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Environment
& human rights: 1 Oct. 2002 to present |
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NEW
(recent
additions to this section; top item is most recent addition) |
EU
assembly tells polluters to pay debts to nature - The European Parliament
approved a bill on Wednesday that would force companies to pay to clean up the
mess they create in nature. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 14 May 2003)
OIL
POLLUTION: IMO Seeks To Set Up New Compensation Fund - International Maritime
Organization Secretary General William O'Neil yesterday called for ensuring that
those affected by oil pollution around the world are fairly compensated for
damages. (UN Wire, 13 May 2003)
Suit
Says ChevronTexaco Dumped Poisons in Ecuador - A
group of American lawyers representing more than
30,000 indigenous people in Ecuador filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the
ChevronTexaco Corporation yesterday. The suit
was filed in Ecuador on behalf of 88 plaintiffs in Lago Agrio, a small oil town
in northern Ecuador, and asserts that during two decades of operation, from 1971
to 1992, ChevronTexaco dumped over four million gallons a day of toxic
wastewater, contaminated with oil, heavy metals and carcinogens into open pits,
estuaries and rivers. It also says the company left behind nearly 350 open waste
pits that killed people and animals.
(Abby Ellin, New York Times, 8 May 2003)
Trade
Unions Call for Social Dimension at UN Commission on Sustainable Development -
Trade union representatives at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD) have called on governments to prioritise social concerns in
their actions for sustainable development. The plans under discussion will form
the basis for implementing the outcomes of last year’s Johannesburg World
Summit for Sustainable Development...The union movement has criticized the “sidelining”
of social and employment concerns in the draft conclusions of the CSD
meeting...While social and employment issues are linked to water, energy, access
and some other priorities for action in the draft conclusions, the main thrust
of the document pays insufficient attention to poverty eradication and the
overall social dimension of sustainable development. (International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 7 May 2003)
Environmentalists:
SUVs cause war - Groups say better SUVs would end U.S.-Mideast conflicts;
carmakers say they're doing what they can. - Environmental groups [Natural
Resources Defense Council and the Detroit Project] launched a new attack on
sport/utility vehicles and Detroit automakers Wednesday, charging that lack of
progress on more fuel-efficient vehicles could be responsible for future U.S.
wars in the Middle East. (CNN/Money, 7 May 2003)
Disclosure
vote on Dow meeting agenda [USA] -...If approved, the [shareholder] proposal
would require the company to compile a report on dioxin-contaminated sites,
submit plans to remediate the contamination and plans to phaseout
dioxin-producing processes and products. Dow says it already supplies an
abundance of information about dioxin and its plans and successes to reduce the
toxin. (Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News, 7 May 2003)
Nationwide
Kodak Protest Hits Albany [USA] - Around the country environmental groups are
gathering outside stores that sell Kodak products...Those chemicals include
dioxin and up to 64 other cancer causing emissions. Kodak has long been accused
of polluting the air and water in Rochester where the company's main plant is
located. And New York State consistently lists Kodak as the state's top
individual polluter. (WTEN/ABC, 23 Apr. 2003)
Environment
groups call on Rio Tinto for action [Australia] - Leading Australian environment
groups have called on mining giant Rio Tinto to deliver on a commitment to
rehabilitate the Jabiluka uranium mine site in Kakadu National Park. (Australian
Broadcasting Corporation, 17 Apr. 2003)
Groups
File Claim Against BP and Pipeline Partners in 5 Countries:
"Green" Company Violating International
Norms in Controversial Caspian Oil Pipeline - As political and business leaders
gather in Paris for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's
(OECD) Forum 2003, environmental organizations today submitted complaints to the
British, French, German, Italian, and US governments charging that BP and its
consortium partners [SOCAR (Azerbaijan), Unocal, ConocoPhillips, (US) Statoil
(Norway), TPAO (Turkey), ENI (Italy), TotalFinaElf (France), Itochu, Inpex
(Japan), and Delta Hess (joint US-Saudi)] in the proposed Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) oil pipeline are breaching the OECD's "Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises." (Friends of the Earth,
29 Apr. 2003)
End
of a killer chemical - Making Cambodia a safer place with an endosulfan ban -
Environmentalists welcome the timely ban of endosulfan in Cambodia. The
Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) today applauds the Royal Government of
Cambodia's decision to ban the chemical. Endosulfan is a highly dangerous
pesticide, which has caused dozens of accidental deaths in Colombia, Cuba, the
USA, Benin, India, Malaysia, Sudan, the Philippines and, most recently, South
Africa. (Environmental Justice Foundation, 29 Apr. 2003)
{···français} Barrage
des Trois Gorges (Chine): les violations des droits humains risquent de
s'accentuer avec la mise en eau du réservoir (Sébastien Godinot, Les Amis
de la Terre, 9 avril 2003)
Shell
feels heat at AGM -...Shell’s managers were also given a tough time by
environmental activists who had flown in from around the world to raise issues
at the AGM. They criticised the company for not doing enough and providing spin
over substance in key areas of environmental and social performance. Activists
from the US, South Africa and the Philippines made varied accusations
(Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 25 Apr. 2003)
Unilever’s
bid for responsible agriculture - Roger Cowe takes a look at Unilever’s forays
into sustainable development -...The research was part of Unilever’s
sustainable agriculture project, which includes spinach in Germany, tomatoes in
Australia, tea in several countries and peas in the UK.
The pea project is a rigorous assessment of farming
methods and has as its aim the development of a more sustainable approach. The
aim is to improve the soil and biodiversity, reduce energy inputs and water
pollution and provide benefits to local rural economies.
(Roger Cowe, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 24 Apr. 2003)
GlaxoSmithKline,
seeking a cure for public mistrust - Mallen Baker assesses GSK's most recent
social and environmental report. (Mallen Baker, in Ethical Corporation
Magazine, 23 Apr. 2003)
Shell
meetings hit by protests over pay, ethics -...Environmental group Friends of the
Earth Netherlands urged Royal Dutch Petroleum to have an independent
investigation into the quality of its oil pipelines in the South African city of
Durban.
Friends of the Earth activist Paul de Clerck said
millions of litres of gasoline had leaked from the pipelines in a series of
incidents over the past two years...Royal Dutch Petroleum president Jeroen van
der Veer acknowledged there had been oil leaks and Shell Chairman Watts urged
communities which felt they had suffered health problems due to Shell pipelines
to get in touch with the group. (Sudip
Kar-Gupta and Otti Thomas, Reuters, 25 Apr. 2003)
Sierra
Club & Staples team up to recycle mobile electronics - New Program With
CollectiveGood Makes Recycling Used Cell Phones, PDAs and Pagers Easy &
Convenient [USA] (Sierra Club, 24 Apr. 2003)
Shell
faces international protest at AGM - Oil giant Shell is still putting short-term
profit before people and the environment, despite its public commitment to a
"green" future, according to a shocking new report launched today to
coincide with the company's London AGM. Failing the challenge: The
Other Shell Report...contains first hand testimonies from communities living
next door to Shell in the US, the Philippines, South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina
and China and catalogues the environmental damage, the health problems and the
impacts of accident these communities face. But the report also shows how
inadequate current UK company law is in protecting local people and the
environment from UK companies who profit at the expense of people's health and
the natural world. (Friends of the Earth, 23 Apr. 2003)
- full report: Failing
the challenge: The Other Shell Report 2002 (Friends of the
Earth, Refinery Reform Campaign, groundWork South Africa, South Durban
Community Environmental Alliance, South African Exchange Program on
Environmental Justice, Fundacion Ala Plastica, Global Community Monitor and
FreeTibet Campaign, Apr. 2003)
Earth
Day Founder Not the Only One to Link Climate Change and Investing - The voices
of institutional investors representing public pension funds join those from the
insurance industry to advance a business case for addressing climate
change...Mr. Hayes [Earth Day founder Denis Hayes] pointed out that precious few
companies are following the examples of BP, DuPont, IBM, and Johnson &
Johnson, which are recognizing the business case for improving environmental
performance and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
22 Apr. 2003)
Pollution
from small industry up in Canada, US - Industrial pollution in the United States
and Canada dropped 4 percent from 1998 to 2000, but a 32 percent surge in toxic
emissions from smaller facilities has researchers worried, according to a new
study published...The smaller facilities studied include a cross-section of
industry, scattered across communities in both countries, and ranging from metal
fabricators to food processing plants to lumber mills. (Robert Melnbardis, Reuters,
22 Apr. 2003)
ENERGY:
OECD-Linked Agency Pushes Efficient Appliances - The International Energy Agency
called today on rich countries to use more efficient appliances, a move the
agency said could cut the countries' energy use by one-third in seven years and
curb greenhouse gas emissions...Home appliances like toasters, computers,
refrigerators and televisions are quickly emerging as the biggest energy drains,
after automobiles, in OECD countries. The devices consume about 30 percent of
the electricity flowing in OECD countries and produce about 12 percent of the
bloc's greenhouse gas emissions. (UN Wire, 22 Apr. 2003)
Office
Depot Announces New Environmental Procurement Initiatives (Office Depot, 22
Apr. 2003)
|
1 Oct. 2002 to present:
2003:
EU
assembly tells polluters to pay debts to nature - The European Parliament
approved a bill on Wednesday that would force companies to pay to clean up the
mess they create in nature. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 14 May 2003)
OIL
POLLUTION: IMO Seeks To Set Up New Compensation Fund - International Maritime
Organization Secretary General William O'Neil yesterday called for ensuring that
those affected by oil pollution around the world are fairly compensated for
damages. (UN Wire, 13 May 2003)
Suit
Says ChevronTexaco Dumped Poisons in Ecuador - A
group of American lawyers representing more than
30,000 indigenous people in Ecuador filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the
ChevronTexaco Corporation yesterday. The suit
was filed in Ecuador on behalf of 88 plaintiffs in Lago Agrio, a small oil town
in northern Ecuador, and asserts that during two decades of operation, from 1971
to 1992, ChevronTexaco dumped over four million gallons a day of toxic
wastewater, contaminated with oil, heavy metals and carcinogens into open pits,
estuaries and rivers. It also says the company left behind nearly 350 open waste
pits that killed people and animals.
(Abby Ellin, New York Times, 8 May 2003)
Trade
Unions Call for Social Dimension at UN Commission on Sustainable Development -
Trade union representatives at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD) have called on governments to prioritise social concerns in
their actions for sustainable development. The plans under discussion will form
the basis for implementing the outcomes of last year’s Johannesburg World
Summit for Sustainable Development...The union movement has criticized the “sidelining”
of social and employment concerns in the draft conclusions of the CSD
meeting...While social and employment issues are linked to water, energy, access
and some other priorities for action in the draft conclusions, the main thrust
of the document pays insufficient attention to poverty eradication and the
overall social dimension of sustainable development. (International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 7 May 2003)
Environmentalists:
SUVs cause war - Groups say better SUVs would end U.S.-Mideast conflicts;
carmakers say they're doing what they can. - Environmental groups [Natural
Resources Defense Council and the Detroit Project] launched a new attack on
sport/utility vehicles and Detroit automakers Wednesday, charging that lack of
progress on more fuel-efficient vehicles could be responsible for future U.S.
wars in the Middle East. (CNN/Money, 7 May 2003)
Disclosure
vote on Dow meeting agenda [USA] -...If approved, the [shareholder] proposal
would require the company to compile a report on dioxin-contaminated sites,
submit plans to remediate the contamination and plans to phaseout
dioxin-producing processes and products. Dow says it already supplies an
abundance of information about dioxin and its plans and successes to reduce the
toxin. (Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News, 7 May 2003)
Groups
File Claim Against BP and Pipeline Partners in 5 Countries:
"Green" Company Violating International
Norms in Controversial Caspian Oil Pipeline - As political and business leaders
gather in Paris for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's
(OECD) Forum 2003, environmental organizations today submitted complaints to the
British, French, German, Italian, and US governments charging that BP and its
consortium partners [SOCAR (Azerbaijan), Unocal, ConocoPhillips, (US) Statoil
(Norway), TPAO (Turkey), ENI (Italy), TotalFinaElf (France), Itochu, Inpex
(Japan), and Delta Hess (joint US-Saudi)] in the proposed Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) oil pipeline are breaching the OECD's "Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises." (Friends of the Earth,
29 Apr. 2003)
End
of a killer chemical - Making Cambodia a safer place with an endosulfan ban -
Environmentalists welcome the timely ban of endosulfan in Cambodia. The
Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) today applauds the Royal Government of
Cambodia's decision to ban the chemical. Endosulfan is a highly dangerous
pesticide, which has caused dozens of accidental deaths in Colombia, Cuba, the
USA, Benin, India, Malaysia, Sudan, the Philippines and, most recently, South
Africa. (Environmental Justice Foundation, 29 Apr. 2003)
Shell
feels heat at AGM -...Shell’s managers were also given a tough time by
environmental activists who had flown in from around the world to raise issues
at the AGM. They criticised the company for not doing enough and providing spin
over substance in key areas of environmental and social performance. Activists
from the US, South Africa and the Philippines made varied accusations
(Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 25 Apr. 2003)
Shell
meetings hit by protests over pay, ethics -...Environmental group Friends of the
Earth Netherlands urged Royal Dutch Petroleum to have an independent
investigation into the quality of its oil pipelines in the South African city of
Durban.
Friends of the Earth activist Paul de Clerck said
millions of litres of gasoline had leaked from the pipelines in a series of
incidents over the past two years...Royal Dutch Petroleum president Jeroen van
der Veer acknowledged there had been oil leaks and Shell Chairman Watts urged
communities which felt they had suffered health problems due to Shell pipelines
to get in touch with the group. (Sudip
Kar-Gupta and Otti Thomas, Reuters, 25 Apr. 2003)
Unilever’s
bid for responsible agriculture - Roger Cowe takes a look at Unilever’s forays
into sustainable development -...The research was part of Unilever’s
sustainable agriculture project, which includes spinach in Germany, tomatoes in
Australia, tea in several countries and peas in the UK.
The pea project is a rigorous assessment of farming
methods and has as its aim the development of a more sustainable approach. The
aim is to improve the soil and biodiversity, reduce energy inputs and water
pollution and provide benefits to local rural economies.
(Roger Cowe, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 24 Apr. 2003)
Sierra
Club & Staples team up to recycle mobile electronics - New Program With
CollectiveGood Makes Recycling Used Cell Phones, PDAs and Pagers Easy &
Convenient [USA] (Sierra Club, 24 Apr. 2003)
Nationwide
Kodak Protest Hits Albany [USA] - Around the country environmental groups are
gathering outside stores that sell Kodak products...Those chemicals include
dioxin and up to 64 other cancer causing emissions. Kodak has long been accused
of polluting the air and water in Rochester where the company's main plant is
located. And New York State consistently lists Kodak as the state's top
individual polluter. (WTEN/ABC, 23 Apr. 2003)
GlaxoSmithKline,
seeking a cure for public mistrust - Mallen Baker assesses GSK's most recent
social and environmental report. (Mallen Baker, in Ethical Corporation
Magazine, 23 Apr. 2003)
Shell
faces international protest at AGM - Oil giant Shell is still putting short-term
profit before people and the environment, despite its public commitment to a
"green" future, according to a shocking new report launched today to
coincide with the company's London AGM. Failing the challenge: The
Other Shell Report...contains first hand testimonies from communities living
next door to Shell in the US, the Philippines, South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina
and China and catalogues the environmental damage, the health problems and the
impacts of accident these communities face. But the report also shows how
inadequate current UK company law is in protecting local people and the
environment from UK companies who profit at the expense of people's health and
the natural world. (Friends of the Earth, 23 Apr. 2003)
- full report: Failing
the challenge: The Other Shell Report 2002 (Friends of the
Earth, Refinery Reform Campaign, groundWork South Africa, South Durban
Community Environmental Alliance, South African Exchange Program on
Environmental Justice, Fundacion Ala Plastica, Global Community Monitor and
FreeTibet Campaign, Apr. 2003)
Earth
Day Founder Not the Only One to Link Climate Change and Investing - The voices
of institutional investors representing public pension funds join those from the
insurance industry to advance a business case for addressing climate
change...Mr. Hayes [Earth Day founder Denis Hayes] pointed out that precious few
companies are following the examples of BP, DuPont, IBM, and Johnson &
Johnson, which are recognizing the business case for improving environmental
performance and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
22 Apr. 2003)
Pollution
from small industry up in Canada, US - Industrial pollution in the United States
and Canada dropped 4 percent from 1998 to 2000, but a 32 percent surge in toxic
emissions from smaller facilities has researchers worried, according to a new
study published...The smaller facilities studied include a cross-section of
industry, scattered across communities in both countries, and ranging from metal
fabricators to food processing plants to lumber mills. (Robert Melnbardis, Reuters,
22 Apr. 2003)
ENERGY:
OECD-Linked Agency Pushes Efficient Appliances - The International Energy Agency
called today on rich countries to use more efficient appliances, a move the
agency said could cut the countries' energy use by one-third in seven years and
curb greenhouse gas emissions...Home appliances like toasters, computers,
refrigerators and televisions are quickly emerging as the biggest energy drains,
after automobiles, in OECD countries. The devices consume about 30 percent of
the electricity flowing in OECD countries and produce about 12 percent of the
bloc's greenhouse gas emissions. (UN Wire, 22 Apr. 2003)
Office
Depot Announces New Environmental Procurement Initiatives (Office Depot, 22
Apr. 2003)
In
the green dock: corporate targets [sub-section of article entitled "Asda
'exploiting loophole' for store space"] - FoE [Friends of the Earth] is
also targeting some of Britain's largest listed firms, which it claims are
putting profits before people and the environment; it has bought shares in 18
publicly quoted firms and has been questioning boards about the impact their
businesses are having on the environment. The campaign, to run through the
summer, started this week when FoE accused Rio Tinto of human rights abuses and
environmental destruction in Indonesia at its AGM. FoE is also pushing for UK
law changes requiring firms to take account of their wider responsibilities and
offer affected communities redress or compensation when they fail to do so. The
18 firms targeted...: British American Tobacco (Activities in Burma and use of
pesticides in Brazil); Associated British Ports; Rio Tinto (Destructive mining
activities in Indonesia); Shell (Environmental damage in the Philippines; South
Africa, Nigeria and US); Barclays (Rainforest destruction in Indonesia); BP
(Impact of the Baku to Ceyan Russian pipeline); Anglo American (Mining in South
America and Africa); BAE Systems; Amec (Subsidiary Spie has a construction
contract for BP's Baku-Ceyan pipeline); Premier Oil; Balfour Beatty; P&O;
HSBC (Oil industry involvement in Sudan); Tesco; British Airways; Sainsbury;
Safeway; BAA. (Julia Finch & Neil Hume, Guardian [UK], 19 Apr.
2003)
Investors
barrack Rio Tinto bosses -...Rio Tinto was barracked by small shareholders and
special interest groups at an annual meeting that marked a bad-tempered send-off
for chairman Sir Robert...The mining group was attacked over pension issues,
alleged safety problems in Utah and for not making provisions for a number of
legal cases being taken out against it..."The government must change
company law to ensure the directors of irresponsible companies like Rio Tinto
are made fully liable and accountable for their destructive impact
overseas," said Friends of the Earth campaigner Ed Matthew. (Terry
Macalister, Guardian [UK], 18 Apr. 2003)
Poor
fellow mining country - Steering a big bank and a huge mining company, Leon
Davis [chairman of Westpac, deputy chairman of Rio Tinto] puts Aboriginal
disadvantage first on his unusual agenda...Westpac recently issued Australia's
first comprehensive triple bottom line report...Rio Tinto has made striking
progress in its relations with Aboriginal communities in Australia, winning
praise from indigenous leaders such as Marcia Langton and Mick Dodson. Davis was
key to this policy, spearheading the company's decision to set aside legal
hostilities and negotiate with Aboriginal people to form binding voluntary
agreements covering native title...Westpac staff volunteers spend four weeks in
Aboriginal communities providing mentoring on family financial and small
business skills...Rio Tinto has a huge legacy of community conflict to come to
terms with [including] the Jabiluka uranium mine, the Weipa industrial dispute,
the Bougainville copper mine, allegations of human rights abuses at the huge
(albeit minority-owned) FreeportGrasberg copper mine in West Papua, and ongoing
debate about disposal of mine tailings at the Lihir gold mine in Indonesia.
Recently, for example, Rio Tinto has opposed any
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by Australia.
(Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Apr. 2003)
Environment
groups call on Rio Tinto for action [Australia] - Leading Australian environment
groups have called on mining giant Rio Tinto to deliver on a commitment to
rehabilitate the Jabiluka uranium mine site in Kakadu National Park. (Australian
Broadcasting Corporation, 17 Apr. 2003)
Air
Pollution May Damage Brain, Heart - Studies suggest it can cause
Alzheimer's-like lesions, heart problems (Leonard Lee, HealthScoutNews,
16 Apr. 2003)
Low
Levels of Lead Damage Children - It can reduce IQ, delay puberty, new research
says...The main exposure to lead [in USA] now occurs in housing built before
1950, where paints with high levels of lead are more common. (Ed Edelson, HealthScoutNews,
16 Apr. 2003)
EPA
steps up study of Teflon chemical risk to humans [USA] - An unregulated chemical
used in furniture, carpet and Teflon could be a serious health risk to the
public, prompting the Environmental Protection Agency this week to launch an
in-depth assessment to determine its safety. (Reuters, 16 Apr.
2003)
Citigroup's
statement re Rainforest Action Network & the environment [RAN and Citigroup
call ceasefire] - Citigroup has been engaged in an ongoing dialogue with
Rainforest Action Network and other stakeholders regarding our mutual concerns
about the environment and related issues. We have now entered into a period to
explore comprehensive solutions to these issues...Citigroup has led efforts to
establish industry-wide environmental standards for project finance, and has
released a draft known as the Equator Principles...In the short term, Citigroup
will take additional measures to reduce degradation or destruction of endangered
ecosystems in the conduct of our business...We believe that our partnership with
RAN can lead to an even deeper understanding of how the financial services
industry can help promote sustainable development while protecting the
environment. (Citigroup, 15 Apr. 2003)
U.S.
proposes rules to cut diesel pollution - The Bush Administration proposed new
rules Tuesday that aim to drastically reduce diesel pollution generated by farm
and industrial equipment over the next decade. (Todd Zwillich, Reuters,
15 Apr. 2003)
Seven
activists win top environmental prize (Michael Kahn, Reuters, 15 Apr.
2003)
FleetBoston
Financial Releases Sustainability Report - FleetBoston Financial today released
its first annual sustainability report...The report further emphasizes Fleet's
leadership role in promoting sustainability in the finance industry in
partnership with the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies
(CERES), and the United Nations Environment Programme Financial Institutions
Initiative (UNEP FI). Fleet further built upon its longstanding commitment to
the community when it became the first financial institution to endorse both of
the voluntary codes of conduct associated with CERES and UNEP FI. (FleetBoston
Financial, 11 Apr. 2003)
Environmentalists
set sights on Sasol - A website has been established to keep an eye on the
environmental impact South African oil and chemicals group Sasol's operations
has on communities in South Africa and the US. (Justin Brown, Sunday
Times [South Africa], 10 Apr. 2003)
{···français} Barrage
des Trois Gorges (Chine): les violations des droits humains risquent de
s'accentuer avec la mise en eau du réservoir (Sébastien Godinot, Les Amis
de la Terre, 9 avril 2003)
Banks
in drive for project principles - The drive by Citigroup and large European
providers of project finance in emerging markets to obtain industry-wide
adherence to the International Finance Corporation's social and environmental
guidelines may increase pressure on export credit agencies to do the
same..."In the past, the US Export-Import bank has taken the lead on
environmental standards and issues of transparency," said John Sohn, an
expert on export credit agencies at Friends of the Earth...The impetus behind
the US lead was in part due to financing of the controversial Three Gorges dam
in China in 1996. The US Export-Import bank decided not to finance the
project...Non-US ECAs, such as Germany's Hermes and Export Development Canada,
less constrained by environmental standards, provided some finance for the dam.
In an attempt to create a level playing field, the US Export-Import Bank began
promoting within the OECD the concept of common and transparent environmental
standards but its moves have generally been met with resistance. (Demetri
Sevastopulos, Financial Times, 9 Apr. 2003)
- Four
banks adopt IFC agreement - At least four European and US banks plan to
adopt the International Finance Corporation's social and environmental
guidelines for project finance in emerging markets, a clear signal that
banks are awakening to the risks of socially irresponsible investing. ABN
Amro, Barclays, Citibank and WestLB, in collaboration with the IFC, the
private-sector arm of the World Bank, have drafted an agreement called the
"Equator Principles"...Under the agreement, the banks agree to
adopt the IFC's social and environmental rules for sustainable development,
which include guidelines on issues ranging from environmental assessment and
natural habitats to indigenous peoples and child and forced labour. (Demetri
Sevastopulo, Financial Times, 6 Apr. 2003)
UK
industry cuts CO2 emissions by well over target - Britain's industry has slashed
emissions of polluting carbon dioxide (CO2) by more than three times above
targets as plans to cut greenhouse gases take effect, the government said. (Reuters,
9 Apr. 2003)
Just
what we’ve all been waiting for - Steve Hilton is impressed by Business in the
Community ’s new Corporate Responsibility Index [UK] -...After a lengthy
gestation period and much speculation, Business in the Community introduced its
Corporate Responsibility Index to the world in March...It provides a centralised
focus for the evaluation and improvement of social and environmental
performance, but it also shows senior managers – often for the first time –
how, in an operational sense, CR cannot be seen as a centralised function and
that it relates to everyone in the company, not just the corporate affairs
department or equivalent. (Steve Hilton, Ethical Corporation Magazine,
8 Apr. 2003)
2
Companies Said to Agree to Settle Suits on Emissions [USA] - Alcoa and Archer
Daniels Midland have agreed to settle federal air pollution complaints by
upgrading smelters and other factories at a cost the government estimates at
$700 million (Jennifer Lee, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2003)
People's
Congress Urges Land, Food Without Poisons - Agricultural workers and their
families are being poisoned, rural lands, forests, oceans and waters are
devastated, biodiversity is being destroyed, and food is unfit for human
consumption. With these words, 140 participants from 17 countries at the First
Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific Congress in Manila last week
warned the world that industrial agriculture as conducted by transnational
corporations is undermining the resources needed to sustain food production.
(Environment News Service, 7 Apr. 2003)
Director
arrested for Brazilian disaster - Brazilian authorities Monday arrested an
administrative director of the paper and pulp company [Felix Santana of the
Cataguases Paper and Pulp Co.] blamed for a recent chemical spill, considered by
some to be the worst environmental catastrophe in the country's history.
(Carmen Gentile, UPI, 7 Apr. 2003)
Alleged
culprits of Brazil toxic spill on the run - The owners of a pulp and paper
factory that caused one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters are on the
run, the judge who ordered their arrest said last week. (Reuters, 7
Apr. 2003)
Group
Opposing Mining of Titanium is Dissolved [Kenya] - A farmers' group formerly
opposed to the titanium mining project in Kwale has been disbanded.
The farmers said they would join hands with a
committee elected last week to look into the project. The
Maumba Nguluku Welfare Association chairman, Mr Frank Mutua, said they took the
decision because the government had shown the willingness to address their
grievances. (Jonathan Manyindo, The
Nation [Kenya], 7 Apr. 2003)
Office
Depot Commits to Develop All-Encompassing Environmental Policy [USA] - Office Depot,
Inc., the world's largest seller of recycled paper products, today announced
additional efforts to bolster its leadership position on key environmental
issues related to the office supplies industry. These measures include the
development of a comprehensive environmental policy. (Office Depot, 7 Apr.
2003)
Blacks
join to dump harmful waste sites [USA] - They say a form of 'racism' puts
facilities that process hazardous materials in their communities.
-...Like Baker, citizens in many poor, black
communities around Alabama and the South in recent years have fought companies
that have located pollution-spewing industrial plants, hazardous landfills and
waste incinerators near homes and schools. Known
as "environmental racism," the practice of locating such toxic
operations near politically powerless blacks has been stymied by emerging
citizen groups. [refers to lawsuits against chemical plant in Anniston, Alabama -
defendants were Monsanto, Solutia, Pharmacia; also refers to Waste Management
Inc, Shintech Inc] (Dave Bryan, Associated
Press, 6 Apr. 2003)
A
detailed European action plan will soon be unveiled to deal with the growing
problem of illness and disease caused by environmental pollution. Special focus
will be given to children who are most vulnerable to environmental hazards.
(Welcomeurope, 4 Apr. 2003)
Brazil
fights spread of toxic spill from factory - Brazil battled yesterday to prevent
the spread of toxins from reservoirs at a pulp and paper factory in southeastern
Minas Gerais state and environmental groups said it was the country's worst
industrial accident. (Reuters, 4 Apr. 2003)
Jury
rules Solutia owes $3.6M to Alabama plaintiffs [USA] - Solutia must pay more
than $3.6 million to six people whose property was damaged by Solutia's
production of PCBs, an Alabama jury ruled Friday...More than a year ago, the
jury found Solutia, then Monsanto, liable for knowingly contaminating Alabama
homes and bodies with PCBs, known carcinogens. More than 3,500 residents of
Anniston had sued both companies. (St. Louis Business Journal, 4 Apr.
2003)
Environmental
Expert Warns: Toxic Waste, Fumes Endanger Tema [Ghana] - Mr. Lambert Faabeluon,
the Senior Programme officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
warned that Tema would be in a big catastrophe if the chemical deposits into the
Chemu lagoon is not well-tackled.
He stated that the heavy toxic and chemical deposits
from the companies in the heavy industrial area of Tema, over the years, have
caused destruction to the Chemu lagoon (Richard
Attenkah, Ghanaian Chronicle, 4 Apr. 2003)
Ramatex
Says Enviro Report 'Too Sensitive' to Be Released [Namibia] - Malaysian textile
firm, Ramatex, yesterday claimed it had not made its Environmental Impact
Assessment study public because "it contains sensitive information"
that could be used by competitors to the detriment of the textile plant. (Chrispin
Inambao, The Namibian, 4 Apr. 2003)
Suing
over climate change - The debate over global warming is gaining a new dimension:
litigation. The vast numbers affected by the effects of climate change, such as
flooding, drought and forest fires, mean that potentially people, organisations
and even countries could be seeking compensation for the damage caused. (BBC
News, 3 Apr. 2003)
Colonial
Pipeline to pay $34 mln for oil spills [USA] - Colonial Pipeline Co., the
nation's largest petroleum products pipeline, agreed to pay a record $34 million
to settle a government investigation into a series of oil spills that fouled
water in seven states, the U.S. Justice Department said this week. (Reuters,
3 Apr. 2003)
When
Lightning Strikes: Portfolio 21 Applies The Natural Step's Sustainability
Theories - Portfolio 21 applies environmental screens based on the principles of
the Natural Step, which promotes sustainability. [refers to Electrolux, Whole
Foods Market, Wild Oats, Horizon Organic] (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
3 Apr. 2003)
Analysis:
Social and environmental responsibility does pay off - Recent research indicates
that corporate responsibility plays an important part in increasing and
preserving shareholder value, writes Marc Epstein and Karen Schnietz (Marc
J. Epstein & Karen E. Schnietz, professors at Jones Graduate School of
Management at Rice University, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 3 Apr.
2003)
Treasurers
Express Concern About Risks to Investments From Climate Change [USA] - Four
state and city treasurers and comptrollers, representing approximately $130
billion in investments, yesterday expressed concern about the risks of climate
change to long-term investments, and announced plans to hold a summit with other
institutional investors to examine the issue. (GreenBiz.com, 3 Apr.
2003)
WWF
Analysis Shows US Power Sector Can Prevent Environmental Damage from Global
Warming; WWF Challenges Power Sector to Move Toward Clean Energy Future - The
U.S. power sector can cut carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global
warming nearly 60 percent by 2020 and reduce its dependency on dirty fossil
fuels by using available energy technologies and supporting innovative polices,
according to a new peer-reviewed analysis released today by World Wildlife Fund.
(World Wildlife Fund, 2 Apr. 2003)
Caustic
Soda Spills Down Two Brazilian Rivers - A chemical spill at a wood pulping
factory at Cataguazes in Minas Gerais state has affected the water supply of
seven cities in Minas Gerais and the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro. (Environment
News Service, 2 Apr. 2003)
More
U.S. Companies Launch Climate Change Initiatives - A growing number of U.S.
corporations and states are taking actions aimed at sharply reducing emissions
of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that trap heat within the Earth's
atmosphere. (GreenBiz.com, 2 Apr. 2003)
Europe's
New Chemicals Plan Requires Market Authorization - European Commission proposals
for the central feature of a revised EU chemicals policy - a strict market
authorization procedure for chemicals of very high concern - will include
persistent and bioaccumulative substances, Environment Commissioner Margot
Wallstrom said Monday...Wallstrom said, "In the future, the chemicals
industry will be responsible for generating and providing the necessary
information about their own products in line with corporate
responsibility." (Environment News Service, 1 Apr. 2003)
Guide
Identifies 'Levers' for Green Production/Consumption -...A new guide aims to
help grantmakers -- from companies, government agencies, and foundations -- more
strategically target their financial resources in a more effective fashion.
(Green Business Letter, 1 Apr. 2003)
GIANT
goes for Wild Rubber -...Yet rubber can be sustainably produced and in the
Amazon rainforests [of Brazil], forest people are doing just that – helped by
the multi-national bicycle manufacturer GIANT that has just ordered thousands of
"wild rubber" bike-bags and saddlebags…the French company
"Hermes" has used wild rubber in the production of some of its bags
and purses these last four years. (Anne Blair Gould, Radio Nederland,
31 Mar. 2003)
Hindustan
Lever Will Export Mercury Waste to USA [India] - Pollution control authorities
in the southern Indian state of Tamilnadu have ordered Hindustan Lever Limited,
a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever, to export to the United
States 286 tons of waste contaminated with mercury from its controversial
thermometer factory in Kodaikanal, now closed. The company has been directed to
decontaminate the site and its surroundings to global standards. (Nityanand
Jayaraman, Environment News Service, 31 Mar. 2003)
Southern
Peru says will commit to Ilo upgrade in May [Chile] - Southern Peru Copper Corp
said last week it would meet a three-month government deadline to commit to
overhauling its aging smelter technology to reduce pollution (Reuters,
31 Mar. 2003)
EU
pushes ahead with ban on 'rustbucket' oil tankers - European Union transport
ministers endorsed last week a ban on old single-hull tankers carrying heavy
fuel oil, in an effort to prevent oil slicks like the Prestige disaster which
sank off Spain last year. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 31 Mar. 2003)
GSK
confirms global commitment to Corporate and Social Responsibility -
GlaxoSmithKline today reinforced its commitment to connecting GSK business
decisions to ethical, social and environmental concerns...GSK believes that it
has a responsibility to make its products as affordable as possible in the
poorest countries. (GlaxoSmithKline, 28 Mar. 2003)
Steel
Manufacturer Lauded for Climate Change Policy [Canada] - Steel manufacturer
Dofasco Inc. has been recognized for the success of its voluntary program to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The company earned the 2002 Leadership Award from
Canada's Climate Change Voluntary Challenge and Registry Inc. [a not-for-profit
partnership between the private sector and governments across Canada].
(GreenBiz.com, 28 Mar. 2003)
Clif
Bar [producer of energy bars] Forms Wind-Farm Partnership to Offset CO2
Footprint [USA] - Clif Bar Inc. has announced it is supporting the construction
of the first large-scale Native American-owned wind farm to offset the carbon
dioxide generated by the energy used in its offices, manufacturing, and business
travel during 2002...The company joins Stonyfield Farm, The Timberland Company,
Ben & Jerry's, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and other companies in
sponsoring the project. (GreenBiz.com, 26 Mar. 2003)
Titanium
Mine License Eludes Canadian Firm in Kenya - The mining of the world's largest
titanium fields on the east African coast of Kenya appears to have hit another
snag after the country's new government announced that it is planning to conduct
a public forum to discuss whether Tiomin Resources Inc., a Canadian mining firm,
should be licensed to start mining the mineral in Kenya. (Jennifer Wanjiru, Environment
News Service, 26 Mar. 2003)
Meridian
stock hit by opposition to Argentine mine - Shares of Meridian Gold Inc. fell
hard this week after the company said residents near its Esquel Mine project in
Argentina had voted against the project because of concerns it will damage their
water sources. (Reuters, 26 Mar. 2003)
AccountAbility
Launches Assurance Standard for Corporate Responsibility Reporting - Investors
and other stakeholders stand to benefit from the standardized verification of
corporate reporting on social, environmental, and economic performance...As a
complement to the launch of the AA1000 Assurance Standard, AccountAbility also
released a report entitled The State of Sustainability Assurance.
(William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 26 Mar. 2003)
Mirenco
Helps Iowa Schools Clear 5 Tons of Soot from the Air [USA] - Mirenco, Inc., the
contractor for the Bus Emissions Education Program (BEEP), helped Iowa schools
clear an estimated five tons of soot from the air through improvements made to
Iowa's nearly 5,000 diesel school buses...BEEP is a partnership among Mirenco,
Inc., the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Department of Natural Resources,
School Administrators of Iowa, and Iowa Pupil Transportation Association. (Mirenco,
Inc., 26 Mar. 2003)
Activists
Call for Moratorium on Turkish Pipeline [BP leads consortium of oil companies
investing in the pipeline] - Amid tensions in eastern Turkey arising from the
U.S. invasion of Iraq, environmental and Kurdish rights groups are calling for a
moratorium on the construction and financing of a pipeline that will link the
Caspian Sea to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld
US, 25 Mar. 2003)
EBRD
[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development] meets demonstrators on
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline proposal [Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey] - EBRD officials today received a letter
from demonstrators protesting the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from the
Caspian Sea to Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
The EBRD is evaluating whether to finance the
project and is in the midst of a thorough examination that involves dialogue
with local communities as well as financial, legal, economic and environmental
issues. (European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, 25 Mar. 2003)
The
UK Corporate Sustainability Reporting Awards [refers to The Co-operative Bank,
Shell, BT Group, Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd., Unilever, Scottish Power,
Canary Wharf Group, Best Foot Forward Ltd, FRC Group, Co-operative Insurance
Society, Traidcraft, British American Tobacco] (Tobias Webb, Ethical
Corporation Magazine, 25 Mar. 2003)
Kill
a watt and save the planet - and your money - It is 10 in the evening at
Liverpool Street in the heart of London's financial district. The work day is
over and office blocks are deserted but every window in row upon row of office
buildings is ablaze with light...It is the same in every business district
across Britain, throughout Europe and indeed, the world - a waste of electricity
that is adding billions of tonnes of harmful greenhouse gases every year to
Earth's atmosphere. (Reuters, 25 Mar. 2003)
Must
do better to stay on FTSE4Good - The first companies were ejected from the
FTSE4Good 'ethical' stock market indices last week after environmental criteria
were tightened, and many others were warned that they will have to do better if
they want to stay in after the next review in six months' time...Three UK
companies have been kicked out by the FTSE4Good committee: the printer St Ives,
financial software house RoyalBlue, and Goldshield, which sells vitamins and
other food supplements such as Evening Primrose Oil and Flexeze. Elan, the
troubled Irish pharmaceutical firm was also evicted from the indices. (Roger
Cowe, Observer [UK], 23 Mar. 2003)
The
Shell Report and Annual Reports published today - The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of
Companies published its sixth Shell Report today, alongside its 2002 Parent
Company Annual Reports. This year's report, entitled "Meeting the Energy
Challenge" describes Shell's economic, environmental and social performance
in 2002. (Royal Dutch/Shell, 21 Mar. 2003)
WATER:
Multibillion Dollar Plan Launched At Forum Amid Protests - International
financiers at the World Water Forum today in Kyoto launched a $180 billion plan
to prevent a worldwide water crisis...Environmentalists and anti-poverty
activists have criticized the plan, saying that the forum, which is largely
sponsored by construction and drug companies, was being used by the private
sector and focuses too much on large-scale funding at the expense of small-scale
efficiency gains. (UN Wire, 21 Mar. 2003)
Peru
warns Southern on copper smelter upgrade - Peru will give Southern Peru Copper
Corp three months to catch up on commitments to overhaul its aging smelter to
curb pollution or face fines that could lead to the facility's closure, the
government said...The Mexican-controlled firm had no comment. (Reuters,
20 Mar. 2003)
Tanzania
orders destruction of toxic transformers - The Tanzanian parliament has ordered
the removal of electrical equipment containing highly toxic polychlorobiphenyls
(PCBs) from Dar es Salaam International Airport. The order reflects growing
concern about the alleged 'dumping' of harmful or outdated products by
industrialised countries in Tanzania. The equipment, consisting of 12
transformers, was installed in the airport in 1984 by the French company,
Bouygues, that built the airport...some members of parliament have alleged that
Bouygues knew that the transformers were prohibited at the time that they
installed them, and are considering filing for compensation. (Deodatus
Balile, SciDev.Net, 19 Mar. 2003)
CEOs
Advocate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability at Conference - The
Forum for Corporate Conscience calls on CEOs and corporations to promote triple
bottom line performance. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
19 Mar. 2003)
Strategic
alliances and partnerships to tackle urban water problems - As delegates pour
into Japan this week for the Third World Water Forum, the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) – a long-standing advocate of
public-private partnerships for delivering water to those without access to it
– used today’s CEO Forum to announce the start of its new project on urban
water. Co-chaired by Gérard Payen of Suez, France, the project will be
supported by a broad cross section of business, including water users, water
operators and the financial sector. Its vision is to find ways to deliver
affordable and sustainable water supply and sanitation for 100% of the world’s
urban and peri-urban populations. (World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, 19 Mar. 2003)
Michigan
bars corn farmers from using herbicide [Balance Pro, manufactured by Bayer Crop
Science] that critics say is linked to water pollution [USA] (Associated Press,
19 Mar. 2003)
UK
votes to keep highly toxic pesticide - The highly toxic pesticide aldicarb will
continue to be used on vegetables in the UK following a decision by European
farm ministers yesterday. (Friends of the Earth, 19 Mar. 2003)
CEOs
Advocate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability at Conference: The
Forum for Corporate Conscience calls on CEOs and corporations to promote triple
bottom line performance -...The leadership section advocates the adoption of the
Global Reporting Initiative...The white paper, which was written by academics
from the McColl Graduate School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte,
points out that companies and investors do not necessarily sacrifice financial
returns to advance triple bottom line performance. (KLD Research &
Analytics, 19 Mar. 2003)
Ski
resorts get creative to battle global warming [USA] - Ski resorts across the
country are launching a new campaign to highlight the impact of global warming
on winter recreation and the opportunities both resort operators and their
guests have to start solving the problem. (GreenBiz.com, 19 Mar.
2003)
Oekom Applauds Insurers Employing SRI but Chides
Rest of Sector's Non-Transparency - Lack of transparency prevented the German
corporate research firm from conducting corporate responsibility ratings on the
majority of global insurance companies. - Few insurance companies are making the
effort to disclose their social and environmental performance...Norway-based
Storebrand, which scored the highest overall rating of "B" on a scale
from "A+" to "D-", received kudos for employing negative as
well as best-in-class screening in substantial portions of its investment
portfolio...The report highlighted the shareowner advocacy practices of UK-based
Aviva, which placed second in the overall rating with a "B", and
Australia-based AMP, which placed twelfth with a "C".
"As
an example, Morley Fund Management [Aviva] is committed to vote against FTSE 100
companies, which do not publish environmental reports" (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
18 Mar. 2003)
Victims
of industry poisons demand better medical care [Thailand] - All talk, no action, protesters
claim (Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, Bangkok Post, 18 Mar. 2003)
Office
Depot and Office Max stores urged to improve their use of paper [USA] -...Staples'
Office Supply stores last year announced a major environmental policy that
included increasing the acquisition and sales of recycled fibre content paper.
Consumers and their citizens' groups are now focussing boycott demands on two
other large U.S. office supply stores - Office Max and Office Depot. (Gary
Gallon, The Gallon Environment Letter, 17 Mar. 2003)
Brazil
Amazon jungle fires reach Indian reserve - Forest fires burning in Brazil's
northern Amazon jungle have spread to the reserve of the Yanomami Indians, one
of the world's last hunter-gatherer tribes, and the government urged farmers not
to light more fires during the dry season. (Reuters, 17 Mar. 2003)
UK
says aviation industry should pay pollution costs - Britain's aviation industry
will have to pay for polluting the environment, and the estimated bill could
more than triple to 4.8 billion pounds ($7.7 billion) a year by 2030, the
government said. (Daniel Morrissey, Reuters, 17 Mar. 2003)
Alcoa
Honors 16 Suppliers of Recycled Beverage Containers - Alcoa’s Rigid Packaging
Unit has recognized 16 companies with its UBC Supplier Quality Awards for
shipments of outstanding quality used beverage containers (UBCs) in 2002. (GreenBiz.com,
17 Mar. 2003)
World
Water Forum: March 16-23, 2003 Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka, Japan
The
launch of the UK Corporate Responsibility Index - Toby Kent reports from the
launch of the BitC [Business in the Community] Corporate Responsibility Index,
highlighting its main components and the major issues it raises. (Toby Kent,
in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 14 Mar. 2003)
Dow
Chemical to Use Landfill Gas to Reduce Plant Emissions [USA] -...This use of
landfill gas is expected to reduce emissions by more than 27 million pounds of
carbon dioxide per year, the company says. (GreenBiz.com, 14 Mar.
2003)
BP
faces record fine for spoiling Los Angeles air [USA] - BP is facing a record
$320m (£200m) pollution fine and allegations that the oil company submitted
false documentation to air quality control regulators (Terry Macalister, Guardian
[UK], 14 Mar. 2003)
Government
consults on the environmental cost of aviation [UK] - The Government today
published a discussion paper on how economic measures could be used to encourage
the aviation industry to take more account of its environmental impact.
(Friends of the Earth, 14 Mar. 2003)
World
Bank to call for more dams - More dams must be built in developing countries to
meet future demands for water and electricity, the World Bank will tell an
international water conference starting on Sunday in Kyoto, Japan.
Although new dam projects must be socially and
environmentally acceptable, the need for more hydropower must be accepted, Ian
Johnston, the World Bank vice-president for sustainable development, told the
Financial Times. (John Mason and Vanessa
Houlder, Financial Times, 14 Mar. 2003)
Alberta
picks companies to provide "green" power [Canada] - Alberta chose two
firms this week [Canadian Hydro Developers and Enmax Corp] to power its
courthouses, prisons and other public buildings with renewable electricity, a
move the western Canadian province said puts it on track to meet 90 percent of
its needs with "green" energy by 2005. (Reuters, 14 Mar.
2003)
Indigenous
Struggle in Ecuador Becomes a "Cause Beyond Control" - Transnational
Oil Companies Free to Leave Amazon -...On March 4, 2003, the Ecuadorian
newspaper Hoy reported that the Ministry of Environment has agreed to
allow two transnational companies to cancel their oil concession contracts under
the provision of force majeure. The force majeure they are
referring to is the determined opposition of Kichwa, Shuar and Achuar people who
live in the concession areas to ongoing activities by the companies, Burlington
Resources of Texas and Compania General de Combustibles (CGC) of Argentina. The
CGC concession is owned partly by ChevronTexaco, according to Platt's Oilgram
News. (Kenny Bruno, EarthRights International, CorpWatch website, 13 Mar.
2003)
ELECTRONICS:
UNESCO Explores Recycling Outdated Equipment - UNESCO plans to host electronics
specialists in Paris tomorrow and Saturday to discuss strategies for recycling
outdated high-tech equipment by giving it to developing countries lacking
technology...A survey of 20 European and U.S. global corporations found that
more than 1 million personal computers will be decommissioned in the next three
years. (UN Wire, 13 Mar. 2003)
Pension
funds and SRI [UK] - Recent research suggests that even when current financial
troubles have receded the onward march of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI)
may be much slower than many have predicted, writes Roger Cowe - Trustees seem
to be suffering from a general state of depression about the ability of pension
funds to influence companies’ social and environmental performance – and the
likely financial benefits even if companies do improve. (Roger Cowe, in Ethical
Corporation Magazine, 13 Mar. 2003)
Staples
joins Green Power Market Development Group -...Convened in 2000 by WRI, the
Green Power Market Development Group is a unique commercial and industrial
partnership dedicated to building corporate markets for green power, that is,
renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass and landfill gas.
(World Resources Institute, 13 Mar. 2003)
Dow
[Dow Chemical Company] joins Green Power Market Development Group (World
Resources Institute, 13 Mar. 2003)
Prudence
Pays - practical steps to bridge conflicting views on climate change - Climate
change is a fundamental challenge in a world where energy needs could grow
threefold over the next 50 years. There is compelling evidence that climate
change is a threat, although there are still huge uncertainties about the risks
and impact. There are no quick fixes so we need to take action now (Philip
Watts, Chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors, Royal Dutch/Shell, 12
Mar. 2003)
Kinko’s
to Ban Suppliers from Purchasing Wood Products from Endangered Forests - Copy
store chain Kinko’s Inc. has announced it will not purchase any paper or wood
products derived from old-growth or endangered forests as part of a new
corporate environmental policy. (Business for Social Responsibility summary
of article in AFX Global Ethics Monitor, 12 Mar. 2003)
D.C.
Developer Buys Green Power for 13 of Its Buildings [USA] - The Tower Companies,
a Bethesda, Md.-based commercial and residential building developer, has
announced the purchase of more than 24 million kilowatt hours of green power.
(GreenBiz.com, 12 Mar. 2003)
Bankwatch:
Baku-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey poorly planned - The CEE Bankwatch Network today
released a report critical of an environmental and social impact assessment
(EIA) of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. Bankwatch's report, a
quality analysis of the EIA for the pipeline's Turkish section, criticises the
BTC company -- led by BP (formerly British Petroleum) -- for inadequately
assessing the effects of the planned pipeline. (CEE Bankwatch Network, 12
March 2003)
Green
groups challenge US EPA on manure controls [USA] - The Bush administration needs
to rewrite its rules for controlling manure runoff from the largest U.S. cattle,
hog and poultry farms, three environmental groups said in announcing a lawsuit
to overturn the rules. (Reuters, 12 Mar. 2003)
Reps
Order Shell to Pay Ijaw $1.5b Compensation [Nigeria] -...the House of
Representatives has ordered Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigeria
Limited to pay the sum of US$1.5 billion to Ijaw Aborigines of Bayelsa State as
compensation for the untold hardship and environmental devastation it has
brought the Ijaws since 1956. The House of Representatives issued this directive
to Shell (SPDC) following the recommendation of a-four-man advisory legal panel
which it set up to consider the petition filed by Ijaw Aborigines against Shell.
(Lemmy Ughegbe, Vanguard [Nigeria], 12 Mar. 2003)
CLIMATE
CHANGE: Report Indicates Companies Ignore Warming Threat - Investment advisers
Innovest said last week that the financial sector is not taking climate change
seriously enough, even though global warming poses one of the most tangible
risks to companies' financial performance. (UN Wire, 12 Mar. 2003)
Pollution
agency seeks $319 million from BP Arco [USA] - The South Coast Air Quality
Management District filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking more than $319 million in
damages from BP Arco for alleged violations of emissions standards. (Associated
Press, 12 Mar. 2003)
Lion
Oil Reaches Clear Air Settlement With Government [USA] - The U.S. Justice
Department and the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said they had
reached a comprehensive Clean Air Act settlement with Lion Oil Co. to reduce
harmful air emissions from the company’s El Dorado refinery by 1,380 tons per
year. (Arkansas Business, 12 Mar. 2003)
Shell
chief delivers global warming warning to Bush in his own back yard - Shell
chairman Sir Philip Watts risks stirring up a controversy in America today when
he calls for global warming sceptics to get off the fence and accept t hat action
needs to be taken "before it is too late". (Terry Macalister, Guardian
[UK], 12 Mar. 2003)
{···français} Notation
sociale - Vigeo en ordre de marche, le capital constitué - Vigeo, l'agence de
notation sociale et environnementale, annonce mercredi qu'elle est désormais
opérationnelle et qu'elle a bouclé son tour de table. (Reuters, 12
mars 2003)
Dow's
Texas headquarters blockaded; contaminated water returned - "Our message is
simple," said Greenpeace's Casey Harrell. "Dow must clean up Bhopal
now and accept full responsibility for the health and environmental damage in
that city. Until it does so, Dow will never be a responsible corporate
citizen." (Greenpeace, 11 Mar. 2003)
press release: Global
Buyers of Wood Products “Going Green” - ‘Greenward Shift’ a warning for
British Columbia’s government and industry: future market share will depend on
producers’ environmental responsibility - Environmental groups today applauded
the release of a new report demonstrating that major customers of BC forest
products are shifting their purchasing toward greener, more environmentally
friendly products. Greenpeace Canada, ForestEthics and Sierra Club of Canada, BC
Chapter, are reacting to a report released today by IBM Business Consulting
Services (formerly Pricewaterhouse Coopers) titled: A Greenward Shift in the
Market for Forest Products from British Columbia. (Greenpeace Canada,
ForestEthics and Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter, 11 Mar. 2003)
New
EU deals with Africa still fishy - WWF - A new report released today by WWF
shows that the new ‘cash for access’ deals signed by the EU to allow
European boats to fish in African waters, while better than the previous ones,
are still highly questionable...current deals are far from being
environmentally, socially, or economically sustainable. (WWF, 11 Mar. 2003)
CHEMICALS:
U.N. Panel Calls For Further Controls On Asbestos, Pesticides - A panel set up
under the Rotterdam Convention on hazardous chemicals called yesterday for
tougher trade controls on all forms of asbestos, several deadly pesticides and
two highly toxic lead fuel additives. (UN Wire, 11 Mar. 2003)
FORESTS:
FAO Calls For Fundamental Policy Change In Africa - The Food and Agriculture
Organization said in a report released today that forests in Africa will
continue to disappear, causing damage to local environments and disrupting
delicate ecosystems, unless fundamental policy changes are made. (UN Wire,
11 Mar. 2003)
NEC
Announces Environmental Management Vision for 2010 - NEC Corporation recently
announced a new companywide environmental management vision, which aims to
achieve zero CO2 emissions by fiscal year 2010. (GreenBiz.com, 10
Mar. 2003)
Listing
rules to go green [UK] - Company listings requirements should be overhauled to
include environmental, social and ethical information, according to new research
published today by Claros Consulting and Friends of the Earth...Information
disclosure is at the heart of listing and the report concludes that this must
include providing information to investors on the social, environmental and
ethical risks to a company. (Friends of the Earth, 10 Mar. 2003)
Private
sector need to do more environmental reporting [Malaysia] - The private sector
still needs more awareness on doing environmental reporting as part of corporate
governance and transparency. Of the thousands of companies in Malaysia, only 40
did some form of corporate environmental report in 2001. Recent trends, however,
revealed slow but gradual progress. (Deborah Loh, New Straits Times,
10 Mar. 2003)
Factory
fined RM20,000 for discharging effluents [Malaysia] - An electronics factory
here was today fined RM20,000 by the Sessions Court for discharging effluents
above the permissable levels into Sungai Melaka. (A. Hafiz Yatim, New
Straits Times, 10 Mar. 2003)
Charter
for voluntary pollution control [India] - The Ministry of Environment and
Forests and industrial sector are all set to enter into a partnership on
voluntary pollution control by releasing a charter on Corporate Responsibility
for Environmental Protection in New Delhi on March 13...The 17 major polluting
industries identified for preparatory approach towards pollution control are:
cement, aluminium, thermal power plants, oil refineries, pesticides, iron and
steel, pulp and paper, copper and zinc, distilleries, sugar, petrochemicals, dye
and dye intermediates, caustic soda, pharmaceuticals, tanneries and fertilizer
industry. (The Hindu, 10 Mar. 2003)
Asbestos
Case Ruling Sides With Workers [USA] - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that some
workers who were exposed to cancer-causing asbestos can win money damages in
court even though they do not yet have cancer and may never get it...The fear of
developing cancer is grounds enough to collect for workers who already have
asbestosis, a separate asbestos-related ailment, and can document their health
fears, a 5-member majority of the court found. (Associated Press, 10
Mar. 2003)
Toyota
settles US Clean Air Act suit for $34 mln [USA] - Toyota Motor Corp has pledged
to improve anti-pollution controls on old, publicly owned buses that were not
made by Toyota as part of a $34 million package to settle a Clear Air Act
lawsuit, the U.S. Justice Department said..."With this bus retrofit action,
our nation's school children will be breathing less of the small particles that
can cause lung and respiratory damage," said EPA Administrator Christine
Whitman. (Deborah Charles, Reuters, 10 Mar. 2003)
Heavy
fines loom for pollution cover-ups [state of Western Australia] - New laws aimed
at people and businesses who do not report contaminated sites will be debated in
the Legislative Assembly this week. (Steve Butler, West Australian,
10 Mar. 2003)
Triboard
plant releases pollutants, says report [New Zealand] - A health impact report on
emissions from the Kaitaia triboard plant run by Japanese-owned Juken Nissho has
identified pollutants being released into the air by the two mills in the area.
(Tony Gee, New Zealand Herald, 10 Mar. 2003)
Uranium
plant workers exposed to harmful metal [USA] - Forty-four workers at the Paducah
Gaseous Diffusion Plant have tested positive for exposure to a metal that can
cause long-term lung problems...The U.S. Enrichment Corp. leases the plant from
the Energy Department to separate beneficial uranium and process it into fuel
for commercial nuclear power plants. (Louisville Courier-Journal, 9
Mar. 2003)
China
to Issue White Paper on Environmental Protection in Tibet (People's
Daily, 9 Mar. 2003)
Scientists
blame industry for unchecked pollution [India] - Addressing a conference on
'Impact of emerging pollutants on health, environment & agriculture,' he [Dr
AP Mitra, honorary scientist of eminence, National Physical Laboratory] said the
industry should adopt environmental norms as practiced in developed countries
and strictly adhere to environmental safety standards to improve the situation.
(Press Trust of India, 7 Mar. 2003)
United
States Settles Clean Air Act Case Against Toyota - The Department of Justice and
the Environment Protection Agency finalized a settlement of the government's
lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corporation for Clean Air Act violations involving
2.2 million vehicles manufactured between 1996 and 1998. Under the settlement,
Toyota will spend $20 million on a supplemental environmental project to
retrofit up to 3,000 public diesel fleet vehicles to make them run cleaner and
extend the emission control system warranty on affected vehicles. In addition,
Toyota will accelerate its compliance with certain new emission control
requirements, and pay a $500,000 civil penalty. (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 7 Mar. 2003)
EU
proposes criminal penalties for sea polluters - Ships that pollute the ocean by
flushing out their tanks at sea would be subject to criminal sanctions,
including jail sentences those responsible, under a draft law proposed this week
by the European Commission. (Reuters, 7 Mar. 2003)
Staples’
Ink-Jet Recycling Program To Support Oklahoma Education [USA] (GreenBiz.com,
7 Mar. 2003)
{···español} PCB
en las calles Plantenses [Argentina] - La Defensoría Ecológica de La Plata
denunció ayer a la empresa de energía eléctrica Edelap por la utilización de
transformadores con la sustancia tóxica PCB luego de que el viernes pasado
vecinos de Gonnet presentaran un reclamo ante el organismo en donde afirmaban
que por lo menos 10 personas, en una cuadra del barrio donde viven 15 familias,
contrajeron diversos tipos de cáncer por la contaminación ambiental. (Página/12
[Argentina], 6 marzo 2003)
Ethical
Supply Chain Management - the story so far - Some of the standards focus on core
labour and human rights issues (e.g. Ethical Trading Initiative or SA8000),
while others are beginning to tackle wider issues such as terms of trading and
criteria for smallholders...Companies are beginning to “green” their supply
chain by working on environmental initiatives with their suppliers. [refers to
McDonald’s, Cosmair (a subsidiary of L'Oreal), Ford]. (Julian Roche, in Ethical
Corporation Magazine, 6 Mar. 2003)
Logging
threatens Cambodian tragedy - UN - Cambodia's tropical rain forests are being
systematically destroyed by logging companies, which threaten to unleash fresh
tragedy on the war-scarred country, a top United Nations envoy said...critics
say much of the current activity appears to flout environmental and social
regulations and rides roughshod over the rights and interests of the thousands
of impoverished people who depend on the forests for their livelihoods. (Reuters,
6 Mar. 2003)
{···español} Nueva
Protesta en Esquel contra la Mina de Oro y Plata [Argentina] - Piden que no se
modifique la fecha fijada para el plebiscito que decidirá la suerte de la
explotación. Temen que se contamine el medio ambiente...La empresa El Desquite,
propiedad de la multinacional canadiense Meridiam Gold, compró en 1.400
millones de dólares un yacimiento de oro y plata ubicado a 7 kilómetros de la
ciudad...Hará una inversión de 100 millones de dólares y creará 1.500
puestos de trabajo directos e indirectos. Pero la gente del pueblo y de las
localidades vecinas se opone: tienen temor a la contaminación del medio
ambiente debido a que, para sacar el oro y la plata de la roca, la empresa
utilizará grandes cantidades de cianuro, un elemento altamente tóxico. (Clarín
[Argentina], 5 marzo 2003)
Effects
of Oil and Gas Development Are Accumulating On Northern Alaska's Environment and
Native Cultures - The environmental effects of oil and gas exploration and
production on Alaska's North Slope have been accumulating for more than three
decades, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research
Council. Efforts by the oil industry and regulatory agencies have reduced many
environmental effects, but have not eliminated them. The committee that wrote
the congressionally mandated report also said that the social and economic
effects have been large, and both positive and negative. (National
Academies' National Research Council, 5 Mar. 2003)
INDIA:
Banks, UNEP Launch Solar Power Initiative - The U.N. Environment Program and two
of India's largest banks [Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank] yesterday launched a
$7.6 million solar power initiative aimed at helping 18,000 households in
southern India conserve energy and emit fewer pollutants...UNEP backed the
project along with the United Nations Foundation and the Shell Foundation. (UN
Wire, 5 Mar. 2003)
US
EPA proposes cancer guidelines for children - Infants and toddlers have 10 times
the risk of cancer from hazardous chemicals than adults do, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency said this week in its first guidelines that
define the greater risks that children face...Chemicals also can affect babies
more. They include vinyl chloride - a gas used in making PVC or polyvinyl
chloride - diethylnitrosamine - found in tobacco smoke - and the insecticide
DDT. (Maggie Fox, Reuters, 5 Mar. 2003)
Gold
Discovered Beneath Ghana's Forest Reserves - Dozens of bulldozers and excavators
belonging to five multinational mining companies operating in Ghana [Chirano
Goldmines Ltd., Satellite Goldfields Ltd., Nevsun/AGC, Birim/AGC, and Newmont
Ghana Ltd.] are poised to tear apart thousands of hectares of forest reserves in
the Ashanti, Western and Eastern Regions of the country, if the government gives
them approval to haul out what they describe as rich deposits of gold beneath
the forests...The environmentalists fear that when the rains come, water laced
with deadly cyanide will run off the tailings or waste from the mining
activities into these rivers. (Mike Anane, Environment News Service,
4 Mar. 2003)
{···français} Une
nouvelle étude confirme le lien entre la pollution et la mortalité à Paris -
L'observatoire régional de la santé (ORS) d'Ile-de-France a publié, lundi 3
mars, une étude confirmant un lien direct entre la pollution atmosphérique,
principalement issue des transports, et la mortalité ou la morbidité des
habitants qui la supportent. (Benoît Hopquin, Le Monde, 4 mars 2003)
New
Loans Finance Solar Power Development in India - The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) today launched a major new $7.6 million initiative with two of
India's largest banking groups [Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank] to offer 18,000
southern Indian households low cost financing for solar generated electricity.
(Environment News Service, 4 Mar. 2003)
New
report shows negative impacts, threats of water privatization - A new report to
be released on the eve of the Third World Water Forum shows that water
privatization has had negative impacts on communities in many countries and
threatens to affect an increasing number of people in 2003 [refers to Suez
(France), Vivendi Universal (France), Thames Water (UK but part of German RWE),
Betchel (USA)] (Friends of the Earth, 3 Mar. 2003)
When
does protest work? Leading campaigners and experts told The Observer what made
campaigning effective - and how companies needed to ensure that corporate
accountability was not simply a PR exercise if they wanted to protect their
brands and reputations. [refers to Shell, ExxonMobil/Esso, Nestle, Unity Trust
Bank, Co-operative Bank, Cobbetts solicitors, Enron, Rio Tinto] (Lola
Okolosie, Observer [UK], 2 Mar. 2003)
Cruise
liners leave marine pollution in their wake -...Huge new liners that can carry
up to 3,000 passengers are regularly discharging thousands of gallons of sewage,
oily water, chemicals and rubbish into the sea. (Jeremy Watson, Scotsman,
2 Mar. 2003)
Biotech
crops Become Common on American Farms Despite Health Concerns - The U.S.
government this week approved a new strain of genetically altered corn that
promises to reduce the amount of chemical insecticide farmers spray...Despite
concerns among critics about possible health or environmental impacts, biotech
crops have become common on American farms. (Steve Baragona, Voice of
America, 1 Mar. 2003)
new book: Buying
into the Environment Experiences, Opportunities and Potential for
Eco-procurement -...Many initiatives have been undertaken in OECD countries,
most successfully in Japan and Denmark where green public purchasing has been
proven to be workable and highly effective, while, in other countries, city
municipalities have successfully pioneered the development of sophisticated
public environmental purchasing policies...The book, organised under the
auspices of the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
analyses national approaches already tested, and provides in-depth surveys on
the pioneer cities such as Hamburg, Malmö and Zürich...The most relevant
product groups for eco-procurement such as construction, transport, energy,
information technology, furniture and food. are also analysed. (Edited by
Christoph Erdmenger, International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives,
Mar. 2003)
Intel's
Hudson Plant Stays In the Loop With Water Recycling (GreenBiz.com,
Mar. 2003)
report: Development
Disasters: Japanese-Funded Dam Projects in Asia - This report features case
studies of six exisiting or proposed dam projects funded by the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC). JBIC-funded dam projects in Asia have been
fraught with problems, which have led to serious and unmitigated social,
environmental and economic impacts, affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
[refers to dam projects in Indonesia (Koto Panjang Dam: refers to lawsuit by
local people in Indonesia against Tokyo Electric Power Services Co., JBIC &
Japanese govt.), Philippines (San Roque Multipurpose Project: refers to San
Roque Power Corp., consisting of Marubeni, Kansai Electric & Sithe
Energies), Thailand, China, Malaysia] (Rivers Watch East and Southeast Asia,
International Rivers Network and Friends of the Earth, Mar. 2003)
briefing kit: Dammed
rivers, damned lies: What the water establishment doesn’t want you to know -
Over 45,000 large dams have been built to meet the world’s water, energy and
flood management needs. However, dams have failed to live up to expectations and
have devastated communities and ecosystems. This briefing kit exposes the myths
behind large dams and promotes equitable and sustainable solutions for meeting
the world’s needs. [also available in Japanese] (Friends of the Earth
Japan and International Rivers Network, 28 Feb. 2003)
Environmental
Groups Sue EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] for Weakening Clean Air Act - Charge Bush administration’s new
source review changes illegal - The Bush administration’s changes to a key
provision of the Clean Air Act is illegal and will dramatically increase air
pollution, threatening the health of millions of Americans, according to a
lawsuit filed today by Earthjustice on behalf of a coalition of environmental
and public health groups. (Earthjustice, 28 Feb. 2003)
Beyond
philanthropy - Roger Cowe looks at attempts by major corporations to tie social
opportunities into the very core of product and market development [refers to
Lattice work with young offenders & school truancy; Centrica recruitment of
disabled workers; BG Group funding a geosciences course at Univ. of West
Indies; EdF providing solar energy in Mali; Hewlett-Packard project in Sao
Paolo to bridge digital divide; National grid Transco work with young offenders;
Deutsche Bank’s experiments with micro-credit; HSBC’s development of Islamic
mortgage products; work by Barclays and LloydsTSB on diversity; Unilever “small
pack” initiative that makes detergents affordable to the poor, and its role in
creating the Marine Stewardship Council; Procter & Gamble developing
products which meet social needs] (Roger Cowe, in Ethical Corporation
Magazine, 28 Feb. 2003)
World's
Largest Window Company Acts to Save Chile's Endangered Forests and Indigenous
Communities - U.S. Company Leads Trend Toward Ecologically Certified Wood -
Andersen Corporation, the world's leading wood window manufacturer, announced
today that it will no longer buy Chilean wood products unless they are certified
by the Forest Stewardship Council. (ForestEthics, 27 Feb. 2003)
Largest
Ever Seizure of Illegal Wood in UK - The Environmental Investigation Agency
(EIA) today applauded the announcement by HM Customs of the largest seizure of
illegal wood products ever seen in the UK, but stressed the need for new laws to
tackle the flood of illegally sourced timber and wood products entering the
country. (Environmental Investigation Agency, 27 Feb. 2003)
International
Right to Know Campaign Promotes Disclosure of Global Corporate Impacts - In a
recent report, the International Right to Know Campaign outlines the benefits of
corporate disclosure of global environmental and social policies and
practices...The McDonald's (MCD) case study illustrates the use of child labor
in China to produce its Happy Meal toys, the Nike (NKE) case study focuses on
labor rights abuses in Indonesia, and the Unocal (UCL) case study discusses
human rights abuses in its use of security forces in Burma. The ExxonMobil (XOM)
case study alone illustrates several of the environmental as well as human
rights abuses that the IRTK guidelines are meant to expose. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
27 Feb. 2003)
Banned
pesticides poisoning millions - Millions of farmers in the developing world are
being poisoned by pesticides that are banned in Europe, environmental
campaigners claimed yesterday.
A report by the Environmental Justice Foundation
found that the use of organophosphates and organochlorines in crop spraying in
Asia, Africa and South America was exposing poorly paid workers to a far higher
risk of developing cancers. (Matthew
Beard, Independent [UK], 27 Feb. 2003)
Electronics
Cos. Focus on Eco-Friendly Goods -...Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics
(LGE) are developing environmentally friendly lead-free solder handsets,
targeting production in 2005...U.S. cell phone maker Motorola has already
developed a new type of handset composed of lead-free solder, recycled plastic
and which comes with an energy-efficient charger...leading Japanese electronics,
including Hitachi and Toshiba, have already stopped using CFC in their freezers,
not only for domestic market, but also for that overseas markets. (Seo
Jee-yeon, Korea Times, 27 Feb. 2003)
Rural
education can cut pesticide deaths - report - Agrochemical giants must make
amends for pesticide-caused deaths by funding rural education in the developing
world and phasing out their most dangerous chemicals, an environmental group
[Environmental Justice Foundation] said yesterday...Leading biotech companies
contend that their investment in new technologies is reducing the damage done by
pesticides. (Reuters, 27 Feb. 2003)
ExxonMobil
Receives 23 Shareowner Resolutions on Issues Ranging from Climate Change to
Corporate Governance -...The social resolutions filed with ExxonMobil ask the
company to implement a sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy, review and
implement human rights standards, affirm political nonpartisanship, and report
on the impact of AIDS on operations. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
26 Feb. 2003)
Leading
Furniture Manufacturer Gets Green Certification - Leading furniture manufacturer
and designer Knoll Inc. recently received Forest Stewardship Council
chain-of-custody certification for three of its manufacturing plants. (GreenBiz.com,
26 Feb. 2003)
Peru
Pipeline Endangering Lives of Indigenous People, Say Groups - Funding should be
withheld from the sponsors of a gas pipeline project in the Peruvian Amazon,
whose imported workers are seriously threatening the health and well-being of
previously isolated indigenous people living in the area, according to six
environmental and watchdog groups. The groups, which include Rainforest Action
Network, Environmental Defense, and Friends of the Earth International,
maintained that the sponsors of the US$1.4 billion Camisea Gas Project,
Pluspetrol of Argentina and Texas-based Hunt Oil, were "forcibly contacting
groups living in voluntary isolation" in violation of internationally
recognized rights of indigenous peoples. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 26
Feb. 2003)
Electronics
Recyclers Pledge: “No Export, No Dumping, No Prisons” - Sixteen
private electronics recycling firms representing 22 facilities throughout North
America have pledged to uphold rigorous environmental and social criteria for
the dismantling and recycling of e-wastes. (GreenBiz.com,
25 Feb. 2003)
SRI
Issues Will Impact Companies' Financial Performance, UK Pension Fund Trustees
Say - A recent survey finds that pension fund trustees in the United Kingdom
view socially responsible investing (SRI) issues as linked to companies' future
financial performance. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 25 Feb. 2003)
EPA
[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] report details how toxics harm kids'
health - Additional risks to California children are listed - A new federal
report on children's exposure to environmental contaminants blames air
pollutants, mercury, lead, pesticides and solvents for damaging health and
causing birth defects. (Jane Kay, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Feb.
2003)
Erin
Brockovich firm to sue over Beverly Hills oil -...a lawsuit against the city of
Beverly Hills and three oil companies for allegedly ignoring cancer-causing
toxic gases leaking from oil wells on the Beverly Hills High School grounds.
Masry told Reuters the lawsuit would be filed within a month in Los Angeles
Superior Court against the city, the school district and Occidental Petroleum
Corp., ChevronTexaco Corp. and privately held Venoco Inc. of Carpinteria,
California, on behalf of more than 80 cancer patients who are former students,
teachers or school employees. (Gina Keating, Reuters, 25 Feb. 2003)
AGC
accused of human rights violation [Ghana] - The Ashanti Goldfields Company is
reportedly doing well but at what cost? Wassa Communities Affected by Mining
(WACAM) says their rights are being violated. Below is the recently released
report of a fact finding [includes reports of killings and pollution] (Public
Agenda [Ghana], 24 Feb. 2003)
China
Serves as Dump Site for Computers - Unsafe Recycling Practice Grows Despite
Import Ban -...The real costs are being borne by the people on the receiving end
of the "e-waste." In towns along China's coast as well as in India and
Pakistan, adults and children work for about $1.20 a day in unregulated and
unsafe conditions. As rivers and soils absorb a mounting influx of carcinogens
and other toxins, people are suffering high incidences of birth defects, infant
mortality, tuberculosis and blood diseases, as well as particularly severe
respiratory problems, according to recent reports by the state-controlled
Guangdong Radio and the Beijing Youth newspaper. (Peter S. Goodman, Washington
Post, 24 Feb. 2003)
Groups
Launch Effort to Clean Up Shrimp Industry - Intensive farming of shrimp, also
known as prawns, to meet the growing demands of global consumers has led to
human rights abuses and ecological destruction in parts of Asia, Africa, and
Latin America, according to an international environmental group which last week
kicked off a campaign to raise awareness about the trade. (Andrew Wasley, Red
Pepper, 24 Feb. 2003)
Factory
fined for refusing access to inspector [Australia] - An Adelaide paint
manufacturer has been fined $4500 after being found guilty of abusing and
barring access to a workplace inspector attempting to measure solvent fumes.
(David Eccles, Advertiser [Australia], 22 Feb. 2003)
NIGERIA:
Fresh spill reported in Ogoniland - An explosion at an abandoned oil well
belonging to oil transnational giant Shell, has created a major oil spill in the
Ogoni ethnic minority area of Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta, local rights
activists said on Thursday. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks,
21 Feb. 2003)
Scandal
of Toxic Waste Exports to Developing Nations Continues - A coalition of NGOs are
calling on Thailand to ban the import of all toxic wastes into Thai territory,
following the discovery that the country is becoming a target for international
toxic waste traders.
Last March it was revealed that hazardous waste from
the wealthy West was being sent to less well-off nations such as China, India
and Pakistan. Basel Action Network (BAN) and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
revealed that poor workers in China were being employed to break apart obsolete
computers, coming into contact with toxic substances from lead-laden cathode ray
tubes to soldered circuit boards. (Edie,
21 Feb. 2003)
Nigerian
Oil Spill Is a Threat to Environment, Say Activists - An abandoned Shell oil
well exploded in southeast Nigeria, and activists said the spill had
contaminated farms and streams. (Dulue Mbachu, Associated Press, 21
Feb. 2003)
EU
Laws on E-Waste Clear the Way for Similar Laws in U.S. -..."The enactment
of these laws is a critical first step in the transition to extended producer
responsibility as an important new code of conduct for the global electronics
industry," said Ted Smith, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics
Coalition and coordinator of the national Computer TakeBack Campaign. (GreenBiz.com,
21 Feb. 2003)
World
Corporations Put Environmentalists Under Fire Worldwide - Amnesty International
Campaigns for Corporate Accountability on Human Rights - In a new report
released today, Amnesty International charges that corporate interests are
inflicting a devastating worldwide toll on human rights and the environment. The
report, Environmentalists Under Fire, cites the US for failing to use its
influence to protect environmental defenders around the world, and highlights
cases in Russia, Ecuador, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Chad and Cameroon...While
environmental defenders can only appeal to the US government to live up to its
rhetoric on rights, the corporations cited in the report - ExxonMobil,
ChevronTexaco, Occidental Petroleum and Freeport-McMoRan - have considerable
ability to influence the US Government, having collectively made more than $2.8
million in campaign contributions during the 2002 election cycle. (Amnesty
International USA, 20 Feb. 2003)
Plastics
industry loses out -...When chemicals companies Solvay and EVC decided to sue us
in 1997, they were following in a long corporate tradition of using money and
the courts to silence critics...Solvay and EVC were suing over our campaign to
prevent poisonous PVC plastic being used in children's toys...In Italy the two
companies sued us for damage to their image, reputation and for illegal claims.
They also maintained "production of PVC and PVC products do not harm the
environment". However the judge threw out all claims of the industry and
ordered the companies to pay the legal costs. (Greenpeace, 20 Feb. 2003)
Bush
Administration Hides Reports on Mercury Risks While Simultaneously Weakening
Mercury Protections - The Sierra Club today called on the Bush Administration to
immediately release a long-delayed report on the health risks children face from
toxic mercury spewing from coal power plants. (Sierra Club, 20 Feb. 2003)
French
President Meets With Businesses on Global Compact - French President Jacques
Chirac met with leaders of French companies in Paris on 19 February to discuss
the Global Compact. The business leaders shared with the President examples of
good corporate practices and partnership projects. These examples included an
initiative to fight malaria in Africa, access to water in urban areas, voluntary
initiatives to advance environmental management as well as other corporate
practices in support of the Global Compact. (U.N. Global Compact, 19 Feb.
2003)
TVs,
PC monitors should be recycled, says L.A. official - A proposal that would
require electronics retailers to set up recycling for discarded televisions and
computer monitors, the first proposed law of its kind in the United States, has
been introduced by a Los Angeles city official. (Reuters, 19 Feb.
2003)
Central
America Deal Must Boost Labour Rights - Report - A proposed trade agreement
[CAFTA] between the United States and five Central American nations could
further worsen labour and environmental conditions in the region if Washington
does not use its clout to press for greater workers' rights there, says a
leading U.S. think tank [Carnegie Endowment for International Peace] (Emad
Mekay, Inter Press Service, 19 Feb. 2003)
Climate
change set to impact global markets - report - Global warming is set to have a
big impact on financial markets as investors revalue companies based on their
exposure to climate change risk, according to a report published.
Businesses could face huge extra costs from
increasingly frequent natural disasters and from new legislation aimed at
reducing emissions of global warming gases, the report by the Carbon Disclosure
Project says. (Simon Johnson, Reuters,
19 Feb. 2003)
Business
Travel; Offsetting Environmental Damage by Planes (Harry Rijnen, New York
Times, 18 Feb. 2003)
CAMBODIA:
World Bank Links Aid To Independent Environmental Monitoring - If Cambodia
refuses to continue independent monitoring of its forestry management, it could
lose a $20 million World Bank aid package, World Bank Cambodia head Ian Porter
has said in comments published in Sunday's Washington Post. The statement
follows Cambodian threats to cancel an agreement with environmental monitors
from Global Witness. (UN Wire, 18 Feb. 2003)
EU
to debate pesticide ban on highly toxic aldicarb (Reuters, 17 Feb.
2003)
EU
under attack over plan to legalise paraquat - Environmentalists, insisting that
paraquat is highly toxic for humans and animals, slammed EU proposals to
legalise the controversial herbicide across the bloc although it is banned in
several member states. (Jeremy Smith, Reuters, 17 Feb. 2003)
A
Toxic Legacy on the Mexican Border - Abandoned U.S.-Owned Smelter in Tijuana
Blamed for Birth Defects, Health Ailments (Kevin Sullivan, Washington
Post, 16 Feb. 2003)
BP
gas field 'ravaged the rainforest' - The oil giant's green credentials take yet
another battering as its subsidiary is sued in the US courts - In a court action
launched in the US state of Delaware earlier this month, BP has been accused of
despoiling a 70,000- acre area of largely virgin Argentinian rainforest
earmarked for a "sustainable" hardwood harvesting project. (Severin
Carrell, Independent [UK], 16 Feb. 2003)
Refinery
pollution report a shock: [San Francisco] Bay Area plants belching 30% more
gases than realized [USA] -..."I was astounded to see how much pollution
was being released from the flares," said Contra Costa Health Director
Wendel Brunner, who has expressed serious concern about their impact on public
health. (Jason B. Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Feb. 2003)
Firm
sued over wells it tainted: San Martin residents worry about health [USA] - Five
San Martin homeowners filed a class-action lawsuit Friday against Olin Corp.,
the giant aerospace and ammunition manufacturer whose highway-flare operation in
Morgan Hill contaminated their drinking water wells with a chemical used in
rocket fuels. (Frank Sweeney, San Jose Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2003)
OECD
principles should stick to corporate governance - Business wants the OECD's
principles of corporate governance to play a vital role in how companies are run
- but opposes efforts to weigh them down with non-governance requirements...Some
countries are already calling for the inclusion of human rights; labour rights
and the environment in the principles - issues that business maintains are best
dealt with in other bodies. (International Chamber of Commerce, 14 Feb.
2003)
Automakers,
Calif. Spar Over Emissions - Automakers and California Spar Over State's Vehicle
Emission Rules...A coalition of 12 automakers, including General Motors, Ford
Motor and DaimlerChrysler, is fighting the rules. (Associated Press,
13 Feb. 2003)
Exxon
CEO backs mandatory emissions reports - Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Lee
Raymond said this week companies should be required to report carbon emissions
before any rules are created to target cuts in gases blamed for global warming.
(Reuters, 13 Feb. 2003)
Yorkshire
businesses get stark warning on climate change [UK] - An environmental
conference held at York Racecourse today gave Yorkshire businesses a stark
warning. Businesses were told to act now or face the affects of climate change
and further tough legislation. (Business in the Community, 12 Feb. 2003)
Air
travel to knock emissions off target [UK] - The government is unlikely to deliver on
its pledges to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, with pollution from air travel
threatening to undo progress by industry and other sectors, according to a team
of government advisors. (Reuters, 12 Feb. 2003)
Social
& environmental impact of Coal India projects [India]: IBRD urged to act
fast on inspection report - The Chotanagpur Adivasi Sewa Samiti (CASS), along
with other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), has addressed a sign-on letter
to the World Bank board, which is scheduled to review in late February its
inspection panel's report on two World Bank-supported Coal India projects in
eastern and central India, urging the directors "to take seriously and act
rigorously" on the report which has commented adversely on the projects'
social and environmental impact. (Pratap Ravindran, Business Line, 11
Feb. 2003)
Forest
Certification Gains Strength in North America (Forest Certification Watch,
11 Feb. 2003)
UK
Paper Companies Supporting Indonesian Rainforest Destruction - Investigations by
Friends of the Earth have revealed that UK paper merchants are still buying
paper from Indonesian companies responsible for rainforest destruction, illegal
logging and human rights abuses [says paper merchant David John is buying paper
from Asia Pulp & Paper; Ovenden Papers of Epping, Rosefox of Preston,
Frederick Johnson of Enfield and the South Wales Paper Company are buying from
Indonesian paper manufacturer APRIL]...James McNaughton, one of the UK's biggest
paper merchant groups, recently announced its decision to stop buying Indonesian
paper until it can be independently proven that it comes from a non-destructive
source. Friends of the Earth is calling on all paper merchants to do the same.
(Friends of the Earth, 10 Feb. 2003)
ChevronTexaco
Gives Away Greenhouse Gas Management System to Industry Source - ChevronTexaco
Corp. has made its proprietary system for estimating and managing greenhouse gas
emissions and energy utilization data available free of charge to the worldwide
energy industry. (GreenBiz.com, 10 Feb. 2002)
Scrapping
Mining Dependence [This study, chapter 6 in Worldwatch Institute’s annual
report State of the World 2003, assesses the impacts of global mining
activities, and presents alternative ways in which the world can meet its demand
for minerals. Many major mining companies are referred to in the text]
-...Mines have uprooted tens of thousands of people from their homelands and
have exposed many more to toxic chemicals and pollution. And mining is the
world's most deadly occupation: on average 40 mine workers are killed on the job
each day, and many more are injured. (Payal Sampat, Senior Fellow with the
Worldwatch Institute and International Campaign Director at the Mineral Policy
Center, 7 Feb. 2003)
ENSR
Lauded for Using IT to Enhance Environmental Projects - ENSR International, a
Massachusetts-based environmental services firm, has been awarded the
Environmental Business Journal 2002 Merit Award for Information Technology. EBJ
singled out ENSR for its extensive use of "extranets" to provide
clients and project teams with global, 24-hour availability to environmental
project resources to improve efficiency and performance while reducing costs.
(GreenBiz.com, 7 Feb. 2003)
EU
aims to improve greenhouse gas monitoring system (Reuters, 7 Feb.
2003)
CLIMATE
CHANGE: U.S. Industries Plan Voluntary Emissions Cuts (UN Wire, 7
Feb. 2003)
Battle
against air pollution [Bangalore, India] - Vehicular pollution constitutes over
70 per cent of the total pollution in Bangalore. And getting polluting vehicles
off city roads has never been easy. But armed with its ambitious 36-point action
plan to tackle pollution, the state transport department claims that it is
making slow but steady progress in bringing down pollution levels. (Times
of India, 6 Feb. 2003)
GE
acts to prove PCB case [USA] - Company commissions studies to disprove harm to
river that could be cited in damage claims - Anticipating a multimillion-dollar
state and federal lawsuit for damages caused by the PCBs it discharged into the
Hudson River, the General Electric Co. is continuing what some consider a series
of pre-emptive studies to disprove scientific evidence that could be used
against the company. (Erin Duggan, Times Union [USA], 6 Feb. 2003)
UNEP:
Agency Seeks More Appealing Environmental Message - UNEP praised KIA for a
British campaign urging people to use cars on long trips only and European
detergent makers for their Wash-Right campaign calling on people to wash clothes
at low temperatures (UN Wire, 5 Feb. 2003)
UNEP:
Agency Says Mercury Pollution Rising In Poor Countries - Coal-fired power
stations and waste incinerators in developing countries are to blame for the
majority of the world's new mercury contamination (UN Wire, 5 Feb.
2003)
Ivax
submits inhaler that doesn't deplete ozone - Ivax Corp. said this week it
submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking
approval for a new asthma inhaler that uses the common treatment albuterol but
does not deplete the ozone layer like most devices. (Reuters, 5 Feb.
2003)
Poland's
leading oil company joins public-private partnership - PKN ORLEN, the largest
oil company in Poland, has forged a pioneering partnership with the city of
Plock, where it is based, and UNDP to promote corporate social responsibility
and sustainable development. (U.N.
Development Programme, 4 Feb. 2003)
Swiss
Aid Group Keeps Watchful Eye on Chad Pipeline -...human rights groups say it is
already having a negative impact on ordinary people...Human rights groups have
criticised the project, saying it is damaging water supplies and depriving
farmers of their land...Ron Royal, the general manager of Esso Chad, says the
criticisms are unjustified [refers to Exxon Mobil, Petronas and Chevron] (NZZ,
4 Feb. 2003)
Asbestos
Claimants Accept Gencor Offer [South Africa] - Lawyers representing asbestos
victims approved a settlement offer from Gencor yesterday...Part of the R460m
settlement offer would be set aside for claims against Cape plc (Chantelle
Benjamin, Business Day [South Africa], 4 Feb. 2003)
UN
Lists Top World Air Polluters -...The report released yesterday at the United
Nations Environmental Programme headquarters, Nairobi, warns that mercury
poisoning could increase if pollution from power stations is not curbed.
(Jeff Otieno, The Nation [Kenya], 4 Feb. 2003)
Banana
workers get day in court - For two decades, the workers say, their efforts to
win compensation for the damage done by DBCP [a pesticide] - including
sterility, cancer, and birth defects in children - have been frustrated by the
legal tactics of American chemical and fruit companies. But now they are getting
their day in court...A ruling by a federal judge in New Orleans has opened the
way for a lawsuit brought by 3,000 Central American banana workers seeking
millions in damages, the first time one of these cases would be tried in the
United States. (David Gonzalez, Trinidad Express [Trinidad &
Tobago], 3 Feb. 2003)
Corporate
Social Responsibility - But is it any more than a box-ticking exercise? -
Campaigner and writer Marc Lopatin questions whether developed nations are ready
to pay more to improve standards -...Kelly Dent, program director of labour
rights NGO Transnational Information Exchange, in Sri Lanka says: 'Corporate
responsibility has become a PR tool of transnational corporations to convince
consumers it's OK to keep buying. In reality, transnational corporations have
worsened conditions for workers and communities by pressuring governments to
rewrite labour and environmental laws.' (Marc Lopatin, Observer [UK],
2 Feb. 2003)
But
is it any more than a box-ticking exercise?
Campaigner and writer Marc Lopatin questions whether
developed nations are ready to pay more to improve standards -...Companies that
outsource production are not exactly benevolent agents of sustainable
development brimming with enthusiasm for respecting labour rights and
environmental protection...Is it surprising then that some Southern-based NGOs
regard CSR as a hollow project to deflect attention from unfair trade rules and
bullying on the part of inward investors?
(Marc Lopatin, Observer [UK], 2 Feb. 2003)
Oil
giants get slick with bid for new image - All the soft-focused ads in the world
cannot detract from the fact that the major oil firms don't do enough, writes
Faisal Islam [refers to BP and Exxon] (Faisal Islam, Observer [UK], 2
Feb. 2003)
Manistee
firm studies effluent: Paper mill gets year to review options for polluted
wastewater [USA] - Packaging Corp. of America officials say they'll attempt to
address community concerns over wastewater discharge into Lake Michigan with
improvements to the wood pulp manufacturing process. (Mike Tyree, Associated
Press, 2 Feb. 2003)
RP-based
center develops environment friendly shrimp production technology [Philippines]
(Rudy A. Fernandez, Philippine Star, 2 Feb. 2003)
Balancing
Trade Rules, the Environment and Sustainable Development -...AllAfrica's Akwe
Amosu probed these issues with Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, the General
Manager of the Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia. (AllAfrica.com,
1 Feb. 2003)
Ashulia:
An environmental time bomb in the making [Bangladesh] - Dhaka continues to
expand haphazardly as real estate developers are filling up the wetlands in and
around the capital for construction. At least half a dozen small and large
developers are engaged in filling up the vast low-lying lands around
Ashulia...Water experts at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre warn that
filling up of this flood-flow zone will threaten the Uttara dam, thus entailing
an environmental disaster by endangering the entire ecosystem of the area.
[refers to threat of flooding to villages and city] (ASM Nurunnabi, Daily
Star [Bangladesh], 1 Feb. 2003)
N.J.
fighting Ohio polluters - The McGreevey administration announced Friday that it
is dispatching a pair of deputy attorneys general to Ohio to help argue a
federal case charging Ohio Edison Co. with polluting New Jersey's air and
damaging the health of state residents. (Jack Kaskey, PressofAtlanticCity.com,
1 Feb. 2003)
Letter
To The Editor (and Responses) featuring Paul Hawken and Amy Domini [debate on
socially-responsible investment; refers to labour, environmental, health &
other social issues; refers to Chiquita, McDonald's, Wild Oats, Whole Foods,
Horizon Organic, Coca-Cola] (GreenMoneyJournal.com, Feb./Mar.
2003)
As
"Green Banking" Flourishes at the Grassroots Level, 10 Leading
Proponents Across the USA - "Green banking" -- in which community
investing dollars from banks, credit unions, venture capital firms, foundations
and other organizations are directed to support environmentally beneficial
businesses and nonprofits that might otherwise be overlooked by
"traditional" financial institutions -- is making major strides today
across the United States. Today, the Community Investing Campaign...singled out
10 organizations that "best exemplify the building of economic opportunity
and hope for individuals through community investing": Chittenden Bank;
Coastal Enterprises, Inc.; Permaculture Credit Union; Rudolf Steiner Foundation;
Self-Help Credit Union; ShoreBank Pacific; Sustainable Jobs Fund; Underdog
Ventures, LLC; Vermont Community Loan Fund; and Wainwright Bank & Trust
Company. (Social Investment Forum, in GreenMoneyJournal.com,
Feb./Mar. 2003)
Legal
Issues in Corporate Citizenship -...Mandatory legislation on various aspects of
business transparency is emerging around the world. It can form part of company
law, environmental regulation, or tailored legislation for institutional
investors or on social and environmental reporting. Pressure for enhanced public
sector accountability has also given rise to calls for company reporting on
revenues paid to host government by companies in the extractive industries...A
new wave of legal actions – mostly in US courts, but also in some EU countries
– is testing the boundaries of existing legal principles in relation to some
of the most difficult issues of the CSR agenda. For example, a series of cases
in the US, France and Belgium are testing how fundamental principles of
international law – particularly human rights law – apply to parent
companies of multinational corporate groups. (Halina Ward, International
Institute for Environment and Development, Feb. 2003)
BP and
Pertamina in pipeline safety row [Indonesia] - The British oil company BP has
been accused of negligence in maintaining gas collection pipes at its offshore
Pagerungan gas field near Madura in East Java. The president of state oil
company Pertamina, Baihaki Hakim, said in January that BP should have
anticipated a possible gas leak but had "failed to deal with it".
(Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2003)
NGO to
sue Singapore over sand imports [Indonesia] -...Since sand dredging started in
1979 [in Indonesia], coral reefs have been destroyed and fishing has suffered.
So far around 500 million cubic metres of sand have been exported for land
reclamation projects in Singapore...In 2001, Bisnis Indonesia reported that
Dutch, Japanese and German companies had been contracted by Singapore to procure
sand for reclamation projects. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2003)
New
pollution treaty improves right-to-know - A new international law improving the
public’s right to know about levels of pollutants and their sources was
finalised late yesterday after a final four-day round of negotiations at the UN
in Geneva. The treaty involves countries from Europe, Central Asia and Canada,
but not the United States who dropped out last year. (Friends of the Earth,
31 Jan. 2003)
Environment
and the poor: Focused action, greater attention needed -...There are
inextricable, multidimensional and complex linkages between increasing poverty
and environmental degradation. (Dr. A. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director of
the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and Coordinator of Global
Forum on Environment and Poverty (GFEP), in Independent [Bangladesh], 30
Jan. 2003)
Researchers
Explore A New Toxic Pollution Site: People - “Body Burden” Studies Are
Raising Health Concerns And Prompting Stronger Government Actions -...Subjects
contained an average of 91 compounds, most of which did not exist 75 years ago.
In total, the nine subjects carried 76 chemicals linked to cancer. Participants
had a total of 48 PCBs, which were banned in the U.S. in 1976 but are used in
other countries and persist in the environment for decades. (Environmental
Working Group, 30 Jan. 2003)
New
European Constitution May Erase Eco-Progress - Some of the European Union's
greatest milestones in environmental policymaking could be at risk from attempts
to draft a new constitution for the bloc (Environment News Service,
29 Jan. 2003)
Logging
Pollution Damages North Coast Watersheds [USA] - Accelerated logging has
polluted some 85 percent of the waters in California's North Coast region,
uprooted protected redwoods and damaged private property, but state officials
continue to permit logging companies to avoid complying with environmental
regulations.
California environmentalists are fighting back with
lawsuits (Environment News Service,
29 Jan. 2003)
Grupo
Mexico-owned Southern Peru Copper Corp. is behind schedule on its smelter
modernization, part of a program to bring the company in compliance with Peru's
environmental laws (Mary Powers, Reuters, 29 Jan. 2003)
CAMBODIA:
Forestry Dispute Expected To Dominate Donor Meeting - Forestry was likely to
dominate today's meeting of international donors to Cambodia following the
country's announcement of a plan to cancel its monitoring agreement with the
British environmental group Global Witness, the Phnom Penh Post reports.
(UN Wire, 28 Jan. 2003)
Link
Found Between Nitrates Well Water and Factory Farms [USA] - Studies From An
Independent Scientific Organization Show Link Between Higher Contamination Of
Well Water Near Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (Environmental
News Network, 28 Jan. 2003)
Conservation
Fund pursues environmental goals by working with businesses, speaking the
language [USA] -...a complex multimillion dollar deal sealed between a
conservation group, loggers, and Maryland state officials provides an example of
an increasingly common form of cooperation between those two seemingly
conflicting groups. (Associated Press, 28 Jan. 2003)
Analysis:
BP and the Baku pipeline: Whose standards are high enough? - [regarding the
BP-led consortium's Host Government Agreement with Turkey, Georgia &
Azerbaijan, which grants the consortium exemption from national
laws]...Environmental and human rights groups, including Amnesty International
and Friends of the Earth (FoE), are concerned the consortium will not be held
legally or financially responsible for any environmental or social wrongdoings.
(Jaime Eastham, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 27 Jan. 2003)
WATER:
UNEP Urges Better Management As Global Supply Deteriorates -...UNEP warns of
steep drops in the sizes of bodies of water, the deterioration of coral reefs
and oxygen depletion in the seas, a problem the agency says is caused by
industrial and agricultural runoff and could lead to fishery collapses and
"dead zones" in such places as the Gulf of Mexico. (UN Wire,
27 Jan. 2003)
Globalization
tops Social Forum agenda -...For Sergio Gomes, a metalworker from Sao Paulo,
Brazil's industrial largest city, globalization "is the new name of
colonization."
"It means that industrial countries keep the
clean industries, like electronics, and force developing countries to work with
industries polluting the environment," he said. "They get the best, we
are left the worst." (Harold Olmos, Associated
Press, 24 Jan. 2003)
A
global right to know - A new report by a coalition of environmental, labor and
human rights groups...argues for an international right to know...they want
large companies that are traded on U.S. stock exchanges and have significant
international operations to be required to disclose information that could
affect the communities in which they operate...The idea of an international
right to know is a creative new approach, and for the companies a not
particularly burdensome one. (New York Times, in International
Herald Tribune, 24 Jan. 2003)
Davos,
Shell - Can industries be trusted? [South Africa] -...Shell's contradictory
record in south Durban, South Africa, speaks volumes for its
"commitment". Here Shell continues its usual practice of dumping
pollution on communities due to poor operational systems, misrepresenting
information to the public, withholding information from the public and suffering
worker injuries...FoE [Friends of the Earth] South Africa raises concerns at the
Public Eye on Davos about the reality that multi-nationals like Shell are not
being held accountable for their environmental and human rights abuses in the
South. (Friends of the Earth South Africa, 24 Jan. 2003)
Protestors
force way into EBRD over Baku-Ceyhan - Nine protestors demanding the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development halt funding for the controversial
Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline in the Caspian [Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey] forced their way into the bank's London
headquarters at midday (Reuters, 24 Jan. 2003)
The
Public Eye on Davos 2003 - International Conference - Davos/Switzerland, 23-27
January 2003 - NGO experts, academics and political representatives from the
global North and South will provide a critical analysis of corporate-driven
globalization and present alternatives towards more equitable and sustainable
world economic policies. (Public Eye on Davos, International Conference,
23-27 Jan. 2003)
Beyond
petroleum, or beyond the pale? BP left out in the cold -...one of the UK's
leading ethical investment funds, Henderson Global Investors, announced it was
selling millions of pounds of BP shares because it could no longer assure its
investors of the company's commitment to worker safety and the environment in
Alaska. (Andrew Gumbel and Marie Woolf, Independent [UK], 23 Jan.
2003)
World
Legacy Awards Honor Ecotourism - Three tourism agencies were honored Wednesday
with the first ever World Legacy Awards for their emphasis on environmental
responsibility and respecting cultural heritage [Wilderness Safaris, for its
work in South Africa; ATG Oxford, for its work in Italy; REST - the Responsible
Ecological Social Tours Project, for its work in Thailand] (Cat Lazaroff, Environment
News Service, 23 Jan. 2003)
WEF
appeals for ethic rules - Critics of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which opened
here on Thursday appealed to governments and big business to accept binding
rules making them accountable...Klaus Schwab, the founder and president of the
WEF, who normally espouses a pro-business line, joined the criticism...The NGOs
said that voluntary codes were not enough to stop practices which created
environmental, social or even financial damage. (South African Press
Association, 23 Jan. 2003)
Alternative
Davos opens with criticism of US -...The Public Eye on Davos – set up by NGOs
to monitor the activities of the WEF and its participants – wants to see
binding international rules introduced, requiring multinationals to sign up to
agreed environmental and social standards.
“The idea is to launch a convention on corporate
accountability and responsibility,” Miriam Behrens of Pro-Natura, the Swiss
arm of Friends of the Earth, told swissinfo.
(swissinfo, 23 Jan. 2003)
14
Organizations to Cut GHGs 4% by 2006 - Fourteen organizations, including several
large corporations, have entered into a legally binding agreement to cut their
greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent within the next four years. The 14
entities announced last week that they are forming the Chicago Climate
Exchange...The 14 entities include American Electric Power; Baxter International
Inc.; the city of Chicago; DuPont; Equity Office Properties Trust; Ford Motor
Company; International Paper; Manitoba Hydro; MeadWestvaco Corporation;
Motorola, Inc.; STMicroelectronics; Stora Enso North America; Temple-Inland
Inc.; and Waste Management, Inc. (GreenBiz.com, 23 Jan. 2003)
Group
accuses Doe Run of damage overseas - A coalition of environmental, labor and
human-rights groups has singled out St. Louis-based mining company Doe Run in a
report that documents alleged environmental and social abuses by American
companies operating abroad...The report highlighted lead poisoning among
children in La Oroya, Peru, where Doe Run operates a smelter. According to a
government test, 99 percent of children tested had elevated lead levels.
(Sara Shipley, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 Jan. 2003)
ICCR
Proxy Resolutions Book Gauges Shareowner Action Climate -...the auto sector
resolutions...ask General Motors and the Ford Motor Company to evaluate what new
public policies would enable and assist the companies in achieving GHG emissions
reductions...The utilities sector resolutions ask American Electric Power,
Cinergy Corporation, Southern Company, and TXU Corporation to report on the
potential economic benefits of committing to a substantial reduction in GHG
emissions...Sr. Wolf also highlighted the resubmission of the renewable energy
resolution at ExxonMobil...Finally, Sr. Wolf highlighted the increasing number
of Canadian resolutions that are making their way into the Proxy Resolutions
Book. Placer Dome (PDG) has received three separate resolutions, and the five
top banks in the country have been asked to disclose their social and
environmental risks. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 22 Jan. 2003)
press release: Coalition
Tells World Economic Forum: Building Trust Requires Disclosure - New Report
Highlights U.S. Multinationals' Shameful Human Rights, Environmental and Labor
Records - a coalition of environmental, development, labor and human rights
groups today released a joint report entitled "International Right to Know:
Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency." The report
documents the irresponsible environmental, labor and human rights practices
committed by ExxonMobil, Nike, McDonald's, Unocal, Doe Run, Freeport McMoRan and
Newmont Mining. (AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights
International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Oxfam America, Sierra
Club, Working Group on Community Right to Know, 22 Jan. 2003)
AFRICA:
UNEP Cites Progress Toward Eliminating Leaded Fuel (UN Wire, 22 Jan.
2003)
Choosing
a better world -...Yet what I believe is promising is the evidence of a growing
consensus among those of us working in international agencies, and leaders in
government, business and civil society, that we can begin to solve these
problems only if we forge a new development path linking economic growth to
social and environmental responsibility. Without social equity, economic growth
cannot be sustainable. (James D Wolfensohn, President, World Bank, Inter
Press Service, in Asia Times, 21 Jan. 2003)
Pressure
Groups Target the Private Banks Behind Corporate Misdeeds - As the World
Economic Forum meets to discuss how to restore trust in corporations, Friends of
the Earth (FoE) and other leading environmental, human rights, development and
labor groups will launch the Collevecchio Declaration on Financial Institutions
and Sustainability as a challenge to big banks and investors (Friends of the
Earth, 21 Jan. 2003)
Will
the World Bank Go Green? - Countries that rape the environment for high-growth
development policies are starting to lose their appeal with global lending
agencies after a decade of sustained pressure from the green lobby. (Alan
Boyd, Asia Times, 21 Jan. 2003)
Brazil's
"green" chief targets Petrobras polluter - Brazil's new Environment
Minister Marina Silva says she wants to crack down on the country's record
holder for environmental fines, state-owned oil giant Petrobras. (Frances
Jones, Reuters, 21 Jan. 2003)
Indonesia
military to fight illegal logging (Reuters, 20 Jan. 2003)
Investors
want US utilities to disclose emissions - Shareholders at five of the largest
U.S power utilities [American Electric Power, Southern Co., Cinergy Corp., Xcel
Energy, TXU Corp.] filed global warming resolutions last week that would force
the companies to disclose publicly the economic risks of air pollutants they
emit. (Reuters, 20 Jan. 2003)
EU
plans tougher sanctions against marine polluters (Reuters, 20 Jan.
2003)
WWF
seek curbs on oil tankers cleaning at sea (Reuters, 20 Jan.
2003)
Dutch
Company Perfects 'Green' Roasting of Coffee Beans - Peeze coffee roasters only
use green energy generated from wind, water and solar sources, along with
electricity generated from their own solar panel (Edie News, on Greenbiz.Com
website, 20 Jan. 2003)
McDonald’s
Opens World’s First HFC-Free Restaurant - McDonald’s Denmark has opened the
world’s first HFC-free [hydroflurocarbon-free] restaurant in Denmark as part
of a new initiative to help reduce the potential effects of climate change on
the environment. (GreenBiz.com, 17 Jan. 2003)
United
States Reaches Settlement with Koppers Industries To Settle Scores of
Environmental Violations - Koppers Industries, Inc. agreed to pay the United
States $2.9 million to resolve allegations of numerous violations of several
environmental regulations at many of the company’s U.S. facilities [Koppers
makes coke and coal tar, and engages in wood-preserving] (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 16 Jan. 2003)
New
WBCSD web portal guides companies through the motions of SD reporting -
Following the Johannesburg Summit call on the corporate sector for increased
accountability, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
is launching a web-based “reporting portal” to bolster companies’ efforts
to report on their sustainable development activities. (World Business
Council for Sustainable Development, 16 Jan. 2003)
The
UN Global Compact and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
will cooperate more closely for a coherent approach to corporate social
responsibility (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 16 Jan.
2003)
Sierra
Club Launches SRI Mutual Funds - The Sierra Club is harnessing its name
recognition and expertise on corporate environmental performance with its
launching of an SRI equity mutual fund and an SRI balanced mutual fund.
(William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 15 Jan. 2003)
Davos
versus Porto Alegre, Round Three - Policy-makers world- wide have a real
opportunity to start building a sustainable world by shifting the spotlight from
corporate interests highlighted at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, (January 23-28) to the priorities emphasized by civil society
representatives meeting here during the same days for the third World Social
Forum, according to Friends of the Earth International. (Friends of the
Earth, 15 Jan. 2003)
Indonesian
Government Fails to Stop Illegal Logging - Corruption on the part of Indonesian
police and government officials is to blame for continued illegal logging in
Indonesia's national parks, a report released today in London by the
Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and the Indonesian environmental
organization Telapak charges. (Environment News Service, 14 Jan. 2003)
Supreme
Court to take up Nike and free speech [USA] - S.F. activist sued, saying firm
lied about working conditions (Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle,
11 Jan. 2003)
Deaths
on the Job, Slaps on the Wrist [Dangerous Business - Part Three] [USA] - McWane
[McWane Inc., Alabama conglomerate that owns cast-iron foundries] is one of the
most enduring violators of worker-safety and environmental laws...McWane has
persisted largely unchecked by taking full advantage of a regulatory system that
has often proven itself incapable of thwarting flagrant and continual safety and
environmental violations by major corporations (David Barstow and Lowell
Bergman, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2003)
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT: Worldwatch Institute Assesses Progress -...Although the institute
offered dozens of examples of successful local initiatives to draw on, it said
mobilizing governments, business, nongovernmental organizations and the public
to support generalizing such action remains difficult. (Joe Fiorill, UN
Wire, 10 Jan. 2003)
CLIMATE
CHANGE: Commentator Calls For Action By Insurers - Insurers should stop seeking
to deny global warming-related coverage and instead lobby for legislation to
protect the environment and rate companies they insure according to their
environmental records, according to a commentary in yesterday's International
Herald Tribune. (UN Wire, 8 Jan. 2003)
press release: Indonesia:
Paper Industry Threatens Human Rights - Indonesian police and company security
forces are responsible for persistent human rights abuses against indigenous
communities involved in the massive pulp and paper industry in Sumatra, Human
Rights Watch said in a new report released today. (Human Rights Watch, 7
Jan. 2003)
Sustainability
reporting is setting the scene for the future of business management, report
says -...Striking the balance is co-authored by three industry leaders: Bert
Heemskerk, Chief Executive Officer, Rabobank Group, Pasquale Pistorio, President
and Chief Executive Officer, STMicroelectronics, and Martin Scicluna, Managing
Partner, Global Strategic Clients, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. (World Business
Council for Sustainable Development, 6 Jan. 2003)
Home
Depot adopts new wood purchasing policy [USA] - Home improvement retailer Home
Depot Inc. said it will only buy wood products from suppliers committed to
environmentally friendly logging and lumber practices. (Karen Jacobs, Reuters,
6 Jan. 2003)
Fuel
Cell Vehicle Commercialization Ramping Up -...Honda and Toyota delivered the
first customer-operated fuel cell automobiles to customers in California and
Japan. (EarthVision Environmental News, 3 Jan. 2003)
NEC
Pioneers "Green" Computer - NEC reverses the computer industry's
foot-dragging on addressing environmental liabilities by introducing the
PowerMate eco, the first eco-efficient computer. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com,
2 Jan. 2003)
Nine
states sue Bush administration on clean-air rules - Nine Northeastern U.S.
states sued the Bush administration over its decision to relax clean-air rules
to help coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities avoid costly
pollution controls. (Chris Baltimore, Reuters, 2 Jan. 2003)
Tanks
& Toxics, Planes and Pollution The Ecology of a Military Build-Up [USA]
-...Environmental contamination from defense hardware manufacturing dots the
U.S. landscape...Communities around defense plants that increase production in
the new military boom will face more emissions of pollutants...which especially
could affect the health of sensitive populations [refers to Nuclear Metals Inc.,
Rocketdyne (now a subsidiary of Boeing and formerly operated by Rockwell
International), Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, Vought Aircraft; also refers to
lawsuits] (William Kelly, editor and
publisher of California Environment Report, in Multinational Monitor,
Jan./Feb. 2003)
Meanwhile,
At Home: Oil’s Threat To U.S. Waters -...Floating rustbuckets like the
Liberian-registered Prestige are just one of many threats the oil business poses
to U.S. waterways. (David Helvarg, founder of Ocean Awareness Project, in Multinational
Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2003)
Enviros
Temperature Rising - Amid growing anger among environmentalists over the record
and intentions of President George Bush, three major U.S. environmental groups
announced in December that they are suing his Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) for failing to curb global warming.
The lawsuit by the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and the
International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA) charges the EPA with
violating the 1977 Clean Air Act by failing to limit air pollution caused by
automobiles that "may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health
or welfare." (Jim Lobe, Third
World Network Features/Inter Press Service, in Multinational Monitor,
Jan./Feb. 2003)
2002:
Hun
Sen to Sue Global Witness for Defamation [Cambodia] -...Hun Sen accused the
Global Witness of unjustly defaming his government when it released an
"exaggerated" report alleging the use of excessive force by police in
dispersing a group of anti-logging protesters.
But on Friday, a group of 18 Cambodian
nongovernmental organizations said the Global Witness report was correct and
urged the government to reverse its plan to close down the watchdog's office.
(Japan Today, 31 Dec. 2002)
CAMBODIA:
World Bank Protests Threat To Expel NGO - The World Bank yesterday protested
Cambodia's threat to expel British environmental watchdog Global Witness over an
allegedly slanderous report by the group. (UN Wire, 31 Dec. 2002)
Xcel
to bring Denver cleaner coal power plants (Reuters, 30 Dec. 2002)
W.R.
Grace to take $20 million charge for lawsuit [USA] - Bankrupt chemical maker
W.R. Grace & Co. (GRA.N) on Monday said it would take a $20 million charge
in the fourth quarter to account for potential liabilities relating to a
government lawsuit seeking recovery costs for environmental cleanup at Montana
mining sites. (Reuters, 27 Dec. 2002)
Oregon
Winery Nation's First To Earn LEED Certification - Sokol Blosser Winery has
become the first winery in the U.S. to be awarded LEED 2.0 Silver Level
Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (GreenBiz.com, 23
Dec. 2002)
Court
Orders Bush Administration Must Give Trade Documents to the Public - A U.S.
District Court today ordered the Bush administration to make public documents by
revealing U.S. and foreign government positions in trade negotiations with
potential impacts on domestic public health, labor, and environmental laws.
(Earthjustice, Public Citizen, FOE and CIEL, 19 Dec. 2002)
BASF
Wins Energy Conservation Award for Geismar Site Project - The American Chemistry
Council has recognized BASF for a program that significantly reduces the amount
of energy consumed in a steam system at its Geismar manufacturing site. (GreenBiz.com,
17 Dec. 2002)
Jungle
energy project sparks controversy in Peru - For Peru's government, a plan to
pipe natural gas from the remote Camisea jungle brings hope of economic growth.
But to environmentalists, the $2 billion project sounds a death knell for one of
the world's last pristine jungles and the indigenous groups who live there.
[refers to Pluspetrol, Hunt Oil, Techint, Tractebel, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux]
(Missy Ryan, Reuters, 17 Dec. 2002)
Eight
oil workers freed in Ecuador's Amazon - Eight workers for Argentine oil company
CGC have been freed after being held for nine days by Ecuadorean Indians
protesting the firm's exploration in the Amazon jungle (Reuters, 17 Dec.
2002)
Verizon
Partners with State of New Jersey to Reduce GHG Emissions - Verizon will
implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote increased
energy efficiency as a result of a recent agreement signed with the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Board of Public
Utilities. (GreenBiz.com, 16 Dec. 2002)
Shareholders
pressure US carmakers to come clean - A group of shareholders at car makers
General Motors and Ford Motor Co are exerting new pressure on management to try
and force the firms to cut vehicle gas emissions in the next 10 years. (Reuters,
16 Dec. 2002)
New
report charts NAFTA environmental record - In anticipation of the 10th
anniversary of the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on
17 December 1992, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) released
today a report detailing some of the effects of NAFTA on the environment.
(North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 15 Dec. 2002)
Lawsuits
allege hazardous businesses unfairly placed in poor town [USA] -...With three
large environmental lawsuits and a fourth likely on the way, the city of 80,000
[Camden, New Jersey] has become the main East Coast laboratory for the
environmental justice movement, an assortment of activists, academics and
lawyers who believe environmental hazards are placed unfairly in the places
where the powerless live. (Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press, 15 Dec.
2002)
OCEANS:
General Assembly Adopts Resolutions On Marine Protection - The U.N. General
Assembly yesterday concluded its debate on oceans and the law of the sea,
adopting three resolutions on protecting the marine environment, harmful fishing
practices and compliance of shipping vessels with conservation measures. (UN
Wire, 13 Dec. 2002)
New
mayor stands firm against Peru Tambogrande mine - The mayor-elect of the
northern Peruvian town of Tambogrande said Wednesday residents remained opposed
to a $405 million gold and copper mine planned by Canada's Manhattan Minerals
Corp. that some locals fear will ruin a fertile farming valley. (Reuters,
13 Dec. 2002)
IADB
OK's loan for Enron backed pipeline in Bolivia - The Inter-American Development
Bank has approved a controversial loan for a Bolivian company partly controlled
by bankrupt U.S. energy giant Enron to build a gas pipeline through an
environmentally sensitive forest. [refers to indigenous peoples; refers to
Transredes, partly controlled by Enron & Royal Dutch/Shell]. (Anna
Willard, Reuters, 13 Dec. 2002)
HAZARDOUS
WASTE: Cell Phone Makers, Treaty Countries Join Forces - Basel Convention
countries and 10 cellular telephone makers agreed yesterday to cooperate on
seeking environmentally friendly ways of disposing of and recycling
telephones...The companies that signed the agreement are LG, Mitsubishi, Nokia,
Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Panasonic maker Matsushita, Motorola, NEC, Philips and
Siemens. (UN Wire, 13 Dec. 2002)
Cut
greenhouse gas emissions, investors tell Petro-Canada -...Ethical Funds Inc. and
Real Assets Investment Management have jointly filed the resolution to be
distributed to all Petro-Canada shareholders in the company's management proxy
circular and voted on at the 2003 annual general meeting. (Ethical Funds
Inc., 12 Dec. 2002)
Air
pollution damages across generations - study - Air pollution from steel mills
causes genetic damage that fathers can pass to the next generation, researchers
in Canada reported. (Maggie Fox, Reuters, 11 Dec. 2002)
Court
puts Exxon Valdez punitive damages at $4 bln [USA] (Reuters, 10 Dec. 2002)
Green
groups sue US EPA over global warming - Three environmental groups sued the
Environmental Protection Agency in a bid to force it to combat global warming by
limiting air pollution from U.S. automobiles. (Reuters, 9 Dec. 2002)
How
Green Is BP? -...he [Lord John Browne, group chief executive of BP] has shown
the ambition to redefine the very nature of Big Oil: pushing BP to confront
global warming, candidly acknowledge the company's mistakes (environmental
penalties against the company appear on its Web site), enter into dialogue with
environmental groups, hire people with strong environmental ethics and
opinions...But to persuade the public that BP is no rapacious multinational,
that it is instead an organization thinking first and foremost of the public
good, may not come so easily as long as BP remains an oil company, deriving the
vast majority of its profits from the black stuff that -- from drilling rig to
oil tanker to refinery to gas station -- scars the earth, pollutes the air and
eventually warms the planet. (Darcy Frey, New York Times, 8 Dec.
2002)
Panel
votes to ban perc: Dry cleaners target of action [USA] - Southern California
air-quality officials voted on Friday to impose the nation's first ban of the
most commonly used dry cleaning solvent due to health concerns. (Los
Angeles Daily News, 6 Dec. 2002)
Greenpeace
slams Canadian gold project in Romania - Greenpeace urged Romania this week to
pull the plug on a controversial Canadian gold mining project in the Carpathians
which it said would seriously damage the environment...As part of the project,
it [Gabriel Resources, a Canadian company] plans to relocate the 900 families of
Rosia Montana, a poor mining town 500 km (310 miles) west of Bucharest, and has
promised them money and new homes. (Adrian Dascalu, Reuters, 6 Dec.
2002)
Green
Mountain, lung group team up for wind power - Texas-based power generator Green
Mountain Energy Co. and the American Lung Association of Texas said this week
they had joined forces to educate Texans about renewable, wind-generated power.
(Reuters, 6 Dec. 2002)
Honda
least-polluting automaker in US - survey - Honda produces the least-polluting
vehicle fleet in the U.S. market, while DaimlerChrysler is at the bottom of the
list of automakers selling environmentally friendly cars, according to a survey
from the Union of Concerned Scientists. (Tom Doggett, Reuters, 6 Dec.
2002)
Global
Funds Tell Union Carbide To Settle Bhopal Gas Leak Claims - A group of
international investor funds which includes Trillium Asset Management, Domini
Social Investments and the Calvert Group (together managing a combined asset
value of $13 billion) have advised Union Carbide to settle claims of economic,
health and environmental liabilities of over $500 million (Rs 2,500 crore)
stemming out of the Bhopal gas leak...A letter has been sent jointly by a group
of funds to the Dow Chemical Company, which took over Union Carbide in 2001
along with all its assets and liabilities. (Ajay Jain, Financial Express
[India], 5 Dec. 2002)
Negligence
caused Bhopal disaster: Report - Negligence by Union Carbide and not sabotage
was responsible for the Bhopal gas disaster, the British journal New Scientist
said on Thursday basing its conclusion on documents just released in the United
States. (Times of India, 5 Dec. 2002)
PERU:
$5 Million IDB Loan To Fund Monitoring Of Natural Gas Project - The
Inter-American Development Bank said yesterday it has approved a $5 million loan
to Peru to strengthen hydrocarbon safeguards, particularly in relation to the
country's Camisea natural gas project. The loan is meant to help Peru monitor
the Camisea plan's impact and other social and environmental
measures...Preventative health care for native communities is also planned.
(UN Wire, 5 Dec. 2002)
Swiss
want big Syngenta chemical on UN control list - The Swiss government wants a top
selling chemical from Syngenta AG, the world's biggest agro-chemical maker, put
on a list of products the United Nations is seeking to have tightly regulated.
The substance, paraquat, is already banned in some
countries and is contained in the Syngenta product Gramoxone.
(Jon Cox, Reuters, 5 Dec. 2002)
Fresh
evidence on Bhopal disaster - The company that built and owned the Bhopal
chemical plant in India [Union Carbide, acquired by Dow Chemical in 2001] cut
crucial corners in its design, documents just released in the US suggest. (Debora
MacKenzie, New Scientist, 4 Dec. 2002)
Peru's
Camisea - Economic boon or environmental bane? For Peru's government, the
Camisea natural gas project brings hope of economic growth and freedom from
costly energy imports. But to environmentalists, the $2 billion project sounds a
death knell for one of the world's last pristine jungles and the indigenous
groups who live there. [refers to Pluspetrol, Hunt Oil, Techint, Pluspetrol,
Tractebel - a unit of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux] (Missy Ryan, Reuters,
4 Dec. 2002)
MEXICO:
Rainforest Destruction Continues Despite Protection Efforts - Farming and
logging during the past three decades in one of Mexico's largest rainforests has
reduced the 12,000-square mile Lacandona jungle by two-thirds...One of the
conservation program's organizers, who also helped start small-scale ecotourism,
said that until local residents find a way out of poverty, sustaining the
Lacandona rainforest will be impossible. (UN Wire, 4 Dec. 2002)
Dow
Chemicals asked to clean up toxic waste in Bhopal [India] - Nearly 300 people
held a demonstration outside the headquarters of Dow Chemicals at Corporate
Park, Chembur, yesterday in view of the 18th anniversary of the Union Carbide
disaster, known as the Bhopal gas tragedy...Dow Chemicals acquired Union Carbide
in February 2001. (Hemal Ashar, Yahoo India News, 3 Dec. 2002)
OZONE:
Countries Pledge $573 Million To Phase Out CFCs - Representatives from 140
countries have adopted a $573 million funding package meant to halve by 2005 the
consumption and production in developing countries of chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), chemicals that damage the stratospheric ozone layer, the U.N.
Environment Program said Sunday. (UN Wire, 3 Dec. 2002)
OIL
SPILLS: EU To Consider Blacklist Of Ships After Accident Near Spain - Following
last month's oil spill off the coast of Spain, the European Commission today
published a blacklist of ships that could be banned from European waters and
urged the European Union to prohibit the transport of heavy fuel in
single-hulled tankers. (UN Wire, 3 Dec. 2002)
International
effort results in new tool to calculate greenhouse gas emissions of pulp and
paper mills - The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and the
International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA), in association
with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the
World Resources Institute (WRI) today announced the development of a methodology
for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from pulp and paper mills. (World
Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2 Dec. 2002)
Eco-warriors
fail to stop Estonia tanker departure - Greenpeace activists failed to stop an
elderly oil tanker from leaving an Estonian port last week on a journey they
feared might result in a repeat of a disastrous oil spill 10 days ago...Like the
Prestige, the Byzantio is chartered by Swiss-based Russian oil trader Crown
Resources (Reuters, 2 Dec. 2002)
Earth
on the market: Beyond the limits of sustainable growth - Despite all the hype,
the UN-sponsored world summit on sustainable development in South Africa in
August could not introduce any real constraints because they would have meant
re-examining globalisation. So could sustainable development just be a pretext
for maintaining a growth that must be, by nature, destructive to the
environment? - ...Sustainable development has been diverted by business, which
has equated it with sustainable growth (Sadruddin Aga Khan, Bellerive
Foundation, Dec. 2002)
Honduran
villagers battle over Canada-owned mine [owned by Glamis Gold] -...Velasquez and
others like him contend mining has devastated the forests and dried up water
sources in their poor valley. (Gustavo Palencia, Reuters, 29 Nov.
2002)
Three
Gorges Probe: 'World's greatest air-conditioner' gives rise to a lot of hot air
[China]
- The extent to which the huge Three Gorges reservoir will affect the climate in
the region is the hot topic at the centre of a perplexing series of
contradictory statements issued recently by the corporation building the dam
[Three Gorges Project Corp.] (Kelly Haggart, Probe International, 28 Nov.
2002)
Russia
Greens say security service oppressing them - Ecologists said this week a police
swoop on a group [Baikal Environmental Wave] denouncing radioactive pollution of
Russia's unique Lake Baikal was part of a long-term security service campaign to
crush environmental movement...the group...publicised business and government
activities it said were harmful to the vast lake's environment...It also
campaigned against a pipeline due to run to China through the area and backed by
YUKOS, Russia's number two oil company, and the China National Petroleum Corp.
(Oliver Bullough, Reuters, 28 Nov. 2002)
ExxonMobil
Caves To Science: Slick Maneuvering By Oil Giant On Climate Change -...The
world's largest oil company softened its long-standing campaign of
disinformation against mainstream science by acknowledging the potential risks
of climate change and announcing a 10-year $100 million grant to Stanford
University for research on "low-emissions" technologies.
Still, ExxonMobil can't seem to break its
disinformation habit. (Ross Gelbspan, TomPaine.com,
27 Nov. 2002)
WATER:
U.N. Issues General Comment On Right To Water - The U.N. Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights issued a "general comment" yesterday on the
right to water, stressing that water is a limited natural resource and a public
commodity fundamental to life and health. (UN Wire, 27 Nov. 2002)
TOXIC
SUBSTANCES: Countries Discuss More Public Access To Information - European,
Central Asian and North American negotiators began weeklong talks in Geneva
Monday to finalize an international pact on the public's right to information
about chemical waste and toxic pollutants in the environment, Reuters
reports. (UN Wire, 27 Nov. 2002)
- Countries
seek tougher 'right to know' on toxics -...the week-long talks...come amid
complaints by environmental groups that some toxic substances —
radioactive waste and cancer-causing chemicals — risk being dropped from
the draft deal under pressure from industry lobbyists. Friends of the
Earth and other activists warn that some countries are pressing for known
carcinogenic substances — such as beryllium, a metal used in some
electronic appliances, and chromium VI, employed in pigments and dyes,
leather tanning, and wood preserving — to be removed from the list.
Another area of concern is styrene — a possible carcinogen used widely in
rubber, plastics, insulation, fiberglass, and autoparts — which is also in
line to be omitted. (Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters, 26 Nov. 2002)
Sustainability
and Leadership (Rémi Parmentier, Political Director of Greenpeace
International, speech to Second International Conference on Globalisation, 26 Nov. 2002)
Oil
spill cripples Spain fishing villages' economy (Adrian Croft, Reuters,
26 Nov. 2002)
RODDICK:
It's the Real Thing -- Thievery and Corruption [India] -...Coca-Cola is anything but a
savior to the indigenous people (Adivasis) and members of the oppressed castes (Dalits) around
Kerala. To them, Coca-Cola Corp. is a thief operating with
impunity, polluting their land, killing their crops, stealing their water and
then selling it back to them as fizzy sugar drinks, and ironically, bottled
water. (Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, AlterNet, 25 Nov.
2002)
Argentine
court orders Shell to clean up spill - mayor - An Argentine court ruled that
Royal Dutch Shell Group must pay an estimated $10 million to clean up damage
from a 1999 oil spill, the mayor of the city which filed the suit said. (Reuters,
25 Nov. 2002)
Companies
Will Pay for Polluting New Jersey Water [USA] - Nineteen polluters will together
pay a total of $3 million to compensate the state of New Jersey and East Hanover
Township for contamination of the local drinking water supply...The settling
parties are: Voltronics Corporation; G & F Management; Vincent and Irene
Muccione; Viscot Industries, Inc.; MCE/KDI Corporation; Colgate-Palmolive
Company; Deforest Investment Co. L.L.C.; Philomena Gasparine; Estate of Sylvio
Gasparine; Prime Fabricators, Inc.; Township of East Hanover; Novartis
Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Dorine
Industrial Park Partnership; Precision Rolled Products, Inc.; Phelps Dodge
Corporation (f/k/a Cyprus Amax Mineral Company); GTE Operations Support
Incorporated; Ingersoll-Rand Company and Royal Lubricants Company, Inc.
(Environment News Service, 25 Nov. 2002)
Cheap
products' human cost - China's success in the PC revolution lies in its mostly
young and low-wage workers, who put in stunning amounts of overtime -...With its
estimated 100 million migrant workers and its notoriety for low wages and lax
enforcement of labor and environmental laws, China is fast becoming the world's
premier electronic workshop...Pilla [a
Microsoft spokesman] said Microsoft plans to monitor compliance with labor
standards as part of routine quality audits of its contractor factories. [also
refers to Dell, Flextronics, Seagate] (Karl Schoenberger, San Jose
Mercury News, 24 Nov. 2002)
ELECTRONIC
WASTE: Asian Summit Examines Threats To Health, Safety (UN Wire, 22
Nov. 2002)
POSCO
enhances corporate value via environmental management [South Korea] -...POSCO
Co., the world's largest steelmaker in terms of production capacity, has been
working tirelessly to not only become a globally competitive company, but also
to clean up the environment and solve local environmental problems. (Park
Sang-soo, Korea Herald, 21 Nov. 2002)
Public
right-to-know undermined in new pollution treaty - Negotiations on a new
international treaty to increase the public’s right-to-know on sources of
pollution enter the final stages with a United Nations meeting in Geneva next
week. But environmentalists are warning that key chemicals and radioactive waste
are likely to be excluded from the treaty, following lobbying from industry and
the conservative positions taken by governments. (Friends of the Earth, 21
Nov. 2002)
The
hunt for oil-spill compensation - As efforts continue to limit or clean up the
mess caused by oil from the sunken tanker Prestige [off the coast of Spain], the
question of who will pay is coming to the fore. (Keith Somerville, BBC
News, 20 Nov. 2002)
Timber
Certification Tainted, Forest Group Alleges - The international body created to
certify responsible forestry management has for years been knowingly
"misleading" the public according to a new report released today by
the Rainforest Foundation.
The report finds serious flaws in the certification
system used by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is responsible for
auditing timber companies worldwide and for certifying that wood and paper is
produced in an environmentally and socially acceptable way.
(Environment News Service, 20 Nov. 2002)
OIL
SPILL: Cracked Tanker Sinks Off Spain; Ecological Disaster Feared -...According
to Reuters, major oil companies have stricter standards for tankers than smaller
operations such as Crown Resources, the Alfa Group-owned company that chartered
the Prestige. (UN Wire, 20 Nov. 2002)
'prestige'
oil tanker sinking today: make oil companies liable for damage, says friends of
the earth (Friends of the Earth, 19 Nov. 2002)
DEVELOPMENT:
Toepfer Calls For Consideration Of Indigenous People - Large-scale development
projects should be allowed only after assessments are conducted of their
possible effects on indigenous people, U.N. Environmental Program Executive
Director Klaus Toepfer said yesterday at the fourth conference of the
International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests.
(UN Wire, 19 Nov. 2002)
press release: New
report spotlights trends in corporate sustainability reporting - Companies
struggle to breach the 'glass ceiling' of transparency and accountability -
Reports are getting bigger - but not better (18 Nov. 2002, Sustainability
and U.N. Environment Programme)
Shell
green record holds lessons for Big Oil - book - All big oil companies have their
share of environmental record blemishes, but examining the way Royal Dutch Shell
has dealt with its problems may lead the industry to a greener future, according
to a new book.
In "Riding The Dragon: Royal Dutch Shell and
the Fossil Fire," Jack Doyle chronicles a sampling of 300 incidents of
fires, leaks and explosions throughout the petroleum infrastructure of the
world's second-largest oil firm, including in the United States, Nigeria and
South Africa. (Timothy Gardner, Reuters,
18 Nov. 2002)
Oil
spill off Spain: FOC [flag of convenience] ship behind latest environmental
disaster - An oil slick has blackened 20 miles along the Spanish coast as the
Bahamas flagged tanker Prestige threatened an ecological and economic disaster
in a region where shellfish farming and fishing are important industries.
(Maritime Union of Australia, 18 Nov. 2002)
Australian
Company's Toxic Waste Dumping Breaches International Law [Papua New Guinea] -
Australian company Rio Tinto’s gold mining operation in Lihir, Papua New
Guinea has been under scrutiny by the Secretariat of the London Convention for
dumping toxic waste at sea. (Mineral Policy Institute and Greenpeace, 16
Nov. 2002)
Environmentalists
level charges against Citigroup - A California-based environmentalist group
[Rainforest Action Network] this week ran a big print ad claiming Citigroup
Inc., the No. 1 U.S. financial services firm, has been funding companies whose
activities have hurt the environment. (Reuters, 15 Nov. 2002)
COMPUTER
CHIPS: Manufacture Takes Heavy Toll, U.N. Study Shows - A new U.N. University
study shows that computer chips take a heavier toll, by weight, on the
environment than do automobiles, BBC Online reported Tuesday.
(UN Wire, 15 Nov. 2002)
GUATEMALA:
UNDP Helping Coffee Growers Adjust To Economic Crisis -...the U.N. Development
Program is supporting a project to help farmers offset the global collapse of
prices for their crop and a regional drought by developing environment-friendly
alternative sources of income. (Scott Hartmann, UN Wire, 15 Nov.
2002)
Staples
says to sell environment-friendly products (Reuters, 15 Nov.
2002)
WORLD
BANK: Institution Contradicts Itself By Backing Incineration, NGOs Say - Some
activists cited by Inter Press Service allege that the World Bank continues to
promote development projects that include environmentally harmful waste
incineration (UN Wire, 13 Nov. 2002)
New
business/academic partnership delivers £14 million for low carbon innovation
[UK] - Today...Carbon Trust and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC) announces the launch of a new £14 million investment initiative
which will marry the needs of business with the capabilities of University
R&D departments to deliver on low carbon technologies and solutions in the
UK. (Carbon Trust, 11 Nov. 2002)
"Older and wiser" Exxon listens to the
locals - Oil major Exxon Mobil is now working more closely with non-governmental
organisations on upstream projects to help avoid the social unrest it has
suffered in the past, a senior executive said. [refers to Exxon-led
Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, Exxon's operations in Aceh] (Neil Chatterjee, Reuters,
11 Nov. 2002)
Greenpeace
activists block Hungary chemicals plant - More than 20 Greenpeace activists
chained themselves to the gates of Hungarian chemicals plant EMV, protesting
against what they said was the factory's pollution of the environment with
pesticides. (Reuters, 11 Nov. 2002)
Nicaragua
growers open sustainable coffee conference (Ivan Castro, Reuters, 11
Nov. 2002)
What
can corporate responsibility do in the fight against poverty in Africa? Maya
Forstater looks at what business can be realistically expected to contribute to
African development and outlines some specific examples of corporate engagement
to date...DaimlerChrysler: making cars out of Sisal [South Africa,
Brazil]...Divine Chocolate: Bringing farmers to market [Day Chocolate Company;
The Body Shop; Ghana]...The Woodlands 2000 Trust [tree farming in Kenya]...South
African Breweries...Coca-Cola: measuring the business contribution to economic
development [Morocco, South Africa]...Supporting SME development: Richards Bay
Minerals [South Africa] (Maya Forstater, in Ethical Corporation Magazine,
11 Nov. 2002)
Investing
in Africa, challenges and initiatives - Alex Blyth looks at the principal issues
around western business investment in Africa and some of the companies that are
attempting to improve their impact on the landscape and people of the continent
[refers to Environment: TotalFinaElf in Nigeria; Palabora Mining Company (49%
owned by Rio Tinto) in South Africa; Anglo American; DeBeers; Water &
sanitation: Suez in Morocco & South Africa; Thames Water in Tanzania &
South Africa; Education: ChevronTexaco in Nigeria; Old Mutual in South Africa;
Barclays Africa; Economic development: Richards Bay Minerals (50% owned by Rio
Tinto) in South Africa; HIV/AIDS: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in South
Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland; DaimlerChrysler in South
Africa; Coca-Cola] (Alex Blyth, in Ethical Corporation Magazine,
11 Nov. 2002)
ASIA:
Asian Development Bank Issues New Environment Policy - The Asian Development
Bank today announced it has approved a new environmental policy to respond to
Asia's increasing environmental degradation. (UN Wire, 11 Nov. 2002)
PESTICIDES:
UNEP, WHO Discuss Stockpiles At Africa Workshop
(UN Wire, 8 Nov. 2002)
TRADE:
U.S., EU Square Off Over Environmental Concerns -...Speaking at a discussion in
New York hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, Zoellick said the European
position that trade and the environment should be linked is endangering progress
on global trade negotiations with developing countries.
(UN Wire, 7 Nov. 2002)
Uzbekistan
cuts emissions of ozone depleting compounds -...A two-year project, carried out
by the Government and UNDP in cooperation with the UN Office of Project Services
(UNOPS), has virtually ended accidental emissions of CFCs...Lykke Anderson, UNDP
Deputy Resident Representative, called the project "an excellent example of
fruitful cooperation between GEF, UNDP, UNOPS, the Government and the private
sector." (U.N. Development Programme, 7 Nov. 2002)
CLIMATE
CHANGE: Countries Call For Emissions Reduction, Adaptation - The eighth meeting
of parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change ended Friday...One
of the main achievements of the conference, according to the United Nations, was
making the protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, designed to funnel investment
from the private sector into emissions-reduction programs in developing
countries, fully operational. (UN Wire, 4 Nov. 2002)
US
court refuses to dismiss Vectren pollution case - An Indiana judge refused to
dismiss a federal lawsuit against Vectren Corp. that accuses the utility of
failing to install costly anti-pollution equipment at its aging coal-fired
plants. (Reuters, 4 Nov. 2002)
New
Code of Conduct on Pesticides adopted - A revised 'International Code of Conduct
on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides' should significantly reduce the
threats posed by agro-chemicals in developing countries. (U.N. Food &
Agriculture Organization [FAO], 4 Nov. 2002)
Analysis:
Is relief for the poor embodied in the wealth of the rich?...the globalization
of capital markets contains within its mechanisms the financial means to
eradicate abject poverty while also addressing environmental degradation
worldwide (Jeff Gates, President of Shared Capitalism Institute, in Ethical
Corporation Magazine, 3 Nov. 2002)
Amerindian
Researcher Brings Grassroots Views on Mining to Fore - In Guyana and Colombia,
as in most Latin American countries, mining has dramatically increased over the
past two decades. But from the contamination of healthy rivers to the lawless
atmosphere of mining towns, few have felt the ill effects of mining more than
these countries’ Indigenous peoples. (Colin Campbell, International
Development Research Centre, 1 Nov. 2002)
Indigenous
Assembly Condemns FTAA - The Continental Assembly of Peoples of the Americas,
meeting Friday in the Ecuadorian capital, exhorted the region's governments to
reject the Free Trade Area of the Americas, saying it will harm their cultures
and the environment and deplete natural resources. (Kintto Lucas, Inter-Press
Service, 1 Nov. 2002)
Delhi
Climate Justice Declaration -...We recognize that the impacts of climate change
are disproportionately felt by the poor, women, youth, coastal peoples,
indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, dalits, farmers and the elderly;
We recognize that climate change is being caused
primarily by industrialized nations and transnational corporations;...
(India Climate Justice Forum, 1 Nov. 2002)
Scottish
Power wins environmental awareness award [UK] - British utility Scottish Power
Plc won an environmental awareness award at the first annual National Business
Awards. Judges applauded the company's commitment to wind power and insistence
that the cost of its development is properly recognised and accountable to
stakeholders. (Reuters, 1 Nov. 2002)
Defining
Global Business Principles: Towards a new role for investors in promoting
international corporate responsibility [refers to human rights, labour issues,
environmental issues; includes sections entitled "Globalisation and
coporate responsibility", "Global ethical principles", "The
Global Business Principles Project"] (Dr. Craig Mackenzie, Head
of Investor Responsibility, Insight Investment, Nov. 2002)
New
plan to save Amazon forests [Brazil] -...Logging and cattle ranching in recent
decades have already removed an area the size of France from the Amazon forest
(Tim Hirsch, BBC News, 31 Oct. 2002)
Activists
criticise BP-led Baku-Ceyhan pipeline [Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey] -
Environmental and human rights groups launched a campaign against a BP-led
trans-Caspian oil pipeline...BP holds a 33 percent stake in the venture, Unocal
has 8.9 percent, Norway's Statoil 8.7 percent and the Azeri state oil company
SOCAR 25 percent. The remainder is owned by Turkish, French, Japanese and Saudi
firms...the campaigners say the pipeline will further damage the Caspian's
delicate ecology and that the impoverished populations of the three
participating countries will not benefit from the oil revenues because of
corruption.
BP denies the allegations
(Reuters, 30 Oct. 2002)
Japan
carmakers off hook in landmark pollution suit - A Japanese court yesterday
ordered the central and Tokyo city governments to pay compensation for health
problems caused by diesel exhaust fumes but rejected a demand that vehicle
makers be made to pay as well. (Elaine Lies, Reuters, 30 Oct.
2002)
Unity
Platform on Corporate Accountability - After Enron, WorldCom, and Other Scandals
200 Global Justice Groups Call for Corporate Accountability - The statement
outlines an agenda for public funding of elections, an overhaul of corporate
governance, controls on speculative investment, stronger labor and environmental
obligations, an end to international corporate welfare, and a redefinition of
financial accountability, among other proposals. (US-based global justice
groups, 29 Oct. 2002)
Six
Businesses Vie for Top Sustainability Prize - The World Resources Institute has
announced that six sustainable enterprises in Latin America are finalists in a
competition [AmazonLife S.A., Cafe La Selva, Comercio Alternativo, Empresas ESM,
Solar Trade Corporation, TopAir] (GreenBiz.com, 29 Oct. 2002)
Greenpeace
shuts down Esso Luxembourg petrol pumps -...Greenpeace alleges that intense
lobbying by Esso's parent company ExxonMobil contributed to the U.S. pulling out
of the U.N. Kyoto Protocol on climate change, as well as to watered down
commitments to renewable energies at last month's Earth Summit in Johannesburg.
(Neil Chatterjee, Reuters, 28 Oct. 2002)
California
wine sector to go green to avert regulation - Under fire from environmentalists,
California's 150-year-old wine industry will announce a green code of conduct
next week in a bid to head off potentially costly state regulation...Critics,
who charge the wine industry with contributing to soil erosion, watershed loss
and pollution, contend the voluntary code may not go far enough. (Jim
Christie, Reuters, 28 Oct. 2002)
IOD
gags Blairite think-tank report [UK] - A furious row has erupted between
Britain's most influential think-tank and the Institute of Directors (IoD) over
a report which questions the commitment of business to corporate social
responsibility...Among the findings are:
· Only four out of 10 company boards discuss social
and environmental issues, routinely or occasionally...· Eight out of 10
directors say their organisation does not publish reports on their social or
environmental impact (Oliver Morgan, Observer
[UK], 27 Oct. 2002)
Tribe
Joins Chemical Workers to Protest Ponca City, Okla.-Area Pollution [USA]
-...Feeling trapped and overwhelmed by industry and environmental contamination,
a diverse group of about 150 people rallied recently in a walking "toxic
tour" of the major industrial facilities adjoining tribal lands...the
group's major environmental concern is focused on a company that was formerly
Witco, now Continental Carbon based in Houston. The China Synthetic Rubber
Company of Taiwan owns Continental Carbon. [refers also to Conoco] (JoKay
Dowell, Indian Country Today [USA], 27 Oct. 2002)
US
crafts labor, green sanctions on trade pacts - The United States and some of its
closest trading partners would face millions of dollars in fines if they fail to
enforce their own labor and environmental laws as a way of gaining a trade
advantage, under a plan being drafted by the Bush administration...Seligman
[trade specialist with the Sierra Club] said the new trade law sets "a very
low bar" of guidelines for labor and environmental enforcement standards.
(Reuters, 25 Oct. 2002)
World's
ecotourism promoters promise dollars, sense (Patrick Chalmers, Reuters,
25 Oct. 2002)
Greenpeace
Challenges Dow Chemicals to Clean up site of world's worst industrial disaster -
Guidelines for Clean up delivered to multinational chemical giant -...The waste
was abandoned by Union Carbide (now Dow Chemicals) after an explosion at its
pesticide plant in Bhopal, India left 8,000 dead and half a million injured.
(Greenpeace, 24 Oct. 2002)
Save
H2Opi Water: A water fight in the desert [USA] -...In seeming indifference to
the impact of its operations on the Hopi and Navajo people and their natural
environment, Peabody [Peabody Energy company] filed an application to
substantially expand its operations and to increase its water usage by 32%
percent in January of this year. (Laura Inouye, Oxfam America, 24 Oct. 2002)
Blacks
hurt more by power plant pollution - US study - Blacks are more likely than
whites to live near areas polluted by power plants and suffer adverse health
consequences as a result, civil rights and environmental activists said
yesterday. (Karen Jacobs, Reuters, 24 Oct. 2002)
US,
Solutia revise deal for faster PCBs clean up [USA] - The clean up of dangerous
PCB chemicals from a former Monsanto Co. plant in Alabama will begin two years
sooner than previously planned as part of a revised settlement...The revised
terms of the settlement, which also involves Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia Corp.,
call for the Environmental Protection Agency instead of the companies to assess
the risk to human health from the contaminated site (Reuters, 24 Oct.
2002)
California
smog agency seeks ban on dry clean chemical - Southern California's clean air
agency has proposed the nation's first ban on a toxic chemical used in dry
cleaning that officials say makes the cleaners a greater cancer risk than oil
refineries or power plants. (Reuters, 24 Oct. 2002)
Methanex
to file new NAFTA case on Calif MTBE ban (Allan Dowd, Reuters, 23
Oct. 2002)
PluggedIn
- Recycling phones to charities, not landfills [refers to Sprint PCS, Cingular
Wireless, Verizon Communications, AT&T Wireless, Working Assets, NPI
wireless, Radio Shack, The Body Shop] (Elinor Mills Abreu, Reuters,
23 Oct. 2002)
WRI
Promotes Sustainable Business in China - The World Resources Institute has
launched a project that will support green business initiatives in China.
(William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 22 Oct. 2002)
Glamis
Gold unit hit by Honduras protest - Several hundred residents of a Honduran town
last week protested against an open-pit mine run by a unit of Canada's Glamis
Gold Ltd., saying it was damaging their environment...They said the open-pit
mine was destroying their forests, and threatening local water supplies. (Reuters,
21 Oct. 2002)
Four
refineries face Texas environmental probes - Four out of five refineries and
chemical plants in the Texas town of Port Arthur are under investigation by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality...The plants being investigated are
owned by Premcor Inc, ChevronTexaco Corp. , BASF Corp. and Atofina, a subsidiary
of France's TotalFinaElf. (Reuters, 21 Oct. 2002)
POLLUTION:
European Studies Target Health Implications - Two European studies published
over the weekend in The Lancet emphasized the damaging effects of air
pollution -- particularly that caused by the burning of coal -- on the heart and
lungs, intensifying concern about the health of residents of smoggy,
coal-dependent Asian behemoths China and India. (UN Wire, 21 Oct.
2002)
Norway's green rebel befriends oil industry -...Norway's leading environmental campaigner Frederic Hauge seeks to promote his vision of a green and sustainable future by working as a friend rather than foe of the oil
industry...Hauge says Shell and British Petroleum rank ahead of the competition in their environmental policies, but others are responding to the new trend. (Barbara Lewis,
Reuters, 18 Oct. 2002)
UNEP
Advises Financial Sector on Threats and Opportunities Related to Climate Change
(William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 17 Oct. 2002)
Holland
America crew subpoenaed in Alaska pollution probe - Cruise giant Carnival Corp.
said this week that officers from the Ryndam at its Holland America Line had
been subpoenaed by U.S. officials investigating possible pollution by the cruise
liner. (Reuters, 17 Oct. 2002)
Toxic
clean-up programme in Africa receives international funding support - WWF, the
conservation organization, applauds the decision by the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) to endorse the Africa Stockpiles Programme (ASP), which aims to
clean-up and safely dispose of over 50,000 tonnes of obsolete pesticide waste
stockpiled throughout Africa. (WWF International, 16 Oct. 2002)
Hearing
on Human Rights and Environment - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights -
Organization of American States (CEDHA - Center for Human Rights and
Environment, 16 Oct. 2002)
- {···español} Informe
sobre derechos humanos y medio ambiente en América - presentado ante la
Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en ocasión de la audiencia de
carácter general celebrada en Washington D.C. el 16 de Octubre del año
2002 [Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay, Perú, Argentina, Brasil, Colombia,
Ecuador, México, Guatemala, Estados Unidos] (Sofía Bordenave y
Romina Picolotti, CEDHA - Centro de Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente, 16
octubre 2002)
"Socially
responsible" funds emerging in Asia -...Compared to developed markets,
there was an even more compelling case for Asia to develop socially responsible
investments, as governments in the region grapple with issues like pollution,
human rights and deforestation, he [Euan Marshall, director of Kingsway Fund
Management Ltd in Hong Kong] said. (Jill Wong, Reuters, 16 Oct.
2002)
Activists
say US task force favors mining industry - A coalition of nearly 50
environmental interest groups said yesterday a Department of Interior task force
may be giving mining, oil and gas companies an edge in discussions over toxic
chemical cleanup costs. (Reuters, 15 Oct. 2002)
Clouds
Over Global Warming -...The oil and coal industry, the auto companies and the
electric utilities of the world form such a powerful force that the struggle to
defeat them on this crucial environmental issue is not going to be easy. (C.
E. Karunakaran, CorpWatch India, 14 Oct. 2002)
Firms
to pay for EU electronic waste clean-up - A new law to make companies meet the
cost of recycling their own electronic goods from refrigerators to hairdryers
has won approval from EU parliamentarians and governments, officials said. (Reuters,
14 Oct. 2002)
UK
Alkane Energy launches green energy park - UK energy group Alkane Energy opened
a new energy park in north England to turn polluting methane gas into power to
supply 8,000 homes and cut greenhouse gas emissions. (Reuters, 14
Oct. 2002)
The
Secretary General [U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan] - Address at Event Marking
the 50th Anniversary of the MIT Sloan School Of Management -...there is growing
recognition that we must move beyond the politics of confrontation, and that
solutions to poverty, environmental degradation and other challenges can only be
found if the private sector is involved (U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan,
11 Oct. 2002)
Beer Boiling, Green Traffic Lights Scoop EU Business Awards - Ten companies have won European Business Awards for their efforts in sustainable development [includes reference to BP, B&Q, Bofferding brewery, brewing-technology expert
Steinecker, Integral Umwelt und Anlagentechnik, ST-Microelectronic] (Edie
News, 11 Oct. 2002)
TRADE:
EU Calls For UNEP To Be Given Observer Status In WTO Talks (UN Wire, 11 Oct. 2002)
New
Delhi Climate Justice Summit - New Delhi, India October 26-28, 2002 -...JOIN US
for the Climate Justice Summit as we expose the false solutions being promoted
by corporations and Northern governments, and more importantly, articulate and
demand a solution to climate change from a human rights, environmental justice
and worker's perspective -- from a people-centered perspective. (Organizing
Committee of the India Climate Justice Forum: CorpWatch, Mines, Minerals &
People, National Alliance of People's Movements, National Fishworkers Forum and
The Other Media, on CorpWatch website, 10 Oct. 2002)
Activists
bring their complaints home to Taiwan - DISPUTE: US workers for plants owned by
Taiwan's Koo's Group are angry and they have brought their grievances across the
Pacific to Koo's doorstep - Hundreds of labor and environmental activists from
16 countries yesterday protested in front of the Taiwan Cement Corp building in
Taipei to urge the Koo's Group to solve disputes involving one of its
subsidiaries in the US. The protesters claim that Koo's Group's Continental
Carbon Co violated environmental protection and labor rights laws [in USA]
(Chiu Yu-Tzu, Taipei Times, 10 Oct. 2002)
ANGOLA:
WWF concerned about EU fisheries deal (U.N. Integrated Regional
Information Networks, 10 Oct. 2002)
Coffee
Company [Thanksgiving Coffee Company] Delivers Using 100% Biodiesel [an
alternative fuel made from vegetable oil that greatly reduces harmful emissions]
[USA] (GreenBiz.com, 9 Oct. 2002)
US
top court rejects appeal over cyanide poisoning - The U.S. Supreme Court let
stand this week the conviction of an Idaho fertilizer company's owner and his
17-year prison sentence, the longest ever for an environmental crime, for
improper disposal of hazardous cyanide waste that left an employee with
permanent brain damage. (Reuters, 9 Oct. 2002)
CLIMATE
CHANGE: Group Warns Of Greenhouse Emissions From Airplanes - Environ warned
yesterday that air travel produces large amounts of the greenhouse gases that
scientists believe cause global warming. (UN Wire, 9 Oct. 2002)
Wood-Door
Maker Gains SmartWood Certification [USA] - Iowa-based VT Industries,
manufacturer of architectural wood doors, has qualified as a provider of
SmartWood-certified wood doors, the Forest Stewardship Council recently
announced. The chain-of-custody certification was awarded by the Rainforest
Alliance, an FSC-accredited certifier. (GreenBiz.com, 8 Oct.
2002)
DISASTERS:
UNEP, Financial Companies Warn About Climate Change (UN Wire, 8 Oct. 2002)
Environmentally
Preferable Paint Earns Governor's Award [USA] - PPG Industries has received the
Pennsylvania Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence for "outstanding
commitment to environmental stewardship" for its new line of eco-friendly
architectural paints. (GreenBiz.com, 7 Oct. 2002)
US
green group says diesel soot is big cancer risk - Tiny soot particles emitted by
diesel-fueled cars, trucks and construction equipment are a major contributor to
the cancer risk from air pollution, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group
said. (Reuters, 7 Oct. 2002)
EPA,
Justice announce Minnesota ethanol settlement - The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the U.S. Justice Department this week announced a
settlement with 12 Minnesota ethanol plants for alleged Clean Air Act violations
(Reuters, 4 Oct. 2002)
The Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) 2002 World Climate Technology and Leadership Awards -...The winner of the 2002 CTI World Climate Technology Award
(organisations) is: The Centre for Power Efficiency and Environment Protection (CenPEEP), for supporting the adoption of more-efficient coal power plants in India. (Climate Technology Initiative, 3 Oct. 2002)
12
Ethanol Plants to Install Emissions Controls [USA] - Twelve ethanol plants in
Minnesota have agreed to install new pollution control equipment to slash their
emissions of volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide. (Cat Lazaroff, Environment
News Service, 3 Oct. 2002)
Toxins
put Arctic polar bears and humans at risk - The health of polar bears and the
indigenous peoples of the Arctic is at serious risk from man-made toxins being
carried there by air and sea, a new report showed yesterday. (Paul de
Bendern, Reuters, 3 Oct. 2002)
Alcoa
Urges Aluminum Association to Embrace Sustainability - Alcoa Executive Vice
President G. John Pizzey urged the Aluminum Association to adopt an ambitious
approach to sustainable development that positions the organization and its
members as leaders and innovators. (GreenBiz.com, 2 Oct. 2002)
Iscor
faces court action on pollution - A South African High Court has begun hearing
an application by families seeking a court order to stop giant steel producer
Iscor from allegedly polluting their underground water sources. (Reuters,
2 Oct. 2002)
HK
to join China pilot pollution-control scheme - Hong Kong and Macau will be
included in a Chinese pilot project to curb air pollution...Under the scheme,
strict pollution limits will be imposed on power plants and factories...Hong
Kong's two electric companies, CLP Power and Hongkong Electric, which account
for most of the territory's sulphur dioxide emissions, have reacted coolly to
the idea in public (Reuters, 2 Oct. 2002)
EU
Banks Come Up Short on Environmental Issues - European banks have much room for
improvement with regard to their assessment of the environmental credit risk of
projects for which potential clients are seeking funding, says a leading
investment company. The study of 10 Western European banks by investment company
ISIS Asset Management was designed to benchmark the environmental credit risk
assessment (ECRA) procedures of banks...The leaders are Barclays, Credit Suisse
Group and Lloyds TSB. Behind them the chasing pack are HSBC, ING Group, Royal
Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered. Finally, the starting grid plays host
to Santander Central Hispano, Société Générale and UniCredito Italiano.
(Edie News, 1 Oct. 2002)
Kinko's,
City of Chicago Tops in Green Power Purchasing - The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has announced the winners of the 2002 Green Power Leadership
Awards for environmental leadership by purchasing green power, an alternative to
conventional electricity. (GreenBiz.com, 1 Oct. 2002)
2002
Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence [Pennsylvania, USA] (State of
Pennsylvania, Oct. 2002)
End of the Road for
Endosulfan: A call for action
against a dangerous pesticide -...In this report, we present compelling evidence
of the considerable threats the pesticide endosulfan poses to human health and
environmental integrity...The chemical is out of patent and is marketed by many
different companies and under a variety of names... (Environmental Justice
Foundation, Oct. 2002)