BAT in its own words1 April 2005
At the end of April, British American Tobacco (BAT) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in London, but they were not alone!
Outside the AGM, campaigners were informing shareholders about a new report called BAT in its own words.
The report, using BAT's own internal documents, exposes how it uses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to:
- Distort research on second hand smoke.
- Fund 'industry friendly' lobby groups to promote 'voluntary initiatives'.
- Make a profit at the expense of people, their health and the environment.
Companies like BAT will not act in the best interests of society or the environment unless legislation forces them to do so.
Simon McRae, Corporates Campaigner
Friends of the Earth
BAT's AGM was the first of three we will be attending this year to highlight problems with corporate power.
The other AGMs we will be attending are:- Tesco
Calling for a stop to the Tesco takeover. Regulation is needed to ensure their power in the market place is not abused. - Shell
We will be hosting affected communities who will be highlighting the need for oil companies to clean up their act.
Friends of the Earth says
The UK Government should give directors of companies a duty of care on the impacts of their operations.
Watch this space for more information on the Tesco and Shell AGMs in June.
Resource
BAT in its own words
(PDF†) April 2005
This report uses BAT's own internal documents to expose how it uses Corporate Social Responsibility to make a profit at the expense of people, their health and the environment.
†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.
Image © Mike J Wells/ASH/Friends of the Earth
© Mike J Wells/ASH/Friends of the Earth
