Marketing weapons, contaminating water supplies, bribing officials....it's all in a day's work for some company executives.
I've just come across news from CSR Asia of a recent human rights report from Global Exchange. GE has put together a 'Most Wanted' list of corporations they say are the worst human rights abusers in the world.
Wondering who's on the list?
Well, the list I saw is alphabetical, so it's not clear who they think is the worst of the worst, but here goes:
Caterpillar
Chevron
Coca-Cola
Dow Chemical
DynCorp / CSC
Ford Motor Company
KBR (Haliburton)
Lockheed Martin
Monsanto
Nestlé USA
Philip Morris
Pfizer
Suez-Lyonnaise Des Eaux
Wal-Mart
CSR Asia covers Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia-Pacific region, and is an excellent source of up-to-date news and analysis.
Here's an extract of the article from Jonathon Hills;
' Global Exchange (GE) has released a report on what it says are the worst corporate human rights violators of 2005. The San Francisco-based international human rights organization’s list identifies 12 companies it accuses of involvement in issues such as assassination, torture, kidnapping, environmental degradation, abusing public funds, violently repressing political rights, releasing toxins into pristine environments, destroying homes, discrimination, and causing widespread health problems.
Companies on the list with an Asian link include Coca-Cola, which GE accuses of violent killings, kidnap and torture, water privatization, health violations, and discriminatory practices. The report summarizes allegations surrounding the company in Colombia and Turkey and inevitably goes on to mention India, where Coca-Cola has come under sustained pressure from a coalition of NGOs, community groups and anti-globalisation activists. “Coca-Cola destroys local agriculture by privatizing the country's water resources,” the report says. It alleges the company depleted groundwater resources at Plachimada, Kerala and contaminated the remainder with high chloride and bacteria levels, leading to health problems in the local population. GE also says the company is the cause of water shortages in Varanasi, Thane, and Tamil Nadu, and further accuses it of reselling its plants' industrial waste to farmers as fertilizers, despite its containing hazardous lead and cadmium.
Also on the list is Dow Chemical, which GE accuses of creating chemical weapons, marketing poisonous chemicals, illegal dumping of toxins into populated areas, and of causing environmental destruction, health problems, and death. Dow was one of several companies involved in the development of Napalm and Agent Orange, which were subsequently used in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange victims in Vietnam are currently appealing against a March 2005 ruling which dismissed a lawsuit demanding compensation from Dow and 36 other chemical firms.
GE also points a finger at Dow over its 2001 acquisition of Carbide Corporation (UCC) and its “outstanding liabilities” in Bhopal, India. GE accuses Dow of “refusing to address its liabilities in Bhopal or even admit its existence.” The NGO says UCC still faces manslaughter charges and is “considered a fugitive from justice” in India.
Other companies with an Asian connection include Monsanto, which GE accuses of displacement, health violations and child labour. The company is accused of “undercutting food prices by flooding several countries, including India, with cheap, genetically modified foods, resulting in the displacement of millions of farm workers, who are forced to migrate to cities or work as landless peasants or share croppers.”
To read the full report go to page 15 of CSR Asia Weekly at
www.csr-asia.com (Vol 1 week 50).
