prioritizing resource extraction over community development. Meanwhile, Western companies reap downstream benefits without directly confronting the conditions upstream.
This echoes patterns of neocolonialism, where wealthier nations exploit poorer countries’ resources without equitable exchange or empowerment [7]. The DRC’s inability to enforce labor and environmental standards stems not only from internal governance failures but also from unequal global economic systems.

The Promise and Pitfalls of Technological Solutions
Several research efforts and startups are working on developing cobalt-free or low-cobalt batteries. Companies like Tesla, Panasonic, and Solid Power have announced intentions to reduce cobalt content in their battery chemistries, favoring alternatives like nickel or solid-state batteries [8], [9]. While promising, these transitions are slow and technologically challenging. Additionally, these substitutes may introduce new ethical dilemmas, such as nickel mining’s environmental footprint or rare earth metal extraction in other politically unstable regions.
Ethically, innovation is essential, but insufficient alone. It must be paired with policy action, economic development, and transparent global governance.
Policy and Regulatory Imperatives
In 2023, the European Union included cobalt in its Critical Raw Materials Act, setting due diligence obligations for importers to ensure sustainability and human rights compliance [10]. Similar efforts are underway in the U.S., where the Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502 inspired due diligence reporting on conflict minerals (though not specifically cobalt). Binding international regulations could be a powerful lever to address systemic abuses, provided enforcement mechanisms exist.
Conclusion: Toward an Ethical Cobalt Future
The cobalt supply chain, particularly as it originates in the DRC, illustrates the paradox of green technology: in seeking to save the planet, we may be sacrificing some of its most vulnerable inhabitants. Child labor, environmental degradation, and opaque trade practices cannot be ethically justified—no matter how noble the end use of cobalt might be.
To move toward a truly ethical energy future, stakeholders must go beyond voluntary pledges and engage in robust due diligence, legal reform, technological innovation, and support for local communities. Only then can the green revolution be truly just.
References
Human Rights Watch – “What Do We Get Out of It?” The Human Rights Impact of Bauxite Mining in Guinea.
Amnesty International – This is What We Die For: Human Rights Abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Power the Global Trade in Cobalt.
Earth.org - The Environmental Impacts of Cobalt Mining in Congo
OECD – Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals.
Chatham House – Global Mining and Resource Extraction: Unfair Systems and Neocolonial Legacies.