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Public Eye Awards 2014
The annual "Public Eye Awards", cordinated by Greenpeace Switzerland & Berne Declaration, are for companies with the “worst corporate social responsibility records”.
This year, the nominations include the following allegations against companies:
- BASF, Bayer, Syngenta: toxic pesticides killing bees essential for environment, agriculture & global food production
- Eskom: impacts on health & environments through coal-fired power stations in South Africa
- FIFA: forced evictions & impacts on local communities through construction work for World Cup in Brazil
- Gap: lack of effective commitment to protecting workers' health & safety in Bangladesh
- Gazprom: damage to the environment through oil spills
- Glencore Xstrata: negative effects on social, cultural & political rights of local communities & indigenous groups, including forced displacement
- HSBC: financing companies including Sime Darby & Wilmar associated with land grabs & human rights abuses
- Marine Harvest: impacts on indigenous peoples' livelihoods & damage to environment in Chile
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited the companies to respond to the allegations. Companies' responses & non-responses are available below:
- BASF response [PDF]
- Bayer response [DOC]
- Eskom did not respond
- FIFA response [DOC]
- Gap response [DOC]
- Gazprom did not respond
- Glencore Xstrata response [PDF]
- HSBC response [DOC]
- Marine Harvest response [PDF] & additional comment [DOC]
- Sime Darby response [DOC]
- Syngenta response [PDF]
- Wilmar International did not respond, but referred us to a press release announcing its "No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation Policy" aiming to protect communities and forests.