A coalition of environmental, climate, and human rights groups assessed 18 major automakers on their efforts to reduce emissions, environmental damage, and human rights abuses in their supply chains. Tesla, Ford, and Volvo secured the top three positions in the ranking. However, Toyota ranked near the bottom, highlighting its ongoing challenges in improving its supply chain. The rankings, compiled by Lead the Charge, comprise global climate, environment, and human rights organizations like the Sierra Club and Public Citizen. This is the fourth edition of the coalition’s annual automaker supply chain rankings.
Since the leaderboard’s inception, automakers have nearly doubled their scores on environmental and human rights impacts within their supply chains. While more companies now respect indigenous peoples’ rights, no automaker has achieved even a 50% score for clean supply chains, with Tesla closest at 49%. The group highlighted that Ford, Volvo, Tesla, Mercedes, and Volkswagen lead in supply chain improvements, noting their progress in decarbonizing steel and aluminum and providing detailed reports on raw material sourcing.
Electric vehicles (EVs) were praised for their progress in decarbonization and responsible sourcing. Despite challenges like partisanship and diminishing subsidies, EVs remain a better consumer choice, the group argues. This year, Chinese companies, particularly Geely and BYD, are making strides in the rankings by establishing best practices and new supply chain conduct codes.
Toyota, along with some Chinese state-owned companies, remains near the bottom due to minimal progress in areas like steel decarbonization or mineral sourcing. Though Toyota has announced new EV projects, it still lags behind competitors like Tesla and Ford in climate and human rights records. The group’s assessment excludes Elon Musk’s other ventures, like xAI, which operate methane gas turbines at data centers in Tennessee and Mississippi, or his support for relaxed environmental regulations under the Trump administration.