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Finance & banking companies

See also the following sections of this website:

• Export regulations / Export credit agencies / Loans for major projects
• Insurance companies
• Socially-responsible investing, shareholder activism & divestment: The human rights element
• Links: Socially-responsible investment, shareholder activism & divestment

Websites:

Austrian bank claims website

CEE Bankwatch Network (Network's mission is to prevent environmentally & socially harmful impacts of international development finance)

Citigroup Campaign (Rainforest Action Network)

Company Policies for EEO [Equal Employment Opportunities] in Banking, Finance and Insurance Services (International Labour Organization)

Corporations and Cooperation with the Nazis (Holocaust History Project)

Financial Compensation for Nazi Slave Laborers website (ReligiousTolerance.org)

Financial Institutions Initiative -...Signatories to the UNEP FI Statement by Financial Institutions on the Environment and Sustainable Development commit to the integration of environmental considerations into all aspects of their operations. (United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiatives)

• Financial Institutions Initiative Signatories - By Company

• UNEP Statement by Financial Institutions on the Environment & Sustainable Development (United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiatives, May 1997)

• {···español} PNUMA  - Declaración de instituciones financieras acerca del medio ambiente y desarrollo sostenible (Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente, mayo 1997)

• {···français} PNUE : Déclaration des institutions financières sur l'environnement et le développement durable (Programme des Nations Unies pour l'environnement, mai 1997)

• {···português} Declaração Internacional da Banca sobre Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Sustentável (Programa das Nações Unidas para o Ambiente)

Grameen Bank (Bangladesh)

Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York State Banking Department website

Holocaust Litigation (including German Slave/Forced Labor) (Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll law firm)

Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation (Swiss Banks) website {···other languages}

Human Rights Guidelines for Pension Fund Trustees (Amnesty International UK Business Group)

The IBLF [Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum] in Zambia [refers to collaboration with private sector, including BP Zambia, Phonix Contractors, Zambia National Business Society, Investrust Merchant Bank Zambia, Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Zamcell] (Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum)

Industry Watch: Financial Services (Washington Post)

MicroFinance Network

Pilot project: Southern Africa Business and Gender Initiative [companies participating: ABSA, SAB-Beer Divisions, Vodacom, Toyota, Old Mutual] (Resource Centre for the Social Dimensions of Business Practice)

A Search For Justice [website about the progress of European banks and companies in returning World War II-era funds deposited by Holocaust victims and their families, and restitution for slave and forced labour during World War II] (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasury Department)

Thai Business Initiative in Rural Development (TBIRD), examples of succesful projects: Nakornthon Bank (Population and Development Association [PDA], Thailand)

UNEP Finance Initiatives: Innovative financing for sustainability (United Nations Environment Programme)

Vatican Bank Claims: Restitution & justice for atrocity and concentration camp survivors of Serb, Jewish and Ukrainian background and their relatives (Law Offices of California Attorneys, Thomas Dewey Easton & Jonathan H Levy)

www.floodwallstreet.org / The Three Gorges Action Coalition [human rights and environmental groups working to halt the flow of foreign capital to the Three Gorges Dam in China] 

Statements by business people about human rights and business:

Craig Mackenzie, Director of Socially Responsible Investment, Friends Ivory & Sime (UK)

Christian Stenger, Managing Director, DSW Investments (Germany)

Peter Sutherland, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International and Co-Chairman of BP (United Kingdom)

Statements by business people about general corporate social responsibility:

Margie Keeton, Executive Director, Tshikululu Social Investments (South Africa)

George Soros, President of Soros Fund Management (USA)

Other materials:

2003:

Barclays Support West Africa Aids Foundation - Barclays Bank Ghana, has donated 275 million cedis to the West Africa Foundation a non - Governmental Organization (NGO) which offers free testing, counselling, caring and treatment of people living with HIV/ AIDS. (Accra Mail [Ghana], 2 May 2003)

Ford and Fannie Mae Top List of 50 Best Companies for Diversity [USA] -...The ranking took into consideration many different aspects of diversity, including race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability, among others...The top ten companies on the list included Ford, Fannie Mae, American Express, Verizon, IBM, SAFECO, Deloitte & Touche, Eastman Kodak, Bank of America, Xerox (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 24 Apr. 2003)

Earth Day Founder Not the Only One to Link Climate Change and Investing - The voices of institutional investors representing public pension funds join those from the insurance industry to advance a business case for addressing climate change...Mr. Hayes [Earth Day founder Denis Hayes] pointed out that precious few companies are following the examples of BP, DuPont, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson, which are recognizing the business case for improving environmental performance and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 22 Apr. 2003)

In the green dock: corporate targets [sub-section of article entitled "Asda 'exploiting loophole' for store space"] - FoE [Friends of the Earth] is also targeting some of Britain's largest listed firms, which it claims are putting profits before people and the environment; it has bought shares in 18 publicly quoted firms and has been questioning boards about the impact their businesses are having on the environment. The campaign, to run through the summer, started this week when FoE accused Rio Tinto of human rights abuses and environmental destruction in Indonesia at its AGM. FoE is also pushing for UK law changes requiring firms to take account of their wider responsibilities and offer affected communities redress or compensation when they fail to do so. The 18 firms targeted...: British American Tobacco (Activities in Burma and use of pesticides in Brazil); Associated British Ports; Rio Tinto (Destructive mining activities in Indonesia); Shell (Environmental damage in the Philippines; South Africa, Nigeria and US); Barclays (Rainforest destruction in Indonesia); BP (Impact of the Baku to Ceyan Russian pipeline); Anglo American (Mining in South America and Africa); BAE Systems; Amec (Subsidiary Spie has a construction contract for BP's Baku-Ceyan pipeline); Premier Oil; Balfour Beatty; P&O; HSBC (Oil industry involvement in Sudan); Tesco; British Airways; Sainsbury; Safeway; BAA. (Julia Finch & Neil Hume, Guardian [UK], 19 Apr. 2003)

Poor fellow mining country - Steering a big bank and a huge mining company, Leon Davis [chairman of Westpac, deputy chairman of Rio Tinto] puts Aboriginal disadvantage first on his unusual agenda...Westpac recently issued Australia's first comprehensive triple bottom line report...Rio Tinto has made striking progress in its relations with Aboriginal communities in Australia, winning praise from indigenous leaders such as Marcia Langton and Mick Dodson. Davis was key to this policy, spearheading the company's decision to set aside legal hostilities and negotiate with Aboriginal people to form binding voluntary agreements covering native title...Westpac staff volunteers spend four weeks in Aboriginal communities providing mentoring on family financial and small business skills...Rio Tinto has a huge legacy of community conflict to come to terms with [including] the Jabiluka uranium mine, the Weipa industrial dispute, the Bougainville copper mine, allegations of human rights abuses at the huge (albeit minority-owned) FreeportGrasberg copper mine in West Papua, and ongoing debate about disposal of mine tailings at the Lihir gold mine in Indonesia. Recently, for example, Rio Tinto has opposed any ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by Australia. (Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Apr. 2003)

Citigroup's statement re Rainforest Action Network & the environment [RAN and Citigroup call ceasefire] - Citigroup has been engaged in an ongoing dialogue with Rainforest Action Network and other stakeholders regarding our mutual concerns about the environment and related issues. We have now entered into a period to explore comprehensive solutions to these issues...Citigroup has led efforts to establish industry-wide environmental standards for project finance, and has released a draft known as the Equator Principles...In the short term, Citigroup will take additional measures to reduce degradation or destruction of endangered ecosystems in the conduct of our business...We believe that our partnership with RAN can lead to an even deeper understanding of how the financial services industry can help promote sustainable development while protecting the environment. (Citigroup, 15 Apr. 2003)

• Citigroup's letter to its Shareholder Dialogue Group and Rainforest Action Network -...we will also seek to identify investments in less carbon-intensive sources of energy moving forward. (Citigroup, 14 Apr. 2003)

{···français} Apartheid: des firmes sommées de réparer - Des plaignants sud-africains réclament des milliards de dollars ( Sabine Cessou, Libération, 12 avril 2003)

FleetBoston Financial Releases Sustainability Report - FleetBoston Financial today released its first annual sustainability report...The report further emphasizes Fleet's leadership role in promoting sustainability in the finance industry in partnership with the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), and the United Nations Environment Programme Financial Institutions Initiative (UNEP FI). Fleet further built upon its longstanding commitment to the community when it became the first financial institution to endorse both of the voluntary codes of conduct associated with CERES and UNEP FI. (FleetBoston Financial, 11 Apr. 2003)

Banks in drive for project principles - The drive by Citigroup and large European providers of project finance in emerging markets to obtain industry-wide adherence to the International Finance Corporation's social and environmental guidelines may increase pressure on export credit agencies to do the same..."In the past, the US Export-Import bank has taken the lead on environmental standards and issues of transparency," said John Sohn, an expert on export credit agencies at Friends of the Earth...The impetus behind the US lead was in part due to financing of the controversial Three Gorges dam in China in 1996. The US Export-Import bank decided not to finance the project...Non-US ECAs, such as Germany's Hermes and Export Development Canada, less constrained by environmental standards, provided some finance for the dam. In an attempt to create a level playing field, the US Export-Import Bank began promoting within the OECD the concept of common and transparent environmental standards but its moves have generally been met with resistance. (Demetri Sevastopulos, Financial Times, 9 Apr. 2003)

• Four banks adopt IFC agreement - At least four European and US banks plan to adopt the International Finance Corporation's social and environmental guidelines for project finance in emerging markets, a clear signal that banks are awakening to the risks of socially irresponsible investing. ABN Amro, Barclays, Citibank and WestLB, in collaboration with the IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank, have drafted an agreement called the "Equator Principles"...Under the agreement, the banks agree to adopt the IFC's social and environmental rules for sustainable development, which include guidelines on issues ranging from environmental assessment and natural habitats to indigenous peoples and child and forced labour. (Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times, 6 Apr. 2003)

• Four Banks Adopt Social and Environmental Guidelines for Developing World Projects (Business for Social Responsibility News Monitor summary of article in Financial Times, 7 Apr. 2003)

Firms urged to help control Aids [Thailand] - Incentives suggested for businesses - International organisations urged the business sector yesterday to make the HIV/Aids epidemic one of the ``bottom line issues'' at the workplace. A one-day study programme, entitled ``Thailand CEO study mission on HIV/Aids'', was organised by Thailand Business Coalition on Aids (TBCA) to brief top management people about the HIV/Aids epidemic's impact on businesses and their employees. It was attended by more than 25 CEOs and senior managers of leading firms in Thailand including Unocal, Nike, Siam Commercial Bank, Thai Airways International and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. (Preeyanat Phanayanggoor, Bangkok Post, 5 Apr. 2003)

Sex bias ruling set to shake up bonuses [UK] - City employers were yesterday warned not to use "opaque" bonus schemes to circumvent equal pay rules as Louise Barton, the former top-ranking media analyst, won her appeal in a discrimination claim against Investec Henderson Crosthwaite. (Nikki Tait, Financial Times, 4 Apr. 2003)

• Sex discrimination case could spell the end for City's secretive pay structure [UK] - A chill must have swept through many a City boardroom yesterday after Louise Barton won her appeal in a high-profile sex discrimination case. The case has shone a spotlight on the secretive pay structures of investment banks, which are known for paying large discretionary bonuses. (Lina Saigol, Financial Times, 4 Apr. 2003)

Appeal victory for Barton [UK] - Former media analyst Louise Barton won her sex discrimination and equal pay appeal today in a judgment she said sounded the "death knell" of the secret bonus culture in the City. Ms Barton took action against investment bank Investec Henderson Crosthwaite after discovering her colleague, former Independent journalist Mathew Horsman, had been paid twice as much as her. (Chris Tryhorn, Guardian [UK], 3 Apr. 2003)

Treasurers Express Concern About Risks to Investments From Climate Change [USA] - Four state and city treasurers and comptrollers, representing approximately $130 billion in investments, yesterday expressed concern about the risks of climate change to long-term investments, and announced plans to hold a summit with other institutional investors to examine the issue. (GreenBiz.com, 3 Apr. 2003)

Keller Rohrback Announces International Law Suit Filed on Behalf of Apartheid Victims--Makhetha, et al. v. Credit Commercial De France, et al. - The law firm of Keller Rohrback, L.L.P. and other firms in the United States, filed a complaint that seeks to hold French and Swiss banks and other financial institutions responsible for allegedly aiding and abetting the apartheid regime in South Africa...The suit alleges that these banks provided the funding that enabled South Africa to expand its police and security apparatus. (Keller Rohrback L.L.P., 30 Mar. 2003)

Pharmaceuticals held to ransom? - Twelve of Europe's biggest investors have united in an attempt to challenge multinational drugs firms to improve access to medicines in poor countries, but, asks Jim Gough, will it change anything? -...According to Olivia Lankester, a senior analyst at Isis, eight leading pharmaceutical companies were alerted before the release of the investors' statement of good practice, and 'many of them' said they would welcome the initiative...GSK [GlaxoSmithKline] chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier insists the company's policies, initiatives and commitments are already consistent with the investors' proposed framework. He believes GSK is the only company undertaking research and development into the prevention and treatment of the World Health Organisation's top priority diseases in the developing world, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria...Nathan Ford, MSF's [Médecins Sans Frontières'] access to medicines adviser, says: 'I'm completely unconvinced that the industry is responding anything like adequately enough"...The Scottish arm of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry...said access to drugs can be limited by weaknesses among the governments of poor nations.  A spokeswoman said: 'Everybody concentrates on the patents -- but that is not the major issue. (Sunday Herald [Scotland], 30 Mar. 2003)

More Indonesians to sue Japan over aid-funded dam - More than 4,000 Indonesians will join a lawsuit against the Japanese government, demanding compensation for a dam funded by aid from Tokyo [Kotopanjang Dam in Sumatra] and which they say has destroyed their livelihood, supporters said yesterday...Also named in the original suit were the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a semi-governmental bank that provides loans to foreign countries and overseas projects, and Tokyo Electric Power Services Co, an affiliate of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), Japan's largest utility. (Reuters, 27 Mar. 2003)

Firms Cautious On Calls for Apartheid Reparations [South Africa] - Stunned silence from large parts of the business sector greeted the news that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recommended to government that SA's businesses be made to pay reparations to victims of apartheid unless they offer to play a more substantial role in reconstructing the country. The commission's suggestions included a wealth tax or a one off levy on corporate or private income. The commission singled out three business sectors that benefited particularly from apartheid policies: parastatals like Eskom, mining companies like Anglo American and international institutions like the Swiss banks. (Nicola Jenvey, Lesley Stones, Julie Bain, Carli Lourens & Charlotte Mathews, Business Day [South Africa], 26 Mar. 2003)

• Business responds to reparations call [South Africa] - Business leaders are not happy about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for apartheid reparations. [refers to Anglo American, Grindrod, McCarthy] (iafrica.com, 26 Mar. 2003)

HIV/AIDS Could Cause Major Economic Crisis in 'Emerging Markets'; Some Companies Providing Prevention, Treatment to Workforce - Not only is the HIV/AIDS pandemic a "humanitarian disaster," but the disease could also cause an "economic crisis" in "emerging markets" such as South Africa, China and the former Soviet Union...A number of banks, including Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank, have said that HIV/AIDS statistics will have to be included in financial forecasting, stock selection, asset allocation and risk underwriting. [refers to Gold Fields and Anglo American] (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 25 Mar. 2003)

Investors pressure drug firms on pricing - Multinationals urged to allow developing countries to sidestep patents on life-saving treatments - Drug companies were given a stark warning yesterday that blocking access to life-saving drugs at affordable prices by poor countries could undermine public confidence in them and damage the value of their shares in the long term. The unprecedented pressure on the multinationals comes from major City institutions with investments of more than £600bn and backed by well-known names such as Jupiter, Schroders and Legal and General Investment Management. (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 25 Mar. 2003)

• Financial institutions launch statement on pharmaceuticals and the health crisis in emerging markets (ISIS Asset Management, 24 Mar. 2003)

• full statement: "Investor Statement on pharmaceutical companies and the public health crisis in emerging markets" (ISIS Asset Mgt., Universities Superannuation Scheme, Insight Investment, Henderson Global Investors, Schroders, Legal & General Investment Mgt., Morley Fund Mgt., Co-operative Insurance, Jupiter, Ethos, PGGM, Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church, 24 Mar. 2003)

• Drugs industry told to do more for poor - The pharmaceuticals industry risks damaging its reputation and future profits if it does not do more to respond to health crises in poor countries, a group of European institutional investors said on Monday. (Reuters, 24 Mar. 2003) 

• Investors issue a wake-up call to the global pharmaceutical industry (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 26 Mar. 2003)

The UK Corporate Sustainability Reporting Awards [refers to The Co-operative Bank, Shell,  BT Group, Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd., Unilever, Scottish Power, Canary Wharf Group, Best Foot Forward Ltd, FRC Group, Co-operative Insurance Society, Traidcraft, British American Tobacco] (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 25 Mar. 2003)

Kill a watt and save the planet - and your money - It is 10 in the evening at Liverpool Street in the heart of London's financial district. The work day is over and office blocks are deserted but every window in row upon row of office buildings is ablaze with light...It is the same in every business district across Britain, throughout Europe and indeed, the world - a waste of electricity that is adding billions of tonnes of harmful greenhouse gases every year to Earth's atmosphere. (Reuters, 25 Mar. 2003)

Drug giants 'next tobacco' warning - The pharmaceutical industry risks becoming the "new tobacco" unless it cleans up its act in developing countries, an influential group of investors has warned. The global drugs industry must do more to help poor countries facing health crises, according to investors from the US and continental Europe. (BBC News, 24 Mar. 2003)

Strategic alliances and partnerships to tackle urban water problems - As delegates pour into Japan this week for the Third World Water Forum, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) – a long-standing advocate of public-private partnerships for delivering water to those without access to it – used today’s CEO Forum to announce the start of its new project on urban water. Co-chaired by Gérard Payen of Suez, France, the project will be supported by a broad cross section of business, including water users, water operators and the financial sector. Its vision is to find ways to deliver affordable and sustainable water supply and sanitation for 100% of the world’s urban and peri-urban populations. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 19 Mar. 2003)

AARP, Virginia Law Firm Sue Capital One [USA] - The AARP has joined an age discrimination lawsuit filed in Virginia against Capital One Financial Corp. (AP, 16 Mar. 2003)

Unocal adopts company-wide principles - Unocal Corporation has announced the adoption of new corporate principles covering fundamental rights, such as freedom from discrimination in employment, the elimination of child labour and freedom of association and collective bargaining. The move was welcomed by the Amalgamated Bank, which was one of the company's investors that had urged the company to take the step in a shareholder resolution that won 32.8 percent support at the company's AGM - at the time the largest ever such vote of support recorded for a human rights motion...Unocal has been the focus of criticism due to its business activities in Myanmar - particularly alleged complicity with the actions of security services who committed various human rights violations. (Business Respect newsletter No. 52, 15 Mar. 2003)

The launch of the UK Corporate Responsibility Index - Toby Kent reports from the launch of the BitC [Business in the Community] Corporate Responsibility Index, highlighting its main components and the major issues it raises. (Toby Kent, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 14 Mar. 2003)

• Results of first Corporate Responsibility Index published [UK] - Business in the Community has released the results of its first annual Corporate Responsibility Index today. The index publicly benchmarks the responsible business practice of top companies in the UK...Companies in the top quintile are: 3M; AstraZeneca; Aviva; BAA; BP; BT Group; Carillion; Dow Chemical Company; ISIS; J Sainsbury; Marks & Spencer; mm02; National Grid Transco; Rio Tinto; Safeway; ScottishPower; Shell International; Tesco; Unilever; Waste Recycling Group; Co-operative Bank; Co-operative Insurance Society; Innogy Holdings; Lafarge Cement UK; Vivendi Water. (Business in the Community, 12 Mar. 2003)

• Corporate Responsibility Index (Business in the Community)

• 2002 Index Results (Business in the Community)

• New UK Index Rates Corporate Social Responsibility Performance (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 13 Mar. 2003)

Pension funds and SRI [UK] - Recent research suggests that even when current financial troubles have receded the onward march of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) may be much slower than many have predicted, writes Roger Cowe - Trustees seem to be suffering from a general state of depression about the ability of pension funds to influence companies’ social and environmental performance – and the likely financial benefits even if companies do improve. (Roger Cowe, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 13 Mar. 2003)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Report Indicates Companies Ignore Warming Threat - Investment advisers Innovest said last week that the financial sector is not taking climate change seriously enough, even though global warming poses one of the most tangible risks to companies' financial performance. (UN Wire, 12 Mar. 2003)

Wells Fargo waffles on Holocaust fund - Wells Fargo & Co. reversed itself Tuesday and said it will contribute $267,000 to a war-reparations fund being created under a settlement last year between Belgium's Jewish community and its banking industry..."We sincerely apologize to the Jewish community and deeply regret any misunderstanding that our original decision may have caused," Kovacevich said. "We abhor the crimes of the Holocaust because it represents the worst form of discrimination and violation of basic human rights."...Of the 22 banks named in the $59 million settlement, Wells had been the only one to refuse to pay its assessment, arguing that it shouldn't be held responsible for the wartime actions of a Belgian bank to which it had only a tenuous connection. (Press Democrat, 12 Mar. 2003)

• Wells Fargo does an about face; will pay Belgian Holocaust survivors (AP, 12 Mar. 2003)

2 Wall St. Firings Said to Be Linked to Harassment [USA] - J. P. Morgan Chase has dismissed two investment bankers, one of whom was a managing director, after a fellow banker complained that they had sexually accosted a woman who worked with them, current and former employees at the company said this week. (Patrick McGeehan, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2003) 

INDIA: Banks, UNEP Launch Solar Power Initiative - The U.N. Environment Program and two of India's largest banks [Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank] yesterday launched a $7.6 million solar power initiative aimed at helping 18,000 households in southern India conserve energy and emit fewer pollutants...UNEP backed the project along with the United Nations Foundation and the Shell Foundation. (UN Wire, 5 Mar. 2003)

New Loans Finance Solar Power Development in India - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today launched a major new $7.6 million initiative with two of India's largest banking groups [Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank] to offer 18,000 southern Indian households low cost financing for solar generated electricity. (Environment News Service, 4 Mar. 2003)

Black clergy set boycott over alleged financing discrimination [USA] - Black clergy members from numerous states have set a March 15 boycott date against DaimlerChrysler AG unless the automaker addresses allegations of racial discrimination. The unnamed coalition claimed 240 ministers from 14 states met at a Baptist church in Harvey to protest alleged credit practices denying loans to minorities, said Sean Howard, a spokesman for the group. Consumers claiming discrimination have filed a lawsuit against the company's financing arm, DaimlerChrysler Services.. (Associated Press, 3 Mar. 2003)

When does protest work? Leading campaigners and experts told The Observer what made campaigning effective - and how companies needed to ensure that corporate accountability was not simply a PR exercise if they wanted to protect their brands and reputations. [refers to Shell, ExxonMobil/Esso, Nestle, Unity Trust Bank, Co-operative Bank, Cobbetts solicitors, Enron, Rio Tinto] (Lola Okolosie, Observer [UK], 2 Mar. 2003)

Beyond philanthropy - Roger Cowe looks at attempts by major corporations to tie social opportunities into the very core of product and market development [refers to Lattice work with young offenders & school truancy; Centrica recruitment of disabled workers; BG Group funding a geosciences course at Univ. of West Indies;  EdF providing solar energy in Mali; Hewlett-Packard project in Sao Paolo to bridge digital divide; National grid Transco work with young offenders; Deutsche Bank’s experiments with micro-credit; HSBC’s development of Islamic mortgage products; work by Barclays and LloydsTSB on diversity; Unilever “small pack” initiative that makes detergents affordable to the poor, and its role in creating the Marine Stewardship Council; Procter & Gamble developing products which meet social needs] (Roger Cowe, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 28 Feb. 2003)

SRI Issues Will Impact Companies' Financial Performance, UK Pension Fund Trustees Say - A recent survey finds that pension fund trustees in the United Kingdom view socially responsible investing (SRI) issues as linked to companies' future financial performance. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 25 Feb. 2003)

• Pension Fund Activism on Social & Environmental Issues to Increase [UK]: New report reveals increasing importance of social and environmental performance to pension fund trustees -...In the survey of over 100 member nominated trustees' of pension funds, less than one in ten believes that companies are providing enough social and environmental information for investment decisions to be analysed. The survey found that trustees believe that social and environmental issues will have a substantial impact on the financial performance of companies over the next five to ten years. (Just Pensions, 24 Jan. 2003)

• full report: Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Member Nominated Trustees (Chris Gribben & Leon Olsen, Ashridge Centre for Business & Society, Just Pensions, Trades Union Congress, 22 Jan. 2003)

New Canaan writer exposes the worst of Wall Street [USA] - Susan Antilla may not describe herself as tough, but she doesn't object to the characterization. After all, it takes a lot of fortitude to investigate gender discrimination and sexual harassment on Wall Street, then write a book that names names and clearly details the offenses. (Eileen Byrnes, Hartford Courant, 23 Feb. 2003)

• Book Chronicles Gender Discrimination on Wall Street - A new book details several women's efforts to fight sexual harassment and gender discrimination on Wall Street. Tales from the Boom-Boom Room: Wall Street vs. Women tells the story of a whistleblower who tried to hold Wall Street accountable for its treatment of women. (NPR, 20 Feb. 2003)

• Sex and the Street - book review of Tales from the Boom-Boom Room: Wall Street vs. Women by Susan Antilla (Heather Timmons, Business Week, 25 Nov. 2002)

Corporate Bill for Slavery - The federal class-action lawsuits [in USA]...seek corporate accountability for profits made from slavery, unspecified damages and the establishment of a fund for the healthcare, housing, education and economic development needs of African-Americans. They also want a full investigation of the financial underpinnings of slavery...On the other side of the lawsuits are seventeen powerful corporations. They include financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and FleetBoston; insurance companies (e.g., Aetna and New York Life); railroads (Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific and CSX); tobacco companies (R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson); and a textile manufacturer (WestPoint Stevens). (John S. Friedman, The Nation, 20 Feb. 2003)

Climate change set to impact global markets - report - Global warming is set to have a big impact on financial markets as investors revalue companies based on their exposure to climate change risk, according to a report published. Businesses could face huge extra costs from increasingly frequent natural disasters and from new legislation aimed at reducing emissions of global warming gases, the report by the Carbon Disclosure Project says. (Simon Johnson, Reuters, 19 Feb. 2003)

• First Global Survey to Query Business Leaders on Greenhouse Gas Emissions warns investors: Ignoring Climate Change Poses Big Financial Risk (Carbon Disclosure Project, 17 Feb. 2003)

• full report: Carbon Finance and the Global Equity Markets - On 31st May 2002, 35 institutional investors representing assets in excess of US $4.5 trillion wrote to the Chairmen of the FT500 Global Index companies.  They asked the companies for investment relevant information relating to greenhouse gas mitigation.  This report presents an analysis of the responses. (Carbon Disclosure Project, Feb. 2003)

• ENVIRONMENT: Saving Climate is Saving Money (Sanjay Suri, Inter Press Service, 17 Feb. 2003)

As "Green Banking" Flourishes at the Grassroots Level, 10 Leading Proponents Across the USA - "Green banking" -- in which community investing dollars from banks, credit unions, venture capital firms, foundations and other organizations are directed to support environmentally beneficial businesses and nonprofits that might otherwise be overlooked by "traditional" financial institutions -- is making major strides today across the United States. Today, the Community Investing Campaign...singled out 10 organizations that "best exemplify the building of economic opportunity and hope for individuals through community investing": Chittenden Bank; Coastal Enterprises, Inc.; Permaculture Credit Union; Rudolf Steiner Foundation; Self-Help Credit Union; ShoreBank Pacific; Sustainable Jobs Fund; Underdog Ventures, LLC; Vermont Community Loan Fund; and Wainwright Bank & Trust Company. (Social Investment Forum, in GreenMoneyJournal.com, Feb./Mar. 2003)

Protestors force way into EBRD over Baku-Ceyhan - Nine protestors demanding the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development halt funding for the controversial Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline in the Caspian [Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey] forced their way into the bank's London headquarters at midday (Reuters, 24 Jan. 2003)

NAMIBIA: Herero claims could go to court in US in March or April - The Hereros accuse Germany and two companies [Deutsche Bank and Woermann Line (now known as SAFmarine)] of forming a "brutal alliance" to exterminate over 65 000 Hereros between 1904 and 1907. (Southern Africa Documentation and Cooperation Centre, 22 Jan. 2003)

ICCR Proxy Resolutions Book Gauges Shareowner Action Climate -...the auto sector resolutions...ask General Motors and the Ford Motor Company to evaluate what new public policies would enable and assist the companies in achieving GHG emissions reductions...The utilities sector resolutions ask American Electric Power, Cinergy Corporation, Southern Company, and TXU Corporation to report on the potential economic benefits of committing to a substantial reduction in GHG emissions...Sr. Wolf also highlighted the resubmission of the renewable energy resolution at ExxonMobil...Finally, Sr. Wolf highlighted the increasing number of Canadian resolutions that are making their way into the Proxy Resolutions Book. Placer Dome (PDG) has received three separate resolutions, and the five top banks in the country have been asked to disclose their social and environmental risks. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 22 Jan. 2003)

Pressure Groups Target the Private Banks Behind Corporate Misdeeds - As the World Economic Forum meets to discuss how to restore trust in corporations, Friends of the Earth (FoE) and other leading environmental, human rights, development and labor groups will launch the Collevecchio Declaration on Financial Institutions and Sustainability as a challenge to big banks and investors (Friends of the Earth, 21 Jan. 2003)

Kuwait embraces women traders - The Kuwaiti stock exchange has created a special trading room for women, allowing them to participate directly in the market for the first time...the exchange is considering introducing female stockbrokers as a second step (BBC News, 14 Jan. 2003)

Sustainability reporting is setting the scene for the future of business management, report says -...Striking the balance is co-authored by three industry leaders: Bert Heemskerk, Chief Executive Officer, Rabobank Group, Pasquale Pistorio, President and Chief Executive Officer, STMicroelectronics, and Martin Scicluna, Managing Partner, Global Strategic Clients, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 6 Jan. 2003)

Australia To Require Investment Firms to Disclose How They Take SRI into Account - A 2002 Australian law that requires all investment firms to disclose how they take socially responsible investment issues into consideration will take effect in March 2003. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 3 Jan. 2003) 

2002:

Morgan Stanley and the New Class War - Morgan Stanley, the US-based investment banking giant, has issued a declaration of war on organized labour. In a recent "research note" to investors, Morgan Stanley US equity strategist Steve Galbraith advised them to "look for the union label…and run the other way." (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 6 Dec. 2002)

S Africa shuns apartheid lawsuits: Country needs investment, say ministers, not compensation - The South African government has refused to support a lawsuit against foreign multinationals and banks which allegedly propped up apartheid because it fears deterring investors. (Rory Carroll, Guardian [UK], 27 Nov. 2002)

press release: China: Internet users at risk of arbitrary detention, torture and even execution (Amnesty International, 26 Nov. 2002)

• full report: People's Republic of China: State control of the internet in China -...Amnesty International is concerned at reports that some foreign companies may be providing China with technology which is used to restrict fundamental freedoms. [refers to Websense, Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Microsoft, Sohu.com - a Chinese Internet portal reportedly funded by overseas companies and financed by leading investment banks and other venture capital firms from the West] (Amnesty International, 26 Nov. 2002)

• {···español} China: los usuarios de Internet, expuestos a la detención arbitraria, la tortura, e incluso la ejecución (Amnistía Internacional, 27 noviembre 2002)

Companies Will Pay for Polluting New Jersey Water [USA] - Nineteen polluters will together pay a total of $3 million to compensate the state of New Jersey and East Hanover Township for contamination of the local drinking water supply...The settling parties are: Voltronics Corporation; G & F Management; Vincent and Irene Muccione; Viscot Industries, Inc.; MCE/KDI Corporation; Colgate-Palmolive Company; Deforest Investment Co. L.L.C.; Philomena Gasparine; Estate of Sylvio Gasparine; Prime Fabricators, Inc.; Township of East Hanover; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Dorine Industrial Park Partnership; Precision Rolled Products, Inc.; Phelps Dodge Corporation (f/k/a Cyprus Amax Mineral Company); GTE Operations Support Incorporated; Ingersoll-Rand Company and Royal Lubricants Company, Inc. (Environment News Service, 25 Nov. 2002)

US bank in hot water after telling clients to pull out of unionised firms - One of America's leading investment banks, Morgan Stanley, has outraged US unions by telling clients to pull their money out of heavily unionised industries. (Charlotte Denny, Guardian [UK], 21 Nov. 2002)

Asbestos victims seek court nod for class action against Gencor [South Africa] - The Johannesburg high court will be asked tomorrow to recognise the right of people suffering from asbestos-related diseases to bring a class action for damages against Gencor, the investment holding company. [refers also to Cape plc] (Ronnie Morris, Business Report [South Africa], 18 Nov. 2002)

Environmentalists level charges against Citigroup - A California-based environmentalist group [Rainforest Action Network] this week ran a big print ad claiming Citigroup Inc., the No. 1 U.S. financial services firm, has been funding companies whose activities have hurt the environment. (Reuters, 15 Nov. 2002)

• Citigroup's Unethical Business Tactics Under Fire - New York Times Ad Targets Citigroup For Quietly Using Customers' Money To Fund World's Environmental Destruction...Citi has recently been criticized for financing the highly controversial Camisea gas project that threatens the Peruvian Amazon. Other Citi projects include the destruction of California’s Headwaters Forests and the Mimbo Nambillo Cloudforest in Ecuador, the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, funding for palm oil plantations in critical orangutan habitat in Indonesia and a pipeline through the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela. (Rainforest Action Network, Nov. 2002)

NGO Launches US Apartheid Reparations Law Suit [lawsuit in U.S. court against companies for past conduct in South Africa] - A non-governmental organisation has filed a lawsuit against 21 multinational corporations and leading international banks for helping prop up the apartheid state...The companies and banks named in the lawsuit are: Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Exxon Mobil, Caltex Petroleum, Fluor Corporation, Ford, General Motors and IBM in the United States; German-based Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, DaimlerChrysler, and Rheinmetall; Credit Suisse and UBS in Switzerland; Barclays Bank; British Petroleum, Rio Tinto and Fujitsu ICL in the United Kingdom; Total-Fina-Elf from France and Royal Dutch Shell from the Netherlands.  The list was expected to grow by at least 100 names. (South African Press Association, 12 Nov. 2002)

• Global Firms in Court for Supporting' Apartheid - A lawsuit has been lodged in a US court against 21 global business giants alleged to have earned billions through propping up apartheid. (Rob Rose, Business Day [South Africa], 13 Nov. 2002)

• Apartheid victims file lawsuit in US (AFP, 12 Nov. 2002)

• International Law Suit Filed on Behalf of Apartheid Victims - Khulumani et al. v. Barclays et al. - Today the law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. along with other firms in the United States, joins with the South African firm, Abrahams Kiewitz, in filing a complaint that seeks to hold businesses responsible for aiding and abetting the apartheid regime in South Africa in furtherance of the commission of the crimes of apartheid, forced labor, genocide, extrajudicial killing, torture, sexual assault, and unlawful detention...For example: IBM and ICL provided the computers that enabled South Africa to create the hated “pass book system” and to control the black South African population. Car manufacturers provided the armored vehicles that were used to patrol the townships. Arms manufacturers violated the embargoes on sales to South Africa, as did the oil companies. The banks provided the funding that enabled South Africa to expand its police and security apparatus. (law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, 12 Nov. 2002)

• Summary of the Complaint - Khulumani et al. v. Barclays et al. (law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, 12 Nov. 2002)

MICROCREDIT: Nearly 55 Million People Benefiting From Small Loans -...Evelyn Grandi of the Bolivian group Credito con Educacion Rural said microcredit efforts there are hindered by laws that keep commercial banks from lending without collateral. (UN Wire, 12 Nov. 2002)

Investing in Africa, challenges and initiatives - Alex Blyth looks at the principal issues around western business investment in Africa and some of the companies that are attempting to improve their impact on the landscape and people of the continent [refers to Environment: TotalFinaElf in Nigeria; Palabora Mining Company (49% owned by Rio Tinto) in South Africa; Anglo American; DeBeers; Water & sanitation: Suez in Morocco & South Africa; Thames Water in Tanzania & South Africa; Education: ChevronTexaco in Nigeria; Old Mutual in South Africa; Barclays Africa; Economic development: Richards Bay Minerals (50% owned by Rio Tinto) in South Africa; HIV/AIDS:  Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland; DaimlerChrysler in South Africa; Coca-Cola]  (Alex Blyth, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 11 Nov. 2002)

Equity at work must be tackled - Omam [Old Mutual Asset Managers] [South Africa] - Eight years after the end of apartheid rule, the economy is still dominated by whites and the government is pushing companies to do more to increase their proportion of black shareholders and managers. (Reuters, 23 Oct. 2002)

CONGO: Senior African Officials, Multinationals Implicated In Exploitation - Foreign corporations, senior African officials and criminal networks are plundering the rich natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a new 59-page report prepared for the U.N. Security Council by a U.N.-appointed independent panel...The panel calls for financial restrictions to be levied on 54 individuals and 29 companies it said are involved in the plunder, including four Belgian diamond companies and the Belgian company George Forrest, which is partnered with the U.S.-based OM Group...The report also accuses 85 South African, European and U.S. multinational corporations -- including Anglo American, Barclays Bank, Bayer, De Beers and Cabot Corporation -- of violating the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's ethical guidelines on conflict zones. (UN Wire, 21 Oct. 2002)

• Sanctions urged for Congo plunderers - A United Nations panel has called on the Security Council to impose financial sanctions against companies and individuals who plunder the Democratic Republic of Congo's wealth. (BBC News, 21 Oct. 2002)

UNEP Advises Financial Sector on Threats and Opportunities Related to Climate Change (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 17 Oct. 2002)

Schroders faces ageism suit [UK] - Michael Dobson, chief executive of fund management group Schroders, has been accused of firing the head of the firm's US operation because she was too old for the job at 55. (Jill Treanor, Guardian [UK], 9 Oct. 2002)

• Banking giant faces £20 million 'ageism' lawsuit [UK] - British investment bank Schroders is facing a multi-million-pound lawsuit claiming the firm discriminates on the grounds of age. (Ananova, 9 Oct. 2002)

DISASTERS: UNEP, Financial Companies Warn About Climate Change (UN Wire, 8 Oct. 2002)

• Financial Sector, Governments And Business Must Act On Climate Change Or Face The Consequences - Too few financial companies including banks, pension funds and insurance companies are taking the risks and opportunities posed by climate change seriously, members of the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Finance Initiatives are warning...Members of the UNEP Finance Initiatives, a unique partnership between UNEP and 295 banks, insurance and investment companies, argue that climate change-driven, natural disasters, have the potential to wreak havoc across the world's stock markets and financial centres. (U.N. Environment Programme, 8 Oct. 2002)

A War Waiting to Be Fought -...Recently, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, launched an attack on casualisation of the workforce in the country when it went about picketing companies, which thrived in casual labour in addition to operating a regime of poor working conditions....the NLC...has visited a number of companies and told their operators to convert their casual workforce to regular staff.  In Lagos , the NLC officials visited Eleganza Industries Limited, Dunlop Nigeria Limited, Afribank Nigeria plc and West African Household and Utensils Manufacturing Company Limited, WAHUM with its picketing hammer.  Chevron Nigeria Limited and Statoil Company were also picketed in the oil sector. The NLC also picketed factories of Unilever plc in Agbara, Ogun State as well as the factories of Michelin Nigeria Limited in Port Harcourt . (Obong Akpaekong, Newswatch [Nigeria], 6 Oct. 2002)

'Heart and Soul' dramatizes HIV/AIDS and other issues for millions in Africa - The intertwined lives of two African families, one well-off and the other poorer, is the setting of "Heart and Soul," a prime-time television and radio soap opera that is bringing issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, human rights and development to a potential audience of 50 million to 75 million....Beiersdorf - Nivea (East Africa), the Coca Cola Africa Foundation and Western Union are private sector sponsors. (U.N. Development Programme, 3 Oct. 2002)

EU Banks Come Up Short on Environmental Issues - European banks have much room for improvement with regard to their assessment of the environmental credit risk of projects for which potential clients are seeking funding, says a leading investment company. The study of 10 Western European banks by investment company ISIS Asset Management was designed to benchmark the environmental credit risk assessment (ECRA) procedures of banks...The leaders are Barclays, Credit Suisse Group and Lloyds TSB. Behind them the chasing pack are HSBC, ING Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered. Finally, the starting grid plays host to Santander Central Hispano, Société Générale and UniCredito Italiano. (Edie News, 1 Oct. 2002)

City analyst loses sex discrimination case [UK] -...Ms Barton, 52, claimed she was underpaid by £1m compared with a male colleague, and took her employer – Investec Henderson Crosthwaite Securities – to an employment tribunal. But yesterday, after three months of deliberation following a four-day hearing, the tribunal ruled against her claim of sexual discrimination and unequal pay. (Terri Judd, Independent [UK], 1 Oct. 2002)

Davis Signs WWII Guest Workers' Bill [USA] - Gov. Gray Davis [of California] signed legislation Sunday to give Mexican workers more time to recover wages they say were denied them when they came to the United States to work during World War II...The law is intended to help "braceros," the more than 300,000 Mexican farm workers who were contracted by the U.S. government to relieve the labor shortage during World War II...The guest workers and their heirs in 2001 sued the U.S. and Mexican governments and Wells Fargo Bank to recover the money. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed much of the suit in August, but workers' attorneys say they will continue to try to pursue the case. (Louise Chu, AP, 29 Sep. 2002)

Fannie Mae Sued for Discrimination [USA] - A mortgage applicant has sued mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae in U.S. District Court for discrimination, alleging she was denied credit because of the company's automated credit scoring system..."The credit scoring model used by Fannie Mae is inherently discriminatory in that it contains racially discriminatory assumptions that are embedded in the statistical formulas," Rahmaan's lawyers said in her lawsuit. (Mark Felsenthal, Reuters, 25 Sep. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Commonwealth Forum Urges Businesses To Respond To Crisis (UN Wire, 25 Sep. 2002)

• Firms 'must wake up to Aids' - Business bosses gathered at the Commonwealth business forum in London have been urged to take a leadership role in tackling Africa's Aids/HIV crisis...Dr Cleves [Dr Julia Cleves, a senior policy advisor at UNAIDS] praised the work of a select few big multinational firms such as Anglo American, Standard Chartered Bank and Ford for being "golden lights who are no longer afraid of dealing with the problem". (BBC News, 24 Sep. 2002)

Corporate Responsibility: Myth or Reality? [includes references to initiatives by Bell Helicopter, Bank of America, Wal-Mart, Caterpillar, ITT Industries, John Deere, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Sun Microsystems, Daimler-Chrysler] (Otto J. Reich, U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Remarks to the Inter-American Development Bank Conference on Corporate Social Governance, 23 Sep. 2002) 

ECUADOR: New Report Could Kill Pipeline Project Funding - A report by former World Bank environment chief Robert Goodland could derail plans for an internationally backed oil pipeline project in Ecuador, Inter Press Service reported yesterday. The 27-page report -- commissioned by Amazon Watch, Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace and other environmental groups and released Friday -- indicates the 500-kilometer crude oil pipeline violates the World Bank's policies on environmental assessment, natural habitats, involuntary resettlement and indigenous peoples. [refers to German bank WestLB, which leads a consortium providing $900 million in loans for the project] (UN Wire, 17 Sep. 2002)

• ENVIRONMENT-ECUADOR - Bank Expert Says Pipeline Violates Polices - In a major blow against a controversial oil pipeline project in Ecuador, the former head of the World Bank's environment department has found that the project fails to comply with the Bank's social and environmental policies. (Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, 13 Sep. 2002)

• {···español} AMBIENTE-ECUADOR Nuevo revés para polémico oleoducto - El Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP) de Ecuador viola los criterios ambientales y sociales del Banco Mundial, advirtió este viernes el ex jefe del Departamento Ambiental de la institución financiera internacional, Robert Goodland. (Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, 13 septiembre 2002)

Cape Plc fails to pay asbestos claimants [South Africa] - The lawyers of thousands of South Africans suffering from asbestos-related diseases said on Monday they would return to the United Kingdom High Court in an effort to force mining company Cape Plc to pay overdue settlement claims. (South African Press Association, in Business Report [South Africa], 16 Sep. 2002)  

• Cape plc's P5.6m goes to banks, not victims [South Africa] - Poor South Africans, thousands of them ill and dying, are unlikely to see a cent from the sale of the manufacturing division of Cape plc, the British multinational they hold responsible for their asbestos-related diseases. (Ronnie Morris, Business Report [South Africa], 16 Sep. 2002)

Author of World Bank Environmental Policies Says the OCP Crude Pipeline in Ecuador Threatens Amazon Biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples - Report Commissioned by Amazon Watch, Environmental Defense and German NGOs - Environmental groups in Germany and the US released a new report today that provides conclusive evidence that the German Bank Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB) violated its own policies in loaning $900 million to the OCP Consortium building Ecuador’s new heavy crude pipeline...The OCP Consortium includes: Alberta Energy - Encana (Canada), Occidental Petroleum (OXY- USA), AGIP (Italy), Repsol-YPF (Spain), Perez Compaanc (Argentina), and Techint (Argentina). Citibank and JP Morgan Chase have also come under fire for their financial role in the project. (Amazon Watch, Environmental Defense and German NGOs, 13 Sep. 2002)

CDVCA's Double Bottom Line [USA] - By investing capital in low-income communities, community development venture capital funds create jobs and foster economic development. (Anne Moore Odell, SocialFunds.com, 13 Sep. 2002)

Old Mutual to provide anti-Aids drugs to staff [South Africa] - Old Mutual would provide life-prolonging anti-Aids drugs to its HIV-positive staff who needed the treatment, the financial services group said yesterday. (Reuters, 11 Sep. 2002)

Asbestos case: Bankers could be held liable [South Africa] - The bankers of Cape plc, the company that reached an out-of-court settlement with South African asbestosis victims last year, would be held personally responsible if it was proved they were responsible for reneging on the agreement, the victims' legal counsel said on Tuesday. The directors of the company and its bankers, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland, were formally notified of this on Tuesday (South African Press Association, 10 Sep. 2002)

Basic change in rural India: Basix (India Ltd) provides integrated technical and financial assistance to the rural poor -...Basix (India Ltd) provides integrated technical and financial assistance through micro-credit schemes to the rural poor and women...The support services of IGS, which works in collaboration with various government co-operatives, NGOs and private sector firms, include arranging farmer-training programmes in collaboration with the local staff, supply companies as well as agro-business companies. (InfoChange [India]) [added to this website on 10 Sep. 2002]

Analysis: Banking and sustainability: Slow starters are gaining pace - Marcel Jeucken looks at the role of banks in contributing toward sustainable development and concludes that they have a major role to play (Marcel Jeucken, Senior Economist at Rabobank Group and Director of Sustainability in Finance, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 5 Sep. 2002)

'Angolans should sue multinationals and banks' - Angolans must institute legal action against a host of western multinational companies and banking institutions which enabled that country's government to commit crimes of humanity against its people, a Namibian rights group said on Tuesday. (Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 3 Sep. 2002)

Sir Corporate Responsibility and the World Summit -...Christian Aid applauds the personal commitment of Sir Mark Moody-Stuart to the cause of more socially responsible business, but it is our belief that only with international, legally-binding regulation will his commitment be matched by a fundamental change in business culture. [refers to conduct by Shell, HSBC, Talisman, Petronas] (Christian Aid, 2 Sep. 2002)

Ecology opens for business [World Summit on Sustainable Development] -...Sir Mark [Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, former chairman of Shell who now heads Business Action for Sustainable Development] is lobbying for global leaders to disregard calls by NGOs to introduce multilateral rules governing business conduct. "The summit is taking place just as massive corporate scandals are undermining economic growth and confidence throughout the world. There is widespread recognition that self-regulation has failed," says Daniel Graymore, a campaigner for Christian Aid, the UK charity. Sir Mark concedes that greater corporate accountability is needed. But he argues that standards for business should be enforced at a national rather than global level...while some NGOs remain openly hostile to business, others are keen to work with it. BASD is promoting 230 partnerships between business and NGOs at the summit. They include the secondment of staff from HSBC, the banking group, to Earthwatch environmental projects, carmaker Fiat's development of gas-powered cars and the treatment of sleeping sickness in Africa by Aventis, the pharmaceuticals group. (James Lamont & John Mason, Financial Times, 31 Aug. 2002) 

Bush abdicates America's global leadership role -...at this very moment the most powerful country in the world stands to forfeit much political capital, moral authority and international goodwill by dragging its feet on the next great global issue: the environment. (Norbert Walter, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Group, in New York Times / International Herald Tribune, 29 Aug. 2002)

ANZ Fined Over Free Speech [Australia] - The Finance Sector Union today called on the ANZ to review its relationship with its workers after the Federal Court fined it $10,000 for breaches of the Workplace Relations Act. Justice Wilcox imposed the fine after fined the ANZ had breached the law on four counts for threatening to sack suburban branch manager Joy Buckland for talking to the media about work issues. (LaborNET, Labor Council of New South Wales [Australia], 23 Aug. 2002)

Environmental Fiduciary: The Case for Incorporating Environmental Factors into Investment Management Policies - In this report, we show that fiduciaries who manage funds for institutional investors such as pension funds, foundations and charitable trusts should incorporate environmental factors into their portfolio management policies. [includes reference to DuPont, ST Microelectronics, IBM, Baxter Intl, Smithfield Foods, US Liquids, Weyerhauser, Georgia Pacific, ChevronTexaco, Marathon Oil, Deutsche Telekom, Nestle, Southern California Gas, ITT, Textron, Corning, Whole Foods, Hains Celestial] (Susannah Blake Goodman, Jonas Kron & Tim Little, The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, 21 Aug. 2002)

Campaign case study: Asian Pulp & Paper’s backers take heat for its actions -...Asian Pulp & Paper (APP), Indonesia's largest pulp and paper producer, has rarely faced direct challenges from NGOs. Instead it is the banks that fund the company that are targets for attack...Over 300 international financial bodies are identified by Friends of the Earth as providing and guaranteeing APP's assets. Investment banks such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, ABN Amro, Barclays Bank and NatWest were all fundamental in issuing bonds that kept the company afloat...The banks' reactions to these claims is mixed...The most sympathetic of the banks has been ABN Amro, which has subscribed to the investment criteria put forward by NGOs since its deal with APP...Others have been less compliant with NGO wishes. Friends of the Earth UK has set up an email campaign targeting NatWest, HSBC and Barclays. (Sophie Holtham, Reputation Impact, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 20 Aug. 2002)

Staff step nearer to forming union [Bahrain] - Workers at the Gulf Industrial Investment Company (GIIC) have formed a steering committee, which will prepare the groundwork for a trade union in the firm. This is the eighth such committee to be formed in Bahrain companies, while moves to establish steering committees are under way in two other companies. (Gulf Daily News [Bahrain], 20 Aug. 2002)

Families file $100 trillion suit against Sudan, Saudis, claiming they financed Sept. 11 attack - The suit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., on behalf of some 600 families. It seeks "an amount in excess of $100 trillion" and charges the defendants with racketeering, wrongful death, negligence and conspiracy...The complaint names more than seven dozen defendants, including the government of Sudan, seven banks, eight Islamic foundations and three Saudi princes. Those listed include... Khalid bin Salim bin Mahfouz of the National Commercial Bank and the Faisal Islamic Bank. (Laurie Kellman, Associated Press, 16 Aug. 2002)

• Victims' compensation demand corrected - The lawyer for 700 relatives of Sept. 11 victims said Friday his clients will amend their lawsuit against Saudi officials and the Sudan government to correct a mistaken demand for $100 trillion. The actual damages being sought are more than $1 trillion....An official at Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation said the company has not been officially notified of the lawsuit but stressed it has nothing to hide. (Associated Press, 16 Aug. 2002)

• Saudi royals face trillion-dollar lawsuit over September 11 (Julian Borger, Guardian [UK], 16 Aug. 2002)

13 Companies Earn Perfect Score on First HRC Corporate Equality Index [USA]: Demonstrate Leadership with Regard to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Employees - A total of 13 major U.S. corporations earned 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's first Corporate Equality Index, released today. The index rates large corporations on policies that affect their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors...The 13 companies that scored 100 percent are: Aetna Inc.; AMR Corp./American Airlines; Apple Computer Inc.; Avaya Inc.; Eastman Kodak Co.; Intel Corp.; J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; Lucent Technologies Inc.; NCR Corp.; Nike Inc.; Replacements Ltd.; Worldspan L.P.; and Xerox Corp...At the other end of the scale, three companies scored zero: CBRL Group Inc./Cracker Barrel; Emerson Electric Co.; and Lockheed Martin Corp. (Human Rights Campaign, 13 Aug. 2002)

• New Index Rates U.S. Corporations' Treatment of Homosexuals - A survey by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) of 319 U.S. companies... found that 92 percent include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies, one of seven criteria the HRC used to create its 2002 Corporate Equality Index...Companies that scored near the bottom include Emerson Electric, Exxon Mobil, Lockheed Martin, and Perot Systems. (Business for Social Responsibility News Monitor summary of article in DiversityInc, 13 Aug. 2002)

Shell faces South Africa apartheid lawsuits - Royal Dutch/Shell, the oil company, is to be cited in a multi-billion-dollar class action lawsuit brought by a team of lawyers on behalf of the victims of South Africa's apartheid regime, a lawyer said on Friday...Shell, which is accused of supplying the white minority regime with oil in violation of an anti-apartheid embargo, will be added to the list, which already includes IBM, the computer company, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, CommerzBank, UBS, Credit Suisse and Citicorp. (Nicol Degli Innocenti, Financial Times, 2 Aug. 2002)

AFL-CIO cancels protest - Fidelity agrees to discuss proxy issue with labor group [USA] - The AFL-CIO canceled a march to Fidelity Investments' headquarters yesterday after Fidelity officials agreed to meet and discuss the labor group's call for the mutual fund firm to start making its proxy votes available to the public. (Louise Story, Boston Globe, 1 Aug. 2002)

Citigroup backs sustainable business - Financial services giant Citigroup is encouraging sustainable enterprise in Latin America through its work with the World Resources Institute on the New Ventures initiative. Through a series of competitions open to entrepreneurs across Latin America, a panel of experts selects small and medium sized enterprises whose business ideas promise sustainability while respecting social and environmental factors. Selected companies attend an international investment forum, and can win access to business mentoring services...Entrepreneurial schemes to benefit from the New Ventures initiative include ecotourism operators, and producers of shrimps, charcoal, wood, coffee, and electric vehicles for delivering goods in densely populated cities. One Argentinean firm is dedicated to the sustainable breeding of the guanaco - a wild Patagonian camelid - for its wool. In Brazil, Ouro Fértil...uses coconut fibres to create biodegradable and organic products for sale on the local and international markets. (International Chamber of Commerce, 1 Aug. 2002)

Victory for mother demoted after pregnancy [Australia] -...In the Federal Court yesterday Justice James Allsop found she had been demoted and "somewhat arrogantly and shabbily" treated because she went on maternity leave. In what her solicitor, Susan Price, described as a precedent, Orica was found to have unlawfully discriminated against Ms Thomson on the grounds of pregnancy (Leonie Lamont, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 July 2002)

A bad year for FTSE4Good -...the very fact that the indices have taken such an inclusive approach has prompted claims that they are not ethical enough. Some of those who think of themselves as ethical investors wouldn't want their money going anywhere near some of the oil, gas and drugs companies and high street banks that feature in them. (Rupert Jones, Guardian [UK], 27 July 2002)

ACTU vows to press on with working hours limit [Australia] - The ACTU is pressing ahead with its campaign to limit unreasonable working hours, after yesterday's Industrial Relations Commission decision giving workers the right to refuse overtime. [refers to finance sector] (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 25 July 2002)

Playing havoc with life and health [Australia] -...working hours in the construction industry can fluctuate wildly...Yesterday's judgement in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission does...give workers the right to refuse to work overtime if this is unreasonable because of family responsibilities or a risk to health and safety. (Sherrill Nixon, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 July 2002)

• Workers win right to veto overtime [Australia] - After a case that ran for more than a year, the commission reaffirmed that managers could ask employees to work reasonable overtime but they must now consider the effects of longer hours on workers' health, safety and their family and community commitments. (Paul Robinson, The Age [Australia], 24 July 2002) 

• Less time at work, more time for family [Australia] - Workers in the banking sector are among up to five million people who could benefit from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission's ruling allowing workers to refuse excessive overtime. (Stephen Moynihan, The Age [Australia], 24 July 2002)

MINING: Partnerships Limit Environmental Impact, UNEP Says - Sustainable mineral development with minimal environmental damage depends on communication between those who finance mining projects and others involved in and affected by the process, the U.N. Environment Program said Friday as it released The Role of Financial Institutions in Sustainable Mineral Development. (UN Wire, 22 July 2002)

• New Publication from UNEP on Role of Financial Institutions in Sustainable Mineral Development -...The new report looks at the investment process from exploration through development to mine closure. It points out that it is important to identify the key financing stakeholders at each stage of mineral development and understand their role in the environmental and social performance of particular mining projects. (U.N. Environment Programme, 19 July 2002)

• full report: The Role of Financial Institutions in Sustainable Mineral Development (U.N. Environment Programme, July 2002)

South African Community Growth Fund Celebrates Tenth Anniversary - The Community Growth Fund invests in South African companies committed to sustainable development and triple bottom line reporting [refers to companies that went through protracted process before qualifying for CGF investment: South African Breweries, Rand Water, Naspers Group; companies removed from the CGF: Western Deep Level mine, Hoskens Consolidated Investments, Liberty Life; companies that refused to submit to CGF's social audit: Aspen Pharmacare, Sun International, Vanadium Corp. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 17 July 2002) 

Big companies 'should be forced to report on green performance' [UK] - Large companies should be forced by law to report on their environmental and social performance as a way of restoring public trust in the wake of the Enron, Andersen and WorldCom scandals, the chief executive of the Co-operative Bank said last night. (Alison Maitland, Financial Times, 12 July 2002)

Augusta resists pressure from women's group [USA] - A leading women's coalition has asked Augusta National Golf Club [site of The Masters tournament] to open its membership to women, but chairman Hootie Johnson says the club will not be coerced into changing its membership...Johnson said in his statement that he feared a public relations campaign against the club and tournament sponsors IBM, Citigroup and Coca-Cola. (Jerry Potter, USA Today, 10 July 2002)

Credit Suisse Financial Services gives children a ticket to life -...The Ticket to Life campaign [joint Credit Suisse Financial Services / UNICEF Switzerland campaign] seeks to ensure children everywhere have official papers, like birth certificates, obliging governments to take responsibility for their welfare. (International Chamber of Commerce, 9 July 2002)

Best companies for minorities [USA] - Diversity Leaders -...these companies have not abandoned their commitment to hiring, promoting, and retaining talented employees of all races [lists the 50 top companies; top 10: Fannie Mae, Sempra Energy, Advantica, SBC Communications, McDonald's, PNM Resources, Southern California Edison, United States Postal Service, Freddie Mac, BellSouth] (Fortune, 8 July 2002)

Banks and Human Rights: Should Swiss Banks Be Liable For Lending To South Africa's Apartheid Government? (Anita Ramasastry, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law, in FindLaw, 3 July 2002)

Longer hours lead to lawsuits over pay [USA] [regarding lawsuits about unpaid overtime; refers to Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods, Rite Aid, Bank of America, Pacific Bell, Farmers Insurance Group]  (Fay Hansen, Christian Science Monitor, 1 July 2002)

City women target banks over pay gap [UK] - Banks have been warned by groups representing women in the City to expect a 'deluge' of sex discrimination claims of the kind brought last week by star analyst Louise Barton [who brought a claim against her former employer Investec Henderson Crosthwaite]...Barton's claim comes soon after Julie Bower, another high-flying analyst, won a record £1.4m payout from Schroder Securities after taking the firm to an employment tribunal for sex discrimination and unfair dismissal. (Conal Walsh, Observer [UK], 30 June 2002)

Banks, DENR forge tieup for environment protection [Philippines] - The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) has signed an agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as well as other entities to ensure that commercial loans, especially to the manufacturing sector, are directed toward environmentally-friendly projects prior to their release. (Ted P. Torres, Philippine Star, 30 June 2002)

Belgium agrees Jewish compensation package - Representatives of the Jewish community in Belgium have signed a compensation deal worth $45m for property seized or lost during the Nazi occupation...The money is being paid by the Belgian Government, insurance companies and the central bank. Negotiations are still continuing over a separate agreement with private banks. (BBC News, 27 June 2002)

• Belgium to Pay $55 Million to Jews (Associated Press, 27 June 2002)

Activists Oppose Financing for Peruvian Gas Project - Environmental activists are lobbying hard at the United States Export-Import Bank (Exim) and the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington against loans for a controversial gas and pipeline project in Peru that they say threatens isolated groups of indigenous people and their Amazonian homeland. The project is led by Pluspetrol and Techint, two Argentinian energy companies, Texas-based HuntOil, and includes several other energy companies, including SK Corporation of South Korea, Sonatrach of Algeria, and Peru's own Grana y Montero. Citigroup...has acted as the consortium's chief financial adviser for the project. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 24 June 2002)

• EXIM Bank Urged to Deny Government Loan to Egregious Energy Project in the Amazon - Peru's Uncontacted Indigenous Peoples Threatened by Massive Camisea Gas Project (Amazon Watch, 20 June 2002)

Sexism in the City appeal dropped [UK] - Julie Bower, the former shares analyst who won her sex discrimination case against Schroder Securities, will now receive £1.4 million compensation, after Schroders dropped their appeal against the tribunal's decision. Ms Bower's case was supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). (Equal Opportunities Commission [UK], 19 June 2002)

Apartheid victims sue big business -...A team of American and South African lawyers is about to file a $50bn class action suit in New York against Swiss and US banks accused of backing the former apartheid regime [suing Citigroup, Credit Suisse & UBS for allegedly profiting from loans to the white South African government while a UN embargo was in force] (BBC News, 17 June 2002)

• Banks sued for financing apartheid regime -...The banks' loans allegedly allowed the cash-strapped pariah regime to buy arms and continue its oppression of the black majority...Other suits will be filed against other companies and banks in Switzerland, France, Germany, Britain and South Africa that made money from supporting the apartheid government, Mr Fagan said on Monday. (Nicol Degli Innocenti, Financial Times, 17 June 2002)

• US lawyer to tackle apartheid profiteering (AFP, in Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 17 June 2002)

• Swiss, U.S. Banks Face Huge Apartheid Lawsuits (Reuters, 17 June 2002)

• Apartheid Victims to Sue Banks (Associated Press, 17 June 2002)

Court OKs Amex Discrimination Settlement [USA] - A federal court has approved a $31 million settlement of a nationwide gender and age discrimination lawsuit against American Express Co.'s financial advisers unit, plaintiffs' lawyers said on Monday. (Reuters, 17 June 2002)

Human Rights in China Files Lawsuit Against the Bank of China -...charging that the BOC [Bank of China] assisted the government of China in the confiscation of humanitarian funds destined for the surviving families of the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre. (Human Rights in China, 14 June 2002)

• company website: Bank of China

Domini Social Investments Reports Record Shareholder Votes for 2002 Proxy Season - Socially Responsible Firm Says Post-Enron "Crisis of Confidence" Fueled Shareholder Discontent with Corporate Social and Environmental Performance [includes reference to Household International, Cooper Industries, Gap, Walt Disney Co., McDonald's, Nordstrom, Sears Roebuck, Coca-Cola, Pepsi] (Domini Social Investments, 12 June 2002)

Ten Planet Trashers: Why corporate accountability matters -...Friends of the Earth today publishes details of “Ten Planet Trashers”, companies whose behaviour since Rio shows the need for binding rules on corporate behaviour. [the 10 companies: Exxon Mobil (Esso), AMEC, Premier Oil, ICI, Scotts, Barclays, Associated Octel, Aventis/Bayer, BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels), Associated British Ports] (Friends of the Earth, 1 June 2002)

• company websites:
  • ExxonMobil (Esso)
  • AMEC
  • Premier Oil
  • ICI
  • Scotts
  • Barclays Group
  • Octel Corp.
  • Aventis / Bayer Group
  • BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels)
  • Associated British Ports

Pulp Fiction – Credit Suisse and the destruction of the Indonesian rainforest -... The Indonesian pulp and paper corporation Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) is responsible for the destruction of large parts of the Indonesian rainforest, one of the world’s richest in the diversity of its species, and for the expulsion of its inhabitants. Credit Suisse plays a special role among the over 300 Indonesian and international banks that finance APP. (Berne Declaration and ACTARES [Shareholders for a Sustainable Development], 31 May 2002)

• {···français} Pulp Fiction - Credit Suisse et la destruction des forêts tropicales (Déclaration de Berne & ACTARES [Actionnariat pour une économie durable], 31 mai 2002)

• {···deutsch} Pulp Fiction - Credit Suisse und die Zerstörung von Regenwald (Erklärung von Bern und ACTARES [AktionärInnen für nachhaltiges Wirtschaften], 31 Mai 2002)

Sustainable development is serious stuff for industries - ‘Sector projects’, a new WBCSD brochure, outlines the groundbreaking work carried out by six industry sectors toward sustainable development. [the 6 sectors: Forestry; Sustainable Mobility; Cement Sustainability Initiative; Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development; Electricity Utilities; Financial Sector] (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 28 May 2002)

• WBCSD Sector Projects brochure (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, May 2002)  [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

• The WBCSD’s sector projects. Speech by Mr Björn Stigson, President, WBCSD at the WBCSD Sector Report Launch side event at Prepcom IV in Bali, May 28, 2002. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 28 May 2002) [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

• The WBCSD’s sector projects. Speech by Nabiel Makarim, MPA MSM, Indonesian State Minister of the Environment and co-chair of PrepCom IV, at the WBCSD Sector Report Launch side event at Prepcom IV in Bali, May 28, 2002. (Nabiel Makarim, Indonesian State Minister of the Environment, 28 May 2002) [scroll down to "Further information", where this pdf file can be downloaded]

Union chief wins bank battle [Australia] - A national union chief has won a Federal Court case against one of the big four banks after she was threatened with the sack for speaking to the media about industrial issues. Finance Sector Union (FSU) national president Joyce Buckland today won a claim in the Federal Court in Sydney against the ANZ bank. (Herald Sun [Australia], 17 May 2002)

• Bank Manager wins freedom of speech case [Australia] - The Federal Court of Australia today ruled that the ANZ Bank had breached the law by disciplining a worker who spoke to the media in her capacity as an elected trade union official. (Finance Sector Union [Australia], 17 May 2002)

• Sector Reports - UNEP DTIE is facilitating the preparation of a series of sector reports [for World Summit on Sustainable Development], whereby international, industry organisations and associations take stock of progress towards sustainable development and outline future challenges and actions to be taken (United Nations Environment Programme)

• Sector report - Finance and insurance

TANZANIA: ILO Project Targets Child Labor, Women's Work Opportunities - The International Labor Organization has launched a project in cooperation with the government of Tanzania and the Akiba Commercial Bank to reduce the use of child labor in Tanzania by bolstering employment opportunities for women. (UN Wire, 6 May 2002)

• TANZANIA: ILO targets both women's income and child labour (IRIN - U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 2 May 2002)

Employees lead the way in fighting Aids - Some South African employees are taking the lead in the fight against HIV/Aids - donating their time, salaries and services to help victims of the disease [refers to Absa and AngloGold]. (Bobby Jordan, Sunday Times [South Africa], 5 May 2002)

{···español} Protestas en Italia contra oleoducto en la Amazonía ecuatoriana - Los manifestantes se reunieron en Roma en frente de la sede central del Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), para evitar que financie la obra. (El Tiempo [Colombia], 1 mayo 2002)

Banking and sustainability: Slow starters are gaining pace -...There is growing awareness in the financial sector that environment brings risks (such as a customer’s soil degradation) and opportunities (such as environmental investment funds). (Marcel Jeucken, Senior Economist at Rabobank Group and director of Sustainability in Finance, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 28 Apr. 2002) 

Ethics can be profitable, says UK's Co-Op Bank: Britain's Co-Operative Bank reported a record annual profit yesterday and said it was reaping the rewards of ethical investment. (Allan Dowd, Reuters, 24 Apr. 2002) 

Corporate social responsibility guidelines for the financial sector [UK] - Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs today announced Government support for the development of new 'Guidance on Corporate Social Responsibility Management and Reporting for the Financial Services Sector'. (U.K. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 23 Apr. 2002)

Women Not Welcome in Corporate India -...VN Dhoot, chairman, Videocon, which has no women employees in its corporate office, laughingly says: "We are from an orthodox family."...Experts say only three per cent women occupy senior positions in private sector companies across the country. Most have an average of five to six per cent women employees...Several companies are employing women friendly policies. Chhachhi cites the example of ICICI and Pepsi. (Roli Srivastava, Times of India, 18 Apr. 2002)

Domini Social Investments announces 2002 shareholder proposals: Socially Responsible Firm Focuses on Sweatshops and the Environment, Continues Push for Greater Corporate Transparency [refers to resolutions filed and/or dialogue with: Gap; Sears, Roebuck; Disney; McDonald's; Nordstrom; Merrill Lynch; Procter & Gamble; Coca-Cola; Pepsi; Emerson; Cooper Industries; Household International; Johnson & Johnson] (Domini Social Investments, 18 Apr. 2002)

Federal Lawsuit [USA] Seeks Slave Reparations from Three Companies [Aetna Inc., CSX Corp., FleetBoston Financial Corp.] (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 18 Apr. 2002)

Massive campaign to promote ORS in North India -...Financial services group ICICI and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have joined hands with the Indian Academy for Pediatrics for a $ 1-million communication and marketing campaign to create awareness for increased use of World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended oral rehydration salts (ORS) in North India. (InfoChange [India]; sourced from Financial Express [India], 17 Apr. 2002)

Japanese women push at the door: Companies are being forced to confront sexual discrimination after a landmark ruling against Nomura...Nomura was ordered in February to pay Y56m ($425,000) in damages to 12 women who were denied promotion because of sexual discrimination (Bayan Rahman, Financial Times, 17 Apr. 2002)

First Women Bank, ILO to combat child labour in Pakistan: The First Women Bank Ltd (FWBL) and ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) have signed a memorandum of Understanding to set up micro finance projects for carpet weavers in the three cities of the Punjab as part of efforts to combat child labour. (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

Bank's £35m gift for WWF angers greens: HSBC has invested in many damaging projects - so why is it now giving money to a leading conservation agency? Opponents within the organisation [World Wide Fund for Nature] fear they are being used to "greenwash" the bank, which is accused of funding the destruction of virgin Indonesian rainforests and two controversial dam projects in China and southern Africa. (Severin Carrell, Independent [UK], 7 Apr. 2002)

Forest laws not worth the paper they're written:...Vast areas of remaining intact forest on four continents have been degraded because of poor enforcement of existing forest protection laws, according to researchers at the Washington-based World Resources Institute...Jim Strittholt, head of Global Forest Watch USA, pointed to a number of companies and banks - such as IKEA, the world's largest home-furnishings company, and ABN Amro, one of Europe's leading banks - that were using the research to ensure that their wood supplies or investments were not promoting deforestation (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, in Asia Times [Hong Kong], 5 Apr. 2002)

{···español} Greenpeace plantea demanda contra banco que financia el OCP [Ecuador]: La organización ecologista Greenpeace presentó un recurso al Gobierno del estado federado alemán de Renania del Norte-Westfalia contra un crédito del banco Westdeutsche Landesbank para la construcción del Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP)...Para la experta, el oleoducto...destruirá las selvas del país y los fundamentos de la vida de los pueblos indígenas y de especies animales amenazadas. Además, según greenpeace existe el peligro de que, a través de derramamientos accidentales de petróleo, se contaminen los suelos y las reservas de agua potable. (La Hora [Ecuador], 5 abril 2002)

World summit firm gets more donors, needs more cash: Organisers of a world development summit to be held in Johannesburg later this year said yesterday it had secured more money from local firms but still lacked a third of funds needed to meet its budget...State-owned firms Eskom, the South African Post Office and South African Airways said yesterday they had each contributed five million rand, along with mining giant Anglo American and construction company Murray & Roberts. The country's biggest bank Standard Bank and number two cellphone operator MTN have already contributed. (Reuters, 3 Apr. 2002)

The Cost of Living Richly: Citigroup’s Global Finance and Threats to the Environment - Citi-financed projects, say environmentalists, are promoting environmental insecurity — not only damaging local ecosystems, but undermining the livelihood of communities around the world and threatening the well-being of people across the globe through climate change (Ilyse Hogue, global finance campaigner with the Rainforest Action Network, in Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Peru’s Camisea Project [gas project] -...consortium members include PlusPetrol from Argentina, Hunt Oil from the United States, the South Korean SK Corporation and others (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Ecuador’s OCP Pipeline [oil pipeline] -...Citigroup denies any involvement with the OCP Pipeline, since it is not the direct financier of the project. But it was lead arranger for a $200 million line of credit for Perez Companc that was provided the financial stability the company needed to participate in the pipeline venture. (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Thailand’s Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Company [processes gas from the Yadana and Yetagun gas pipelines in Burma] (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Papua New Guinea’s Gobe Oil Fields [Chevron project] (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• company website: Citigroup

Breaking the Brokers’ Sexual Harassment Culture [USA]: An Interview with Pam Martens [allegations of sexual harassment against securities company Smith Barney, now owned by Citigroup] - We felt the mandatory arbitration system encouraged sexual harassment and related activities. If you know these things will inevitably end up in a rigged, private arbitration system, then there is no real deterrent against that kind of conduct. (Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• company website: Citigroup

Companies in Conflict Situations: Mineral Extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo [refers to H.C. Stark of Germany (a subsidiary of Bayer AG), Ulba of Kazakhstan, and Cabot Corporation of the United States; French companies Safmarine, SDV-Transintra, Martinair; OSLEG, a company owned by Zimbabwe's army; Zimbabwean investor John Bredenkamp's Tremalt Ltd] (Oxford Analytica, prepared for International Business Leaders Forum and TimeFORTUNE, Apr. 2002)

Lawsuit Chases Companies Tied to Slavery [USA]: A prayer on a Brooklyn street preceded the filing of an unprecedented $1.4 trillion lawsuit against eight major corporations alleged to have profited from their historical ties to the slave trade more than 137 years ago. Claiming to represent all of the United States' 35 million African-Americans, New York slave reparations activist Deadria Farmer-Paellmann named Aetna Inc., CSX Corp. and FleetBoston Financial Corp., among others, as unjustly profiting from the slave trade before the Civil War ended in 1865. (Kelley Vlahos Beaucar, Fox News, 27 Mar. 2002)

US firms face slave reparations suit: Three major US corporations accused of profiting from the slave trade before it was abolished almost 150 years ago are being taken to court by African-Americans seeking compensation for the abuses suffered by their ancestors. The lawsuit is the first of what is expected to be a deluge of claims against insurer Aetna, railroad firm CSX and financial services firm Fleet Boston. (BBC News, 26 Mar. 2002)

• Aetna, CSX, FleetBoston face slave reparations suit [USA] - The complaint, to be filed Tuesday in federal District Court in New York, asks for unspecified damages, restitution for unpaid slave labor and a share of corporate profits derived from slavery. (James Cox, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2002)

• Corporations challenged by reparations activists [USA]:..So far, the reparations legal team has publicly identified five companies it says have slave ties: insurers Aetna, New York Life and AIG and financial giants J.P. Morgan Chase Manhattan Bank and FleetBoston Financial Group...Independently, USA TODAY has found documentation tying several others to slavery: Investment banks Brown Bros. Harriman and Lehman Bros.; Railroads Norfolk Southern, CSX, Union Pacific and Canadian National; Textile maker WestPoint Stevens; Newspaper publishers Knight Ridder, Tribune, Media General, Advance Publications, E.W. Scripps and Gannett, parent and publisher of USA TODAY...USA TODAY contacted all the companies named in this article. Some acknowledged the evidence, others disputed it. Many declined comment. Of those that did comment, virtually all said the current company isn't liable for what happened before the Civil War. (James Cox, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2002)

• FleetBoston: Traced to slave-trading merchant [USA] (James Cox, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2002)

• Brown Bros.: Loans gave planters cash to buy slaves [USA] (James Cox, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2002)

• Lehman Bros: 1 brother owned 7 slaves in 1860 [USA] (James Cox, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2002)

New Report Targets Embezzlement of Billions of Angola’s Petrodollars to Bring Chance for Lasting Peace:...International oil companies and banks are complicit in this process of embezzlement because they refuse to publish what they pay to the Angolan State, preventing ordinary Angolans from calling their government to account over missing oil revenues. International oil companies like ChevronTexco, TotalFinaElf and ExxonMobil claim that payments are confidential, although they routinely publish such information in developed countries. “As a result, this lack of transparency allows the ruling elite to embezzle the State’s assets with impunity, whilst one child dies every three minutes of preventable causes in this war-ravaged country” (Global Witness, 25 Mar. 2002)

• full report: All the Presidents Men - The devastating story of oil and banking in Angola's privatised war. All the Presidents Men is the product of two years of investigations, and provides an update on the campaign for full transparency in the oil and banking sector. (Global Witness, 25 Mar. 2002)

• {···português} Novo Relatório Expõe a Apropriação Ilílita de Bilhões de Petrodólares Angolanos para Dar Oportunidade à Paz (Global Witness, 25 março 2002)

• {···português} Os Homens dos Presidentes - Os Homens dos Presidentes é o resultado de dois anos de investigações e apresenta uma actualização da campanha a favor de transparência total nos sectores bancário e petrolífero. (Global Witness, 25 março 2002)

{···español} Paul Bernd Spahn: Professor de la Universidad de Francfort - 'La 'tasa Tobin' no perjudicaría a los mercados financieros' (El País, 22 marzo 2002)

Green protesters target Morgan Stanley meeting: Pro-environment activists attended the annual meeting of U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley this week to protest against the bank's financing of certain projects in Asia. The campaigners have criticised the bank for backing projects such as the Three Gorges Dam in China and the Golud-Lhasa Railway in Tibet, which they say have huge environmental and social impact. (Reuters, 21 Mar. 2002)

Hypocrisy at its best! Robert Rubenstein lets off some steam at aspects of the corporate responsibility industry [refers to Société Générale de Belgique, Euronext, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations] (Robert Rubenstein, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 20 Mar. 2002)

press release: Morgan Stanley Exposed Over Controversial Asian Projects - Share Value Threat From Growing Consumer Concerns - Human rights and environmental campaigners will highlight the growing threat to investment bank Morgan Stanley's shareholder value at the company's annual general meeting in London today (19th March). Efforts to pressure Morgan Stanley are being led by Friends of the Earth, the International Rivers Network, Students for a Free Tibet and Free Tibet Campaign. The groups are all engaged in campaigns targeting Morgan Stanley for its lack of environmental and social risk management policies, which have led the company to underwrite some of the most controversial projects in Asia. These include the Three Gorges Dam in China, resource extraction projects in Tibet and rainforest destruction in Indonesia. (Friends of the Earth, International Rivers Network, Free Tibet Campaign, Students for a Free Tibet, 19 March 2002)

• full report: Rogue Traders: A Report on Morgan Stanley's Financing of Socially and Environmentally Controversial Projects in Asia (A joint report by Friends of the Earth UK, Free Tibet Campaign, Students for a Free Tibet, and International Rivers Network, 19 Mar. 2002)

• company website: Morgan Stanley (Morgan Stanley)

Grameen Bank in 'strongest position ever' [Bangladesh]: The founder of the Grameen Bank, Dr Muhammad Yunus, has denied allegations that the bank is in trouble. The Grameen Bank is one of the pioneers of micro-credit lending schemes for the poor in Bangladesh. (BBC News, 12 Mar. 2002)

EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] Administrator Whitman Honors 47 Citizen, Industry, Government Groups for Innovative Efforts to Clean Air [USA]: For their outstanding and innovative efforts in helping clean the nation's air, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman today honored 47 local and state governments, industries and citizens groups at the second Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. [companies receiving awards include CSX Transportation, Orbital Engine Corporation, Intel Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Gibson Technologies, Playa Capital Company, Con Edison, Merck] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 5 Mar. 2002)

Prison Blues; Starbucks, Nike, others profit from inmate labor [at U.S. prisons] - A partial list of companies that have worked within the prison system, directly employed prison workers, or contracted with companies that employ prison workers, either currently or in the past: Allstate, Best Western, Dell Computer, Eddie Bauer, Hawaiian Tropical Products, J. C. Penney, Kmart, Kwalu Inc., Konica, Lockhart Technologies, McDonald's, Merrill Lynch, Microjet, Microsoft, New York, New York Hotel and Casino, Nike, No Fear Inc., Omega Pacific, Parke-Davis, Planet Hollywood, Prison Blues (jeans), Shearson Lehman, Starbucks, Target, TWA, Victoria's Secret, Union Bay, Upjohn, Washington Marketing Group (Erica Barnett, In These Times, 4 Mar. 2002)

Swiss bank UBS quits Turkish Ilisu dam project: Switzerland's largest bank UBS said yesterday it was pulling out of its mandate to advise on the financing of a controversial Turkish dam because of fears about the plan's social and environmental impact (Reuters, 28 Feb. 2002) 

SA employers urged to help manage Aids: South African employers should actively manage HIV-Aids in the workplace to reduce the effect of the pandemic on business and society, Old Mutual's deputy managing director Peter Moyo said yesterday. (South African Press Association, in Dispatch [South Africa], 27 Feb. 2002)

HSBC to send staff to become eco-warriers: HSBC, one of the world's biggest banks, said it will send 2,000 of its staff to work on environmental projects around the world in a partnership with three charities. The global banking group is giving $50 million over five years to the partnership, which comprises global environment network WWF, Earthwatch and Botanic Gardens Conservation International. (Reuters, 25 Feb. 2002)

$50 Million Invested in Nature: A US$50 million contribution from financial service's giant HSBC Group will fund a five year partnership to support conservation projects around the world..."Companies as well as individuals have a responsibility for the stewardship of this planet, which we hold in trust for the future," said HSBC chair Sir John Bond (Environment News Service, 22 Feb. 2002)

Greenpeace to push bank on Ecuador pipeline credit: Greenpeace is pressuring a German bank [WestLB bank] to cancel financing for an Ecuadorean oil pipeline it says will damage swaths of rare mountain cloud forest, a campaigner for the environmental group said this week. (Reuters, 22 Feb. 2002)

USA: Activists Challenge Corporations They Say Are Tied to Slavery -...A powerhouse team of African-American legal and academic stars is getting ready to sue companies it says profited from slavery before 1865...So far, the reparations legal team has publicly identified five companies it says have slave ties: insurers Aetna, New York Life and AIG and financial giants J.P. Morgan Chase Manhattan Bank and Fleet Boston Financial Group (James Cox, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2002)

Emergency Week of Action Calls for Protection of the Peruvian Amazon: Demonstrations Across the Country Spotlight Citigroup's Investment in Controversial Fossil Fuel Projects (Rainforest Action Network, 20 Feb. 2002)

• Citibank Targeted by Wave of Student Protests: One of the world's largest full-service banks will be targeted by protests across the United States this week, as students urge their peers to dump student loans and credit cards from Citibank which they accuse of investing in environmentally-harmful projects. (Alison Raphael, OneWorld US, 19 Feb. 2002)

Barclays Finance of Rainforest Destruction Sparks Protest [in UK]: Barclays Group is the target of a nation-wide protest tomorrow [Saturday 16th February] organised by Friends of the Earth following revelations that the banking group financed a company [Asia Pulp and Paper] that has caused massive damage to Indonesian rainforest. (Friends of the Earth, 15 Feb. 2002) 

Wage cuts for bank employees 55 and over is unlawful [Japan]: The Sendai High Court on February 12 ordered Michinoku Bank in Aomori City in northern Japan to pay 71 million yen to its six former employees, saying that the bank's rule to cut wages for employees aged 55 and over is unlawful. (Japan Press Service, 13-19 Feb. 2002)

Helping Africa's Banks to Help Africa [regarding African banks financing development in Africa] (allAfrica.com, 13 Feb. 2002)

Private Firms and Nonprofits Link Up to Help Bridge "Digital Divide": The Global Digital Opportunity Initiative...aims to close the "digital divide" by providing pro-bono expertise and tools to help developing countries meet healthcare and education needs, and reduce poverty...Private companies, including AOL Time Warner, Cisco Systems, Grameen Bank, Hewlett-Packard, n-Logue Communication, PicoPeta Simputers, and Sun Microsystems, will offer their services together with nonprofit and international organizations...So far three countries--Bolivia, Tanzania, and Mozambique--have applied to take part in the program. (Beth Bolitho, OneWorld, 11 Feb. 2002) 

UK paper firms destroy best rainforest [Indonesia] - The report reveals that at least nine paper merchants in the UK [David John Papers, Davies Harvey Murrel, GF Smith, SV Sier, Ovenden Papers, Rosefox, The South Wales Paper Company, Fulton Paper, Frederick Johnson] are buying PaperOne products made by APRIL, one of the world's most destructive paper companies and owner of the world's largest pulp mill [refers also to involvement of AMEC construction company and ING Barings bank] (Friends of the Earth, 11 Feb. 2002)

• full report: Paper Tiger, Hidden Dragons 2: April Fools [Indonesia] - Detailed report revealing the destruction and social conflict caused by APRIL - and the paper merchants and financial institutions who have supported it (Friends of the Earth, Feb. 2002)

• Indonesian rainforests pulped to extinction: Illegal logging is threatening wildlife and environment (Paul Brown, Guardian [UK], 11 Feb. 2002)

Corporate Leaders Discuss Social Role: Corporate leaders have an obligation as global citizens to play a larger role on the world stage, but they need to understand that this role requires them to perform a difficult – and sometimes thankless – balancing act. [panel including CEOs of Microsoft, Renault, Toshiba, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank] (World Economic Forum, 4 Feb. 2002)

Oil palm action [Indonesia]: Three of the biggest banks in the Netherlands - ABN AMRO, Rabobank and Fortis - have agreed to stop or substantially restrict financing for oil palm development in Indonesia on environmental and social grounds. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002) 

UK Bank Offers Green Mortgages: Co-operative Bank...has gone out on a limb to provide its customers a "carbon-neutral" mortgage product. The bank conducts free energy checks on financed buildings to determine how much carbon is needed to operate them. It then plants trees in Uganda to offset the projected emissions while helping indigenous populations. (Susan Wennemyr, SocialFunds.com, 14 Jan. 2002)

Book Review: Sustainable Finance and Banking [Sustainable Finance and Banking: The Financial Sector and the Future of the Planet, by Marcel Jeucken] (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 9 Jan. 2002)

Walden Asset Management Announces Shareholder Advocacy Actions for 2002 [includes shareholder resolutions on the following issues & companies: Climate Change - Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco and Occidental Petroleum; Mercury Pollution - J.C. Penney and HCA; Indigenous Peoples' Rights - Lehman Brothers; Sweatshop/Vendor Standards - TJX, Kohl's, Delphi Automotive, Hasbro, Sears and Lowes; Health Risk Caused by Cigarette Filters - Eastman Chemical; Drug Accessibility - Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb; impact of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas - BP Amoco] (Walden Asset Management, 4 Jan. 2002)

Dutch process Holocaust claims: Dutch authorities have begun processing the final claims for compensation for people whose belongings were stolen by the Nazis. The government and financial institutions are paying $6,000 each to Holocaust survivors and their descendents in order to make reparations...In 1997, the Dutch government, the Amsterdam stock exchange, and banks and insurance companies funded this scheme to the tune of more than $200m. (Geraldine Coughlan, BBC News, 3 Jan. 2002)

Could a Tobin Tax Be Implemented? (OECD, 2002)

Making a Workable Tobin Tax: Don't Believe in the Economic Orthodoxy! (Heikki Patomäki, Network Institute for Global Democratization, 2002)

Fifty Years in the Making: World War II Reparation and Restitution Claims [includes articles about claims against companies] - The Stefan A. Riesenfeld Symposium 2001 (Berkeley Journal of International Law, vol. 20, no. 1, 2002)

2001:

Fleet Unveils Global Environmental Management Program: Affirms Commitment to Environmental Protection - Endorses CERES Principles and the UNEP Statement by Financial Institutions (FleetBoston Financial Corporation, 27 Dec. 2001)

Students For A Free Tibet Targets Morgan Stanley - Raises Concerns Over Chinese Aluminum Company Operations In Tibet (Government of Tibet in Exile, 11 Dec. 2001)

City of London Principles Anticipate Global Summit on Sustainability: The UK financial sector is developing sustainable business principles that it hopes can act as a blueprint for similar principles to be created and adopted at the UN's 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 10 Dec. 2001)

Grameen Bank, Icon of Microcredit, Runs Into Delinquency Problems [Bangladesh]: Grameen Bank, a model for as many as 7,000 lending institutions that provide underserved individuals with small loans to start businesses, is having difficulties with relatively high rates of delinquency in the northern part of Bangladesh. (Business for Social Responsibility, 7 Dec. 2001)

Holocaust Restitution in the United States and Other Claims For Historical Wrongs - An Update [includes updates on human rights-related lawsuits against Credit Suisse, Union Bank of Switzerland, Swiss Bank Corporation, German & Austrian banks, French banks, Barclays Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, J.P. Morgan, European insurance companies, Ford Motor Co., German corporations including Degussa and Siemens; Japanese corporations including Nippon Sharyo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Nippon Steel; New York Life Insurance Co.] (Michael J. Bazyler, Professor of Law at Whittier Law School, in ACLU International Civil Liberties Report 2001 [American Civil Liberties Union], Dec. 2001)

Dutch Banks Act to Save Tropical Rainforest: Three major Dutch banks [ABN AMRO, Rabobank, and Fortis Bankhave] announced they will restrict loans for palm oil plantation development in Indonesia that results in tropical rainforest destruction. (Susan Wennemyr, SocialFunds.com, 19 Nov. 2001)

IMF [International Metalworkers' Federation] World Congress Presses GE Global Strategy: "GE exploits workers everywhere," IUE-CWA President Edward Fire said in his presentation to the IMF World Congress. "Wherever the company operates, whether in the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia or Latin America, it resists workers' rights to organize and to trade union representation," he said. The IMF is providing full support to efforts to set the recognition of international labor standards by companies such as GE as a condition for world trade. (Communications Workers of America, 14 Nov. 2001) 

• company website: GE

U.S. Probes Saudi Conglomerate For Links to Islamic Militants: The U.S. is examining connections between a leading Saudi Arabian financial conglomerate and Islamic militant groups, including the al Qaeda terrorist network. U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials say they have information linking the Dallah al Baraka Group to transactions by al Qaeda and other extremist groups. (Glenn R. Simpson & Rick Wartzman, Wall Street Journal, 2 Nov. 2001)

WestLB, Germany’s Largest Public Bank Urged to Pull Out of Oil Pipeline in the Ecuadorian Amazon: World Wide Demonstrations Planned in 10 Countries on October 24! - Environmental activists in Los Angeles will join their counter parts around the world in protesting the involvement of Germany’s largest publicly held bank, WestLB, in financing the new heavy crude pipeline in the Ecuadorian Amazon. WestLB is the lead arranger for nearly $900 million in financing for the billion-dollar project, which not only cuts through fragile rainforests but will also result in the doubling of oil production from Ecuador’s fragile Amazon and Andean ecosystems. The project has been plagued by lawsuits and protests. Demonstrations and media events are also planned on October 24 in the following cities: San Francisco, Quito, Washington DC, Barcelona, London, Munster, Dusseldorf, Munich, Milan, Zurich, Warsaw, Sydney and Canberra. (Amazon Watch, 23 Oct. 2001)

UNEP: Export Credit Agencies Meet To Consider "Green" Measures - Senior staff from export credit agencies, banks and insurers yesterday opened a two-day workshop in Paris under the auspices of the U.N. Environment Program to discuss environmental issues related to finance, such as how to reward companies with strong environmental considerations. (UN Wire, 23 Oct. 2001)

The Greening of Export Credit Agencies - ECA's, banks and insurers discuss environmentally reponsible financing: 70 senior staff from Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), banks and insurers - which facilitate USD billions of trade annually - are gathering in Paris today.  They are meeting under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to explore how to further "green" their operations.  The two day workshop, hosted by the French ECA, Coface, is, for the first time, bringing together ECA underwriters, private sector financiers, environmental experts and the United Nations, to discuss environmental issues relevant to finance.  In particular, the meeting will look at how to facilitate the implementation of project screening - already adopted by many of the respective institutions. (U.N. Environment Programme and Coface, 22 Oct. 2001)

Foreward by Marcel Ospel of UBS - Even though we meet all the existing legal requirements, that is not enough in today’s world. Our shareholders’, clients’ and employees’ expectations about business activity evolve constantly and often precede legal frameworks. So we might be held to higher standards. (Marcel Ospel, Chairman of the Board of Directors, UBS, in Responsible business in the global economy: A Financial Times Guide, 22 Oct. 2001) 

Sustainability in the U.S. Sees Hurdles, Future Growth: Symposium discusses market hesitance and corporate attraction to embracing sustainability. Yesterday, representatives from the private sector, academia, and government gathered at a symposium to discuss how companies and the financial markets value sustainability, and how companies are benefiting from their sustainability initiatives. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 18 Oct. 2001)

Sustainable Finance and Banking - The Financial Sector and the Future of the Planet: Banking and finance...are crucial in determining whether society - from governments to individual consumers - succeeds in following an environmentally sustainable path. However, those working in the financial sector are largely unaware of the rationale and pressures for sustainable development and its bearing on their work, while those in the relevant research and policy areas commonly overlook how vital the financial sector is for progress. This book sets out to rectify this state of affairs (Marcel Jeucken, Earthscan Publications, Oct. 2001)

Hereros Claim Against Berlin: Lawyers representing the Chief Hosea Kutako Foundation [which claims a combined US $2 billion in reparations from Deutsche Bank and Woermann Line (now known as SAFmarine)] have temporarily withdrawn a legal claim for reparations against a German company but added another against the German government, 'The Namibian' said on Thursday. Lawyer Philip Musolino was quoted as saying the case against Terex Corporation had been temporarily dropped after the company claimed in court papers submitted recently that it was under different management at the time of the atrocities...The foundation, headed by Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako, has accused the German companies and the government of forming a "brutal alliance" to exterminate over 65,000 Hereros between 1904 and 1907. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 21 Sep. 2001)

Microcredit Fund Helps Break the Cycle of Poverty: Best Practice / Deutsche Bank - In 1997, Deutsche Bank set up its Microcredit Development Fund as a way of providing professional banking experience to microcredit institutions seeking loans from commercial banks. (sponsored section, International Herald Tribune and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 13 Sep. 2001)

EEOC [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] files sex discrimination lawsuit against Morgan Stanley: Lawsuit Charges Brokerage House with Widespread Discrimination against Women (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 10 Sep. 2001)

Hereros Sue German Firms for Reparations: The Herero community in Namibia has instituted a legal claim against three German companies for $2bn in reparations. The Hereros' Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako, who heads the Chief Hosea Kutako Foundation, said yesterday that the lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, Terex Corporation and Woermann Line (now known as SAFmarine) in Washington DC, US, would be followed by one against the German government. They accuse the three German companies of forming a "brutal alliance" with imperial Germany to exterminate more than 65000 Hereros between 1904 and 1907. (Business Day [Johannesburg], 6 Sep. 2001)

• A bloody history: Namibia's colonisation - With calls for colonial reparations being made in the run up to the racism conference in Durban, Martin Plaut looks at the German colonisation of South West Africa - modern-day Namibia...On 2 October 1904 the German commander, General von Trotha issued the following proclamation: "I, the great general of the German troops, send this letter to the Herero people... All Hereros must leave this land... Any Herero found within the German borders with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I shall no longer receive any women or children; I will drive them back to their people. I will shoot them. This is my decision for the Herero people." (BBC News, 29 Aug. 2001)

Companies Tell of Successful Transformation: Speakers from Sanlam and Eskom report progress towards promoting diversity and combating discrimination [panel discussion - U.N. World Conference Against Racism]: The speakers were handpicked to describe how their companies and organisations have succeeded in the struggle for gender and race equality in the workplace. Their performances were polished if lengthy case studies of how businesses can change to reflect the demographics in SA [South Africa] and Sweden, as well as nondiscrimination amid British trade unions...Despite these good intentions, Friday's presentations were met with waves of disbelief from the floor. (Business Day [Johannesburg], 5 Sep. 2001)

Swiss business and human rights: Confrontations and partnerships with NGOs [refers to Nestlé, Novartis, UBS, Credit Suisse, ABB, Coop, Migros, Switcher, Veillon] (Antoine Mach, study commissioned by Antenna International, Sep. 2001) note: scroll down on the linked page - this report appears under the "Documents" sub-heading for downloading in English or French

• {···français} Entreprises suisses et droits de l'homme: Confrontations et partenariats avec les ONG [référence à Nestlé, Novartis, UBS, Credit Suisse, ABB, Coop, Migros, Switcher, Veillon] (Antoine Mach, Sep. 2001)

Ecuador: Action to stop the oil pipeline continues: A second joint letter from international environmental and human rights organisations is being circulated urging the head of the financing German bank, the Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB), the Prime minister of the German Federal State Nordrhein Westfalen, NRW (the main shareholder of WestLB), and the two responsible ministers for finances and economy in NRW, to stop the financial support to the Ecuadorian oil megaproject OCP (Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados). (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

Panel Discussion in Durban about Discrimination is Everybody's business - Discrimination is Everybody's Business: From Discrimination to Diversity - A Corporate Led Initiative in the Framework of the UN Global Compact - The World Conference Against Racism...is the launching ground for this initiative...The six companies behind this initiative are the South African Financial Services Group Sanlam, the Swedish Car Manufacturer Volvo Car Corporation, the Brazilian Media Corporation Organizações Globo, the Indian IT Company Satyam, the South African Energy Utility Eskom, and the American Car Manufacturer Ford Motor Company. (United Nations, prepared in advance of the World Conference Against Racism, 31 Aug. - 7 Sep. 2001)

Interview With National AIDS Coordinator [Botswana]: "The other thing that's important is our campaign to get the private sector on board in fighting the disease. Within the country we're happy to report that many private sector companies are coming on board. A very good programme exists at Debswana, one of the biggest mining houses and the financial sector is also now putting good programmes into place." (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 29 Aug. 2001)

Wall Street Fights U.S. Effort To Push Human Rights in Sudan: Bill Would Close Capital Markets to Foreign Firms Working in African Nation - White House, Greenspan, Goldman Sachs Face Off Against Unions, Congressional Black Caucus - A U.S. congressional campaign to punish companies doing business with Sudan is forcing a debate over whether human rights should take precedence over the importance of keeping U.S. capital markets open to foreigners. (Neil King Jr. and Michael Schroeder, The Wall Street Journal Europe, 28 Aug. 2001)

Financial Sector Responding To Climate Change - Impatient With Pace Of Political Progress: At a meeting here today, senior executives from leading financial companies told government officials gathered in Bonn for the climate change negotiations that key business sectors, facing both liabilities and opportunities associated with global warming, will see a new investment dynamic emerge. The bankers and insurers predicted that capital will shift from "carbon fuels toward renewable energy, efficiency programmes, and advanced public transit systems." (United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP], 18 July 2001)

EEOC settles suit against Salomon Smith Barney for race and national origin bias: African-American, Haitian, Nigerian, and West Indian Workers To Receive $635,000 - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $635,000 settlement of an employment discrimination lawsuit against Salomon Smith Barney (Salomon), a subsidiary of Citigroup and the nation's second largest retail brokerage firm. The suit, filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was brought by EEOC on behalf of 13 current or former employees of Salomon's Greenwich Street Data Center who were subjected to disparate treatment and harassment based on their race and/or national origin. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 16 July 2001)

Companies in new ethical index announced: A third of blue-chip companies have failed to make the grade in a new FTSE index of ethical firms, it was announced today.  Among 34 FTSE-100 Index members not in the new FTSE4Good UK 50 are Tesco, Royal Bank of Scotland and Marconi. (Lisa Bachelor, Guardian [UK], 10 July 2001)

Closing the gap the between rich and poor: Supermarkets and banks are being drafted into the fight for social justice in Britain's poorest cities (Alison Benjamin, The Observer [UK], 8 July 2001) 

Banks support environment program: The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) together with the Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) took a major step in the protection of the environment by launching recently the Banking Sector's Joint Statement on the Environment and Sustainable Development. (Manila Bulletin, 7 July 2001)

Businesses support Kyoto climate treaty: WWF, the conservation organization, welcomes today's call on governments by more than 90 companies grouped together in the "e-mission 55 - Business for Climate " initiative to finalise the Kyoto Protocol. (World Wildlife Fund, 5 July 2001)

New index highlights worldwide corruption crisis, says Transparency International: The Corruption Perceptions Index 2001 ranks 91 countries. "There is no end in sight to the misuse of power by those in public office - and corruption levels are perceived to be as high as ever in both the developed and developing worlds," said Peter Eigen, Chairman of Transparency International, speaking today on the launch of the Corruption Perceptions Index 2001. "The new Index illustrates once more the vicious circle of poverty and corruption, where parents have to bribe underpaid teachers to secure an education for their children and underresourced health services provide a breeding ground for corruption. The world's poorest are the greatest victims of corruption," said Peter Eigen at a press conference in Paris. "Vast amounts of public funds are being wasted and stolen by corrupt officials," he continued. TI's chairman said: "HIV AIDS is killing millions of Africans, and in many of the countries where AIDS is at its deadliest the problem is compounded by the fact that corruption levels are seen to be very high. While it is imperative that richer countries provide the fruits of medical research at an affordable price to address this human tragedy, it is also essential that corrupt governments do not steal from their own people. This is now an urgent priority if lives are to be saved." While the CPI scores of most leading industrial countries are quite high, the CPI focuses on corruption involving public officials. It does not reflect secret payments to finance political campaigns, the complicity of banks in money laundering or bribery by multinational companies. Speaking in Washington DC, TI Vice Chairman Frank Vogl noted: "Corruption in the most prosperous countries in the world has many manifestations, and Transparency International is increasing its efforts to stimulate actions to secure greater transparency in politics, business and banking. We aim to publish a new Bribe Payers Index in early 2002 to shine the spotlight on the propensity of western firms to use bribes in emerging market economies." (Transparency International, 27 June 2001) 

• {···español: El nuevo índice destaca la crisis de corrupción a nivel mundial, afirma Transparency International}

• {···français: Le nouvel indice révèle le niveau critique de la corruption dans le monde, annonce Transparency International}

BARCLAYS - Financial exclusion - Barclays Bank is supporting the creation of a microcredit scheme accessed through a bank account for people on low incomes in northern England. Salford Money Line is an example of how banks can work in partnership with the local community [in this case Barclays works with Money Line’s other founding partners, Salford city council & University of Salford] to provide services that are tailored to the needs of the financially excluded (Ethical Performance magazine, summer 2001)

First Corporate Pledge Made to Global AIDS Fund [by Winterthur, the Swiss-based insurance subsidiary of Credit Suisse] (Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, 8 June 2001)

INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Swiss Company [Winterthur, the Swiss-based insurance subsidiary of Credit Suisse] To Give $1 Million To Fund [to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's global infectious diseases fund] (UN Wire, 8 June 2001)

China: Investors warned off Three Gorges bonds - Continuing with their effort to block financing of China's Three Gorges Dam, environmentalists are warning investors that bonds to be sold soon will indirectly finance the mammoth hydropower project that critics say will be a social and environmental disaster. (Inter Press Service, in Asia Times, 2 June 2001)

Activists Warn Investors about Banks of the Yangtze: Continuing with their effort to block financing of China's Three Gorges Dam, environmentalists are warning investors that bonds to be sold soon will indirectly finance the mammoth hydropower project that critics say will be a social and environmental disaster. Major investment banks, including, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Barclays Capital, are currently pricing approximately 1.75 billion dollars in bonds for the People's Republic of China. (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, 31 May 2001)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Market Emerges in Chicago: A diverse group of 25 large corporations and nonprofit organizations has agreed to participate in the design phase of a voluntary pilot trading market, the Chicago Climate Exchange. (Environment News Service, 30 May 2001) 

Banks should face oil spill liability - ship manager (Reuters, 28 May 2001)

Green Globe winners for 2001 announced [by Rainforest Alliance, winners include A2R Fund Management Group and Chiquita Brands International] (Earth Times News Service, 24 May 2001)

Indigenous & Environmental Groups File Lawsuit Challenging the OCP [Oleoducto de Crudo Pesado, proposed new Ecuadorian oil pipeline]: US & German Banks on the Hot Seat for Financing the New Crude Pipeline in Ecuadorian Amazon (Amazon Watch, 16 May 2001)

Citigroup Shareowner Resolutions Yield Mixed Results (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 4 May 2001)

U'wa Leader and Activists Target Occidental Petroleum's Largest Investor: Protests in Seven Cities Call on Bernstein/Alliance Capital/AXA Financial to Divest from Occidental and the Deadly Oil Project in Colombian Coudforest Region (Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve, Amazon Watch Rainforest Action Network, Rainforest Relief, 26 Apr. 2001)

CGNU [Norwich Union] AGM [annual general meeting] targeted by asbestos protestors (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 24 Apr. 2001)

Banks as environmental guardians (editorial, Jakarta Post, 18 Apr. 2001)

Statement by EarthRights International at CitiGroup Annual Stockholders Meeting (EarthRights International, 17 Apr. 2001)

Citigroup draws criticism on Myanmar, predatory lending (Cal Mankowski, Reuters, 17 Apr. 2001)

Power to the people in Co-op bank's ethics poll: 2m questionnaires will ask whether repressive regimes, arms trading, animal welfare or genetic engineering are 21st century pariahs (Jill Treanor, Guardian [UK], 17 Apr. 2001)

UN Panel on Congo Exploitation Calls for Embargo Against Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda (Edith Lederer, Associated Press, 16 Apr. 2001)

Citigroup Target of Protests in 80 Cities Worldwide: Students Launch Credit Card Boycott on Five Continents, Saying No to Environmental Destruction (Rainforest Action Network, 11 Apr. 2001)

Arrests, Intimidation confirm human rights abuses at Three Gorges Dam: U.S. firm Morgan Stanley urged to cease financing of Yangtze mega project - A recent report by Chinese journalist Wang Yusheng details how five representatives from a town slated to be submerged by Three Gorges Dam have been arrested for organizing petitions protesting corruption in the resettlement program. IRN has written to Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley insisting that their funding of the dam makes them complicit in these human rights abuses and urging the firm to cease their support of the dam. (International Rivers Network, 28 Mar. 2001)

Companies still far from internalizing responsibility (Frank Vogl, Forum News Daily [World Economic Forum, Davos], 28 Jan. 2001)

2000:

Campaign Launched Against Sanford Bernstein for 'Unethical' Investments in Oil Project on U'wa People's Sacred Land: Groups Call on Company to Divest from Occidental Petroleum (Rainforest Action Network, Amazon Watch, Project Underground, Ruckus Society, 12 Dec. 2000)

Anti-pollution bank credit [Egyptian banks extending credit to environment-friendly operations] (Sherine Nasr, Al-Ahram Weekly On-line [Cairo], 23-29 Nov. 2000)

Demonstrations Target CITIGROUP in 50 Cities as Corporation Announces Record Earnings: Groups Demand an End to Company Profits at the Environment's Expense (Rainforest Action Network and Inner City Press, 17 Oct. 2000)

Banking on the Environment: Bregje Hamelink is environmental coordinator for the Dutch Development Bank, (known as the Development Finance Company or FMO). For over 25 years it has been lending money to financial institutions in developing countries to help them fund worthwhile projects that might not get commercial loans. Nowadays, the FMO is urging its partners-in-finance to look at the impact of their investments.  With this in mind they've been running an environmental management course aimed specifically at top managers with financial institutions in developing countries. They're being urged to think ‘environment' when financing their small development projects. (Radio Netherlands, 15 Sep. 2000)

Speech by Ralph Nader about the power of multinational corporations (Ralph Nader, founder of Public Citizen, presentation to United Nations DPI/NGO conference on "Global Solidarity: The way to peace and International Cooperation", 28-30 Aug. 2000)

Getting Corporations Serious About Social Responsibility (Earth Times News Service, 18 July 2000)

Saudi Arabia Business Briefing (Amnesty International UK Business Group, June 2000)

Wall Street Singes the Dragon: PetroChina's Failed IPO (Braden Penhoet, Multinational Monitor, May 2000)

Environmental, Human Rights Activists Target Banks: Three Gorges Campaign highlights Discover Card Boycott [China] (Sharon Behn, Agence France Presse, 6 Apr. 2000) 

How principles benefit the bottom line: view from the Co-operative Bank, in Human rights -- is it any of your business? [A management primer] (Amnesty International UK Business Group / Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, Apr. 2000)   

Human rights engagement - view from Friends Provident, in Human rights -- is it any of your business? [A management primer] (Amnesty International UK Business Group / Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, Apr. 2000)   

  Saudi Arabia: Open for Business (Amnesty International, 8 Feb. 2000)

Credit Due: Former CEO of Visa Lashes Out at Corporate American's Values (Ralph Nader, Common Dreams, 24 Jan. 2000)

The business response to HIV/AIDS: impact and lessons learned [Section 5, "Profiles of business activities in response to HIV/AIDS", includes profiles of American International Assurance, Thailand; The Body Shop, Japan; Warsaw Marriott Hotel; Larsen & Toubro, India; Volkswagen do Brasil; Molson Breweries, Canada; Chevron Nigeria; Standard Chartered Bank, UK; International Hotel & Restaurant Association; Anglo Coal, South Africa; Eskom, South Africa; ALMS, Czech Republic; Teddy Exports, India; Bristol Myers Squibb, USA; The Shell Company of Thailand] (Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum in collaboration with UNAIDS and Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS, 2000)

1999:

Breakthrough: $5.2 Billion Settlement Reached in Nazi Slave Labor Case (Burt Herman, Associated Press, 15 Dec. 1999)

A Crude Awakening: How Angolan State corruption and lack of oil company and banking transparency has contributed to Angola's humanitarian and development catastrophe (press release, Global Witness, Dec. 1999) 

• A Crude Awakening - The Role of the Oil and Banking Industries in Angola's Civil War and the Plunder of State Assets (report, Global Witness, Dec. 1999)

relevant sections of Business and Human Rights in a Time of Change (Christopher Avery, Nov. 1999):

• Chapter 2.11: Shareholder resolutions and annual meetings

Canny companies come clean: Firms are finding that it pays to tell the truth about their social and environmental impact (Terry Slavin, Observer [U.K.], 27 June 1999)

1998:

Chase, J.P. Morgan Named in Holocaust Lawsuit (Associated Press, 23 Dec. 1998)

The Evolution of Corporate Responsibility: From Unbridled Markets to Mature Capitalism (Roy Culpeper, President, North-South Institute, address to The Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy, Toronto, 2 Dec. 1998)

1997:

Sexual Discrimination in Turkish Business Life: A Case Study in Banking Sector (Serpil Özdamar, Oct. 1997)