AGM round up 20021 May 2002
April and May are the months when many companies hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM). Every shareholder is invited to attend and ask awkward questions - even those that own only one share!
This year Friends of the Earth raised a wide range of issues with a number of companies, including:
Premier Oil
At Premier's AGM, Friends of the Earth joined the Burma Action Campaign in an action to protest about the British company's activities in Burma and in Kirthar National Park, Pakistan.
Image © Jennifer Bates/Friends of the Earth
Premier is insisting on continuing to operate in Burma. Burma is currently the target of an international boycott because of it's appalling human rights record.
At the AGM, one shareholder urged the meeting to stop taking questions on "peripheral issues" (such as human rights abuses in Burma and operations in a national park in Pakistan) and discuss "business issues" instead. Premier refuse to accept that they should not be operating there.
Image © Jennifer Bates/Friends of the Earth
- Press release - for full story
AMEC
AMEC are involved in a number of controversial projects, many of which ride roughshod over the rights and needs of local communities as well as destroying the environment. Friends of the Earth and many other campaigners questioned AMEC for over two hours on issues ranging from the Birmingham Northern Relief Road to building pulp and paper mills for Asia Pulp and Paper and APRIL.
Image © David Thomson/Friends of the Earth
AMEC are also involved in the controversial Yusufeli Dam in Turkey which will flood the homes of 15,000 people and affect a further 15,000. AMEC themselves withdrew from the dam in March this year, but they still own 46% of SPIE (the company leading the consortium planning to build the dam) and are planning to buy the rest later this year. At the AGM AMEC refused to accept 46% responsibility, although the company is happy to take 46% of the profits.
- Press release - for full story
Barclays
Following on from actions all over the country earlier this year, we exposed Barclays Bank at their AGM for helping to finance Asia Pulp and Paper's destruction of vast swathes of precious rainforest.
Asia Pulp and Paper is now $13.4 billion in debt and has put a halt to all debt repayments as a result of their financial crisis.
Barclays' financing of Asia Pulp and Paper has been a bad deal for the environment and Barclays shareholders. We are calling on the Barclays Group to introduce a Forest Policy to ensure none of its future investments damage forests or abuse the rights of local communities and to use its financial muscle to persuade Asia Pulp and Paper to stop destroying more forests.
- Press release - for full story
Morgan Stanley
Friends of the Earth joined forces with the International Rivers Network , Students for a Free Tibet and Free Tibet Campaign to expose Morgan Stanley's involvement in a suite of destructive practices.
Image © Balthazar Serreau/Friends of the Earth
These include the Three Gorges Dam in China, resource extraction projects in Tibet and rainforest destruction in Indonesia.
At the AGM campaigners raised all of these issues, but received no response from the Chairman or board of directors who refused to answer the questions.
- Press release - for full story
