Corporate offenders in the dock
Swiss globalisation opponents have shortlisted the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and home furnishing company Ikea for this year's Public Eye Awards.
The prize-giving ceremony, which runs parallel to the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos at the end of the month, names and shames companies for “outstanding social and ecological irresponsibility”.
The award’s organisers, the Berne Declaration and Pro Natura, accuse the WEF of concentrating on free trade and competition rather than humanitarian and environmental crises and have said they “want to hit the companies where they are most vulnerable – their image”.
The two Swiss organisers said non-governmental organisations from around the world had nominated some 40 Swiss and foreign companies this year for their ecological and social behaviour.
Three have made the shortlist for the Global Award for corporate irresponsibility, three for the inaugural Swiss Award for companies based in Switzerland, and three could walk away with the Positive Award, which rewards companies that are deemed to be making efforts to improve the world via their corporate behaviour.
“The plundering of poor countries and people remains, even in the current boom, the business base of all too many large companies,” said Oliver Classen from the Berne Declaration.
“The Public Eye Awards show the WEF members and other companies that a critical public is following their every move.”
Global Award
Nominees in the Global Award category are Dutch commodities dealer Trafigura, Japanese tyre-manufacturer Bridgestone, and home furnishing retailer Ikea, which was founded in Sweden but is now owned by a Dutch-registered foundation.
Ikea is accused of unfair financial manoeuvres over tax – and the company founder, Ingvar Kamprad, who has lived in Switzerland for 30 years, is also under scrutiny.
Bridgestone and Trafigura are both accused of environmental and health shortcomings involving their operations in Africa.
Swiss Award
Contenders for the Swiss Award are the Basel-based pharmaceutical giant Novartis, the Zug-based commodities group Xstrata and the armament and technology group Ruag.
Novartis is criticised for contesting Indian patent laws in order to prevent the manufacture of generic drugs and for the high cost of its cancer drug Glivec.
“If Novartis gets its way, many people with cancer in developing countries will die,” said Classen.
Xstrata is in the firing line because of a mining project in Australia which involved widening a river, with negative effects on Aboriginals and wildlife.
Ruag was rapped for its production of small-calibre munitions and cluster bombs in addition to delivering arms to conflict regions and for dealing with IMI (Israel Military Industries).
In the running for the Positive Award – which highlights a “groundbreaking corporate initiative”, according to Sonja Ribi from Pro Natura – are the retailer Coop, the Dutch bio-food chain Eosta, and the British department store Marks & Spencer.
Ribi described the award as a “ray of hope in the corporate world”.
swissinfo with agencies
The Public Eye Awards for “outstanding social and ecological irresponsibility” take place every January in parallel with the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.
The event is co-organised by Swiss political NGOs the Berne Declaration and Pro Natura – Friends of the Earth.
The awards are closely connected with the World Social Forum, which is being held this year in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Public Eye Awards 2007 will be handed out on January 24.
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