The Unsuitablog

The Public Eye Awards (formerly Public Eye on Davos) are a critical counterpoint to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Organized since 2000 by the Berne Declaration (BD) and Pro Natura (the latter replaced by Greenpeace in 2009), Public Eye reminds the players of the global economy who impact people and the environment with destructive business practices that actions have consequences – in this case for the image of the company. We present shame-on-you-awards to the nastiest corporate players of the year. Two of these (in the categories „Global“ and „Swiss“) will be awarded by an in-house jury of experts while winner of the people’s award will be chosen by the people, who can vote online (http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote).

The deregulation of world markets has greatly expanded the range of transnational corporations. This change has come about at such a rapid pace that national laws have long lost their ability to impose an orderly framework. The voluntary restraint or social/environmental commitment pledged by companies is often not worth the glossy paper it is printed on. Patents that price life-saving drugs out of reach of poor populations, natural resources exploited without regard for the local environment, or workers exploited ruthlessly in a race to the bottom, you name it – there is nothing that the global players assembled in Davos will not do to improve their bottom line. In the second year of a major world economic recession it is more important than ever to remind corporations of their social and environmental responsibility. We want a legal framework that will hold them accountable for their practices.

Starting this year, Public Eye also presents a „Greenwash Award“ to account for the rapidly growing number of institutions that fabricate social-environmental fig leaves in an attempt to make inveterate corporate players look greener than they are.

As the “Mother of all Window Dressers,” the WEF would naturally be a serious contender for this special award. The shortlist for the most dubious eco or social distinction includes the the highly-diluted CEO Water Mandate, a greenwashing project launched in 2007 within the framework of the UN Global Compact by (then) Nestlé boss Peter Brabeck to tackle the water crisis. But instead of doing so, CEO Water Mandate pursues systematic water privatization without meeting mandatory environmental or social criteria . Other nominees for the Greenwash award are he Round Table for Responsible Soy, co-initiated by WWF, and the partially state-owned Health Promotion Switzerland foundation.

Nominees for the Public Eye People’s award include Roche for organ transplantation from executed prisoners in China, the Royal Bank of Canada and the International Olympic Comittee. Voting takes place online on www.publiceye.ch/en/vote until January 27th. The more people vote, the more powerful the message!

This is a guest article, written by Annina Rohrbach of Public Eye, Switzerland.