Lithium is vastly abundant and is not really the problem. If all else fails you can extract it by distilling sea water. The problem is Cobalt which is essential for working LiIon batteries and is required in equally vast quantities.
Group effects are known, cf bystander effect. Actually companies show a bystander-like effect, "what we're doing here is evil, someone [else] should change that".
Just because such behaviours are common in groups doesn't mean individuals aren't responsible. It's easier to ignore your moral responsibilities by invoking the company as the responsible party.
Corporate culture as in, we want you to be a {insert company name here} person. And the corporation is set up to make that happen.
You're discounting having the ability to mold someone for a decade+, which is not an insignificant effect on their behavior.