EU Batteries Regulation Due Diligence Program

The due diligence program starts by recording whether the Chapter VII scope rule applies to the economic operator placing batteries on the market or putting them into service. Article 47 excludes operators below the EUR 40 million net-turnover threshold when they are not part of a group exceeding that threshold on a consolidated basis.

Article 47 also excludes the placing on the market or putting into service of batteries that have undergone preparation for re-use, preparation for repurposing, repurposing, or remanufacturing if those batteries were already placed on the market or put into service before that operation. Keep this scope analysis separate from product conformity evidence because Chapter VII due diligence has its own records, verification, and disclosure duties.

Article 48 requires in-scope economic operators to set up and implement battery due diligence policies. Article 49 then defines what that policy must contain: a company battery due diligence policy for Annex X raw materials and associated social and environmental risk categories, standards aligned with Annex X internationally recognised instruments, top-management oversight, supplier controls, contract integration, and grievance or remediation mechanisms.

Annex X raw materials are cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, nickel, and chemical compounds based on those raw materials that are necessary for manufacturing active battery materials. The program should map each battery model or family to those materials, then map the relevant environment, human rights, labour, industrial-relations, and community-life risks before setting controls.

Article 49 requires a system of controls and transparency regarding the supply chain, including chain-of-custody or traceability that identifies upstream actors. The record should be structured enough to support risk assessment, notified-body verification, downstream purchaser information, and authority requests without rebuilding the supplier history each time.

For each Annex X material present in batteries, keep the trade name and type, supplier name and address, country of origin, transactions from extraction to the immediate supplier, quantities in the battery by percentage or weight, and supplier third-party verification reports where available. If the raw material originates from a conflict-affected or high-risk area and supplier verification reports are not available, Article 49 calls for additional upstream information, where relevant, such as mine of origin, consolidation, trading and processing locations, and taxes, fees, and royalties paid.

Article 50 requires the operator to identify and assess adverse-impact risks in the supply chain against Annex X risk categories, using Article 49 information plus relevant public or stakeholder information. The program should therefore link each material and supplier to a risk assessment, mitigation decision, management escalation, monitoring record, and change trigger.

The mitigation plan should be explicit about influence over suppliers, subsidiaries, and subcontractors; performance tracking; top-management reporting; consultation with suppliers and affected stakeholders where trade continues or is temporarily suspended during mitigation; and whether engagement may be suspended or discontinued after failed mitigation attempts.

Article 48 requires the battery due diligence policies to be verified by a notified body and periodically audited. Article 51 defines the verification scope: all activities, processes, and systems used to meet Articles 49, 50, and 52; conformity of due diligence practices; relevant checks and stakeholder information; potential improvement areas; and audit principles of independence, competence, and accountability.

The program should treat the verification report and approval decision as controlled compliance records. A public statement that a battery due diligence policy is verified should identify what was verified, the notified body, the report or approval reference, and any limits needed for business confidentiality or competitive concerns.

Article 52 creates three different disclosure audiences. Authorities may request the verification report, approval decision, audit reports, and evidence of compliance with a Commission-recognised due diligence scheme. Immediate downstream purchasers must receive relevant information gained and maintained under the battery due diligence policy, subject to business confidentiality and competitive concerns.

The public report is broader than a marketing page. Article 52 requires an annual review and an internet-available report that is easily comprehensible for end-users, clearly identifies the batteries concerned, explains steps taken to comply with Articles 49 and 50, includes significant adverse-impact findings and how they were addressed, and summarises third-party verifications, including the notified body's name. If Annex X materials present in the battery are derived from recycled sources, the operator must publicly disclose its conclusions in reasonable detail.

The due diligence evidence file should be versioned by battery due diligence policy, battery model or family, Annex X material, supplier, and reporting year. Article 48 requires documentation demonstrating fulfilment of Articles 49, 50, and 52, including the Article 51 verification report and approval decision and Article 48 audit reports, to be retained for 10 years after the last battery manufactured under the relevant policy has been placed on the market.

Keep the record set narrow but complete: scope analysis, policy version, management-system owner, supplier traceability file, risk assessment, mitigation plan, stakeholder consultation, notified-body verification, audit reports, downstream purchaser disclosures, annual public report, recycled-source conclusions where used, and any recognised due diligence scheme evidence.