Public Eye Awards
Encyclopedia
The Public Eye, held every year since 2000, is a counter-event to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum
(WEF) in Davos
. The Public Eye celebrated its ten-year anniversary on 28 January 2009.
The project involves non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world and is coordinated by Swiss organizations Berne Declaration (BD) and Greenpeace
Switzerland. The Public Eye is a platform for substantial criticism of "purely profit-oriented globalization. The focus of the Public Eye Awards since 2005 has been on Corporate Social Responsibility
. In 2009, the Positive category was for the first time awarded for a courageous employee for his or her exemplary contributions.
Nominees were Axpo (a swiss energy company), BP
, Foxconn
and Philip Morris
The Public Eye Award in the category Swiss and People was given to the Swiss health care-company for the selling of the medicament "Cell Cept" in China, where over 90% of the organs for transplantation comes from executed prisoners - against their own will.
Newmont received the 2009 award for its Akyem project in Ghana. According to the jury it had destroyed unique natural habitats, carried out forced resettlement of local people and polluted soil and rivers. Newmont described the information as misleading and said the project had been extensively studied by international and national environmental experts, members of the local communities, and by the appropriate governmental agencies and departments.
BWFK FMB Energie AG became the Swiss Award for their participation at German Bituminous coal-burning power plants and the same time-propagation of power efficiency and renewable energy in Switzerland.
The positive Award was given to two members of the union Sintracarbon in Columbia for their fight for better work conditions for the workers in the biggest coal mine of the country (El Cerrejón).
Both the People’s Award and the Global Award were given to French state-owned Areva for the suppression of true health conditions of uranium mine workers at subsidiaries Somaïr and Cominak in northern Niger. Therefore, the hospitals would diagnose patients with HIV when they were actually displaying symptoms of cancer caused by radioactive contamination of air, water and soil. Glencore was “honored” for its opaque business practices and unacceptable labor rights in Colombian coal mines.
The Positive Award went to Hess Natur, Germany’s largest mail-order house for natural fabrics, for its social and ecological involvement that stresses fair trade of its raw materials.
Bridgestone received the Global Award for the disastrous working conditions at a subsidiary in Liberia
. The workers lived in mud huts, the children were forced to work, and they had to handle highly toxic materials without protection. Novartis received the Swiss Award for the patenting of the cancer drug Imatinib, forcing a halt in production of Indian generics. As a result, ten thousand patients worldwide could no longer afford medication that slowed the spread of leukemia. The product from Novartis is ten times more expensive than the generics.
Coop received the Positive Award for its dedication to ecological products and farming in Switzerland.
For 30 years, Chevron allowed highly toxic waste water to flow into the Amazon
in Ecuador
, and for cost-saving reasons it did not pump the waste water back into the earth, which was normal practice at the time. Chevron refuses to pay for the environmental consequences and the health problems of the local communities. Citigroup received its award for the unscrupulous advice it gave to tax evaders. Walt Disney produces toys in China and does not disclose the names of the suppliers, thus protecting them from industry monitoring.
The Positive Award was given to the three organizations for their efforts against the unlawful closure of a Continental tire factory in Mexico, in which all of the organizations’ demands were met.
Dow received its award for the refusal to accept any responsibility for the 1984 catastrophe in Bhopal
. Dow merged with the company responsible for the accident. Shell received its award for gas flaring in Nigeria in residential areas. Wal-Mart denies responsibility for working conditions at its suppliers. KPMG received its award for encouraging its clients to practice aggressive tax evasion.
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
(WEF) in Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
. The Public Eye celebrated its ten-year anniversary on 28 January 2009.
The project involves non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world and is coordinated by Swiss organizations Berne Declaration (BD) and Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
Switzerland. The Public Eye is a platform for substantial criticism of "purely profit-oriented globalization. The focus of the Public Eye Awards since 2005 has been on Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
. In 2009, the Positive category was for the first time awarded for a courageous employee for his or her exemplary contributions.
2011
- Audience Award: Neste OilNeste OilNeste Oil is a Finnish oil refining and marketing company producing mainly transportation fuels and other refined petroleum products. Neste Oil shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.- History :...
Nominees were Axpo (a swiss energy company), BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, Foxconn
Foxconn
The Foxconn Technology Group is a multinational business group anchored by the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. , a Taiwan-registered corporation headquartered in Tucheng, Taiwan...
and Philip Morris
Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...
- Jury: AngloGold AshantiAngloGold AshantiAngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global gold mining company. It was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation.AngloGold Ashanti Limited is now a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents...
2010
- Winners: 2x Roche (Swiss, People), Royal Bank of CanadaRoyal Bank of CanadaThe Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
(Global), water mandate of UN Global Compact (Greenwash)
The Public Eye Award in the category Swiss and People was given to the Swiss health care-company for the selling of the medicament "Cell Cept" in China, where over 90% of the organs for transplantation comes from executed prisoners - against their own will.
2009
- Winners: 2x Newmont Mining Corporation (Global, People), BKW FMB Energie AGBKW FMB Energie AGThe BKW FMB Energie AG is a power production and distribution utility with headquarter in Berne, Switzerland. Through some subsidiaries or partner companies it also provides gas and heat...
(Swiss) - Positive Award: Freddy Lozano and Jairo Quiroz Delgado, executive members from the trade unionTrade unionA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
Sintracarbon.
Newmont received the 2009 award for its Akyem project in Ghana. According to the jury it had destroyed unique natural habitats, carried out forced resettlement of local people and polluted soil and rivers. Newmont described the information as misleading and said the project had been extensively studied by international and national environmental experts, members of the local communities, and by the appropriate governmental agencies and departments.
BWFK FMB Energie AG became the Swiss Award for their participation at German Bituminous coal-burning power plants and the same time-propagation of power efficiency and renewable energy in Switzerland.
The positive Award was given to two members of the union Sintracarbon in Columbia for their fight for better work conditions for the workers in the biggest coal mine of the country (El Cerrejón).
2008
- Winners: 2x ArevaArevaAREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
(Global, People), GlencoreGlencoreGlencore International plc is a multinational mining and commodities trading company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland and with its registered office in Saint Helier, Jersey...
(Swiss)
- Positive Award: Hess Natur
Both the People’s Award and the Global Award were given to French state-owned Areva for the suppression of true health conditions of uranium mine workers at subsidiaries Somaïr and Cominak in northern Niger. Therefore, the hospitals would diagnose patients with HIV when they were actually displaying symptoms of cancer caused by radioactive contamination of air, water and soil. Glencore was “honored” for its opaque business practices and unacceptable labor rights in Colombian coal mines.
The Positive Award went to Hess Natur, Germany’s largest mail-order house for natural fabrics, for its social and ecological involvement that stresses fair trade of its raw materials.
2007
- Winners: BridgestoneBridgestoneThe is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
(Global), NovartisNovartisNovartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
(Swiss) - Positive Award: Coop Switzerland
Bridgestone received the Global Award for the disastrous working conditions at a subsidiary in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. The workers lived in mud huts, the children were forced to work, and they had to handle highly toxic materials without protection. Novartis received the Swiss Award for the patenting of the cancer drug Imatinib, forcing a halt in production of Indian generics. As a result, ten thousand patients worldwide could no longer afford medication that slowed the spread of leukemia. The product from Novartis is ten times more expensive than the generics.
Coop received the Positive Award for its dedication to ecological products and farming in Switzerland.
2006
- Winners: ChevronChevron CorporationChevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
(Environment), citigroupCitigroupCitigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
(Taxes), Walt DisneyWalt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
(Social) - Positive Award: Euzkadi Union SNRTE, GermanwatchGermanwatchGermanwatch Nord-Süd-Initiative e.V. , usually called Germanwatch, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Bonn, Germany. It seeks to influence public policy over trade, the environment, and relations between countries in the industrialized north and underdeveloped south...
and FIAN
For 30 years, Chevron allowed highly toxic waste water to flow into the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, and for cost-saving reasons it did not pump the waste water back into the earth, which was normal practice at the time. Chevron refuses to pay for the environmental consequences and the health problems of the local communities. Citigroup received its award for the unscrupulous advice it gave to tax evaders. Walt Disney produces toys in China and does not disclose the names of the suppliers, thus protecting them from industry monitoring.
The Positive Award was given to the three organizations for their efforts against the unlawful closure of a Continental tire factory in Mexico, in which all of the organizations’ demands were met.
2005
- Winners: Dow (Human Rights), ShellRoyal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
(Environment), Wal-MartWal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
(Labor Rights), KPMGKPMGKPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
(Taxes)
Dow received its award for the refusal to accept any responsibility for the 1984 catastrophe in Bhopal
Bhopal disaster
The Bhopal disaster also known as Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world's worst industrial catastrophes. It occurred on the night of December 2–3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India...
. Dow merged with the company responsible for the accident. Shell received its award for gas flaring in Nigeria in residential areas. Wal-Mart denies responsibility for working conditions at its suppliers. KPMG received its award for encouraging its clients to practice aggressive tax evasion.