(Illustration by movinglines.studio via AdobeStock)

Lead the Charge is a diverse network of local, national, and global advocacy partners working for an equitable, sustainable, and fossil-free auto supply chain.

Background

 Analysis on the world’s leading automakers to encourage them to make improvements

The Lead the Charge (LtC) evaluates the efforts of 18 of the world’s leading automakers to reduce emissions, negative environmental impacts, and human rights violations in their supply chains based on 88 indicators, and publishes the results as the Leaderboard. The third edition was published in February 2025 in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, with the aim of presenting the evaluations to each manufacturer and encouraging improvements on their efforts.

We at EcoNetworks supported the Sunrise Project, an international NPO that leads LtC project, to translate the website content, the 2025 edition of their reports, and press release for the Leaderboard into Japanese, aiming to meet their expectations of high-quality translation with a deep understanding of the field of sustainability. This was the repeated request after translating the 2024 Leaderboard for content of their website.

Approach

 Aiming for clear and precise expressions to ensure that Japanese readers understand accurately

The target readers of the Leaderboard are diverse, ranging from manufacturers and industry stakeholders to consumers and policymakers. In order to encourage improvements in companies and industries, it is essential that the text is easy to read and that readers can accurately understand the current situation of automakers’ efforts and LtC’s assessments on them. Based on many years of our experience in the two sections of the Leaderboard, “Fossil-free and Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chains” and “Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing,” we proposed expressions that a wide range of Japanese readers could understand, while accurately translating technical terms. We also made sure to use objective and neutral expressions as the report aims to present not only assessments but also recommendations to automakers.

In addition, we also paid attention to the overall consistency of the Japanese edition of the Leaderboard. After evaluating the automakers, LtC communicates the results to each company for confirmation and feedback, and then the Leaderboard is finalized. As every year’s edition is published in four languages simultaneously, translation begins as soon as the evaluation is complete, and then final adjustments are made after receiving the input from the automakers. At this stage, we carefully checked for any discrepancies in the content, expressions, or figures throughout the Leaderboard, and communicated our findings if any.

Outcome

 To support a highly reliable Leaderboard that has a positive impact on companies and industries

The Leaderboard has now entered its third year while expanding the indicators and other data. Through the assessment on the latest trends of automotive companies that lead the industry, it continues to propose solutions on material climate, environmental and human rights issues. We would like to continue to play a part in providing reliable translation, hoping that our work helps make a positive impact on companies and industries.

Feedback from client

Chris Alford
Senior Strategist on Auto Supply chains, The Sunrise Project

 We have worked with EcoNetworks on several translation projects related to Lead the Charge, and we have always been extremely satisfied with their work. They bring an excellent attention to detail (sometimes even spotting mistakes in the original text that fell through the cracks!) and professionalism in all the work they do. Some of our work is very technical, but they had no issues translating it and our partners in Japan also provided positive feedback with regards to their translations.

For more information on the Leaderboard, please see here.

Summary of the 2025 Leaderboard in Japanese is published here.