Coalition Tells World Economic Forum: Building Trust Requires Disclosure

New Report Highlights U.S. Multinationals' Irresponsible Human Rights, Environmental and Labor Records

Download: International Right to Know

As world business and political leaders gather in Davos, Switzerland for the 33rd annual World Economic Forum (WEF), a coalition of environmental, development, labor and human rights groups today released a joint report entitled “International Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency.”

The report documents the irresponsible environmental, labor and human rights practices committed by ExxonMobil, Nike, McDonald's, Unocal, Doe Run, Freeport McMoran and Newmont Mining. Some of the practices described in the report:

• 90% of children in La Oroya, Peru, the site of a lead smeltering facility owned by St. Louis based Doe Run, have blood-lead levels above acceptable levels, and 20% have levels so high they should require hospitalization.

• A Chinese manufacturer of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys employs 13 year olds to work 16 hour days for $3 a day.

Guided by the theme of “Building Trust,” this year’s WEF will be looking at ways to restore confidence in business after a turbulent year of one corporate scandal after another. The IRTK coalition is calling on American businesses to demonstrate their leadership and commitment to building trust by disclosing the same kind of information for their operations abroad that is required here in the United States.

Restoring trust in corporate America means U.S. companies must not only provide accurate financial information, they must also disclose information concerning their environmental, labor and human rights practices. Disclosure would allow investors and consumers to make educated choices – choices that are based on a factual and comprehensive portrayal of a company’s business activities – both here at home and abroad.

Following are organizational quotes from each group that makes up the coalition releasing the report:

“In recent years, American companies have been sued in U.S. courts for egregious human rights abuses associated with their business activities abroad,” said Katie Redford of Earth Rights International. “These chilling stories speak for themselves on the need to ensure greater openness and accountability in the global economy.”

“Too often, when U.S. corporations have set up shop overseas, they’ve brought with them environmental degradation, mistreatment of workers and human rights violations,” said Folabi Olagbaju of Amnesty International USA. “People around the world - not just Americans - have a right to know what's going on in their backyards.”

“The real ‘ugly Americans’ are not overweight tourists in tennis shoes, but the corporate suits who pollute drinking water and turn forests into moonscapes,” said Colleen Freeman of Friends of the Earth, which has member groups in 70 countries. “And then our colleagues from Cameroon to Indonesia hit a brick wall every day when trying to get basic information to protect themselves that our own citizens are guaranteed.”

“Globalization has brought on a ‘race to the bottom,’ as U.S. businesses scramble to relocate to countries with the weakest environmental and labor standards,” said Jason Mark of Global Exchange. “We need to ensure that when companies choose to take the low road, they can't hide it.”

“Right now, we need to be more concerned than ever about our image around the world. Our corporations are America’s most visible ambassadors abroad, and too often they’ve secretly represented the worst, not the best, of America,” said Stephen Mills, director of the Sierra Club’s International Program. “Disclosure standards are a step toward ensuring that U.S. companies are helping to build good will, not ill will, towards America.”

“Citizens and businesses agree that U.S. community right-to-know laws help prevent pollution and promote safety,” said Paul Orum of the Working Group on Community Right to Know. “Communities overseas should have the same type of information when U.S. companies operate in their backyards.”

Coalition members include: AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Sierra Club, and Working Group on Community Right to Know

This report is currently unavailable until further notice.