Recycling / circular
Redwood Materials
57Mixed / ImprovingCarson City, NV, United StatesFounded 20170 followers
www.redwoodmaterials.comRecycles lithium-ion batteries and manufactures battery components — anode copper foil and cathode active materials — to build a domestic circular battery supply chain.
Green Score
- Greenwashing risk
- medium
- Data confidence
- medium
- Method
- how it is calculated
Climate Impact & Solution35%78
Does the core business genuinely avoid or reduce emissions, or build climate resilience? Share of revenue that is actually 'green'. Fossil-dependent models score low.
The core recycling-and-resale loop genuinely displaces virgin mining with ~95% metal recovery rates and third-party-cited avoidance of ~220,000 tCO₂e; self-reported claims of 80% less energy and 70% less CO₂ vs. mined ore are directionally credible but lack independent assurance.
Decarbonization & Targets20%28
Credible, science-based targets (SBTi), a real net-zero plan with progress to date, and CDP disclosure — not just a dated press release.
No SBTi-validated targets, no CDP disclosure, and no independently verified net-zero plan were found in public records; all emissions claims originate from company communications or third-party analyses citing company data, with no formal commitment timeline.
ESG & Operations15%52
Operational footprint, labour and social practices, and governance quality across the company's own operations and supply chain.
The company underwent workforce reductions (layoffs) tied to automation strategy, faces standard industrial air-quality permitting scrutiny in Nevada, and has no publicly disclosed labor practices, supply-chain due-diligence report, or board-level ESG governance framework.
Transparency & Verification15%38
Quality of disclosure, independent third-party verification, and how much hard data backs the company's claims.
As a private company, Redwood publishes no annual report, no audited sustainability data, no third-party-assured GHG inventory, and no CDP response; environmental claims circulate via press releases and partner blogs rather than independently verified disclosures.
Integrity15%72
Controversies, litigation, pollution, fossil-fuel lobbying, conflict-zone involvement and governance scandals. Higher means cleaner.
No material litigation, pollution violations, fossil-fuel lobbying, or governance scandals were identified; the Nevada NDEP air-permit revision in 2023-2024 was routine and the regulator found no federal or state air quality violations, leaving the integrity record reasonably clean.
Why it's on ClimateTicker
Redwood Materials operates a genuinely circular battery-materials business — recycling lithium-ion batteries and reselling recovered anode/cathode materials back into the EV supply chain — which structurally reduces demand for virgin mining and cuts lifecycle emissions. The core impact thesis is credible and material, but the company is private, has not published SBTi-validated targets or CDP disclosures, and its headline environmental claims (80% less CO₂, 95% recovery rate) are largely self-reported or sourced from non-independent analyses. Investors should treat the impact story as promising but not yet fully third-party verified.
Controversy & Greenwashing Watch
Key sustainability metrics — 80% less energy, 70% less CO₂, 95% recovery rate — are self-reported or cited from non-independent sources without third-party assurance, creating a gap between marketing claims and verified impact.teslarati.com
Redwood Materials conducted layoffs as part of a strategic shift toward automated industrial-scale recycling, raising questions about labor practices and the social dimension of its 'green jobs' narrative.thinkinleverage.com
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection opened a public comment period in late 2023 on a revised Class II air quality operating permit for Redwood's Carson City facility, though regulators preliminarily found no violation of federal or state air quality standards.nevadaappeal.com
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