Doing the right thing

Swanbarton Limited has issued a joint statement condemning the use of forced labour in the global lithium-ion battery supply chain.

We have joined other industry leaders to affirm our shared commitment to human rights and promoting transparent and sustainable supply chain practices.

Coordinated by the Electricity Storage Network, the statement calls for rigorous due diligence standards and alignment with international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It underscores our readiness to collaborate with the UK government to help set and uphold high standards for ethical and sustainable sourcing.

Swanbarton CEO Kit Guest said: "At Swanbarton we firmly believe in the power of business for good. We are working hard to make energy smarter: to enable energy consumers to access reliable cleaner energy more cost-effectively, to move the needle on climate change and lift people out of energy poverty. It is imperative that as individual businesses – and as a whole sector – we stand firm and insist that all people throughout our supply chains are treated fairly and equitably. We must strive to ensure that tackling climate change does not come at the expense of the working conditions and human rights of others but instead is a driver for progress in those areas too."

Electricity Storage Network lead Olly Frankland said: “Following allegations of human rights abuses in the production of lithium-ion batteries, our members wanted to send a clear message that they strongly condemn and oppose the use of forced labour. “We want to see international best practice used to develop new UK standards to enable this higher level of transparency in supply chains. The industry will work in partnership with the UK government to ensure this.”

The full list of signatories includes key operators and owners across the UK grid-scale electricity storage sector.

Signatories:

Aura Power, Eelpower, EPNC Energy, Field, Flexitricity, Fluence, FRV, Gore Street Capital, Gresham House, Harmony Energy, NextEnergy Group, NHOA Energy, Pulse Clean Energy, SSE Renewables, Statera Energy, Statkraft, Swanbarton, TagEnergy and Zenobē.