CSR News Stories
Peru: Pluspetrol in spotlight over Amazon rainforest pollution
Argentinian firm Pluspetrol is in the firing line after Peru declared an environmental state of emergency in the Amazon rainforest. High levels of barium, lead, chrome and other petroleum-related chemicals have been found. Pluspetrol has operated the oil fields nearby since 2001.
US: BP kicks back over 'fictitious' compensation pay-outs
BP is taking legal action to prevent administrators for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill compensation fund from paying out to people and companies that it said had suffered no damage.
Indonesia: Asia Pulp & Paper to stop cutting natural forest timber
Asia Pulp & Paper, one of the most controversial companies worldwide for its forestry practices, has said that it is to stop using timber from Indonesia's natural forests, instead using only trees from plantations.
UK: Waitrose puts hold on Shell partnership after social media storm
Retailer Waitrose has said it is putting its plans to expand its partnership with Shell on hold, following attacks against the company by environmental campaigners. The company, which goes to great lengths to ensure good practices in its supply chain for food, was planning on opening more shops at Shell petrol stations.
China: Protests against polluting plants on the rise
Demonstrations against the proposed expansion of a petrochemical plant in Ningbo have concluded with the city backing down on the plans. The move is the latest chapter in a growing trend of response against pollution caused by Chinese factories.
Brazil: Chevron head threatened with 30 years jail over spill
Criminal charges are being brought against 17 employees of Chevron and Transocean for an oil spill in Rio de Janeiro. Prosecutors said that George Buck, the head of Chevron's operations in Brazil, should go to prison for 31 years for his part in creating a major incident of pollution.
France: Monsanto found guilty of chemical poisoning
Monsanto has been found guilty by a court in Lyon of poisoning farmer Paul Francois who suffered neurological problesm after using the company's Lasso weedkiller. The suit charged that Monsanto had failed to provide sufficient warnings on the product label.
Netherlands: Walmart blacklisted by major pension fund
The country's biggest pension fund, Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds, has stated that it is to blacklist Walmart for a range of factors concerning its social and environmental practices.
Japan: Tepco failed to act on risk assessment of tsunami
Tokyo Electric Power Co. was told five years ago that there was a 10 percent chance of a major tsunami event, but failed to act on the information.
Nigeria: Shell linked to military abuses in 1990s
Shell funded police actions in Ogoniland that led to human rights abuses, according to court documents recently released. Confidential internal communications suggest that the company paid Nigeria's military to stop protests against its presence.
US: Sports brands respond to Greenpeace toxics campaign
Adidas, Nike and Puma have committed themselves to 'Zero Toxic Pollution' by 2020 following a 'detox' campaign by Greenpeace. The companies have been in discussions to create a cross industry standard after the campaign group highlighted chemicals used in textile manufacturing.
UK: Energy companies dodgy sales tactics pressure customers
A parliamentary select committee has said that energy companies are using sales trickery to push people into switching energy suppliers on the doorstep. It called for the firms to compensate people who were mis-sold gas and electricity contracts.
US: SRI investors target lobby group members over climate change
A number of socially responsible investor groups have criticised companies that have a progressive position on climate change but which remain members of the Board of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). According to the group, NAM lobbies for measures to weaken EPA regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Japan: Tepco faces unlimited liability for nuclear disaster
Tokyo Electric Power, the company responsible for the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, should be held liable to an unlimited degree according to the government. Officials are working with the company and the banks to work out how the utility could withstand the huge number of compensation claims to follow.
Ecuador: Chevron fined for major pollution of Amazon
US oil company Chevron has been fined $8.6bn by a court in Ecuador for dumping massive quantities of toxic materials into unlined pits and rivers. The company has condemned the ruling as "fraudulent".
Indonesia: Major palm oil producer promises to protect rainforest
Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (GAR) has said that it will end deforestation in sensitive areas of Indonesia's forest, and will protect forests and peatlands that have a high level of biodiversity. The move is a major turn-around for the biggest company dealing in palm oil in the country, and second largest in the world.
Japan: Three quarters of companies ignore biodiversity
According to an Environment Ministry survey, the majority of Japanese firms ignore the impact that their operations may have on biodiversity.
Sustainable tuna claims dropped after Greenpeace campaign
One of the UK's main brands of tinned tuna, Princes, has said it will drop claims from its packaging that fishing methods used for its product protected the environment and marine life. The move came after Greenpeace complained to the Office of Fair Trading about the claims which, the group said, were misleading to the public.
US: Mixed messages for BP from Oil Spill Commission report
BP was able to take heart that the US government inquiry into the Gulf of Mexico disaster has concluded that it agrees with 90 percent of the company's own conclusions about the event. However, the company is still strongly criciticised, and others have been bitterly attacking the report for letting the company off too easily.
BP links staff bonuses to safety improvements
BP's new chief executive Bob Dudley has told employees that the only basis for judging performance in the coming quarter will be on progress made in reducing risk and raising safety standards. The message, which was announced in an email leaked to the Wall Street Journal, was the latest sign that the new regime at the company are working on improving its image.
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Special Feature
Social responsibility and finance - on the precipice
In a recent article, the BBC's economics editor Robert Peston highlighted the fact that in 2012 the chances are that the economy - punch drunk as it is from the various flavours of debt crisis it has been pummelled with over the course of the year - will be hit by the collapse of a major bank and / or government.
