Xposé Awards: honouring big business4 September 2004
Friends of the Earth have announced the nominees for our annual Xposé Awards, which congratulate big business and their lobby groups for their efforts to ruin the planet.
The winners will be announced on 27th September at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton.
The Xposé Awards 2004 ceremonial brochure (PDF 537KB), has full details of all companies and lobby groups nominated for this year's awards.
It's been amazing to see just how hard so many UK companies and lobby groups have tried to get nominated by putting all their effort into green spin rather than green substance.
Craig Bennett
Senior Corporates Campaigner
Friends of the Earth
The nominations for the 2004 Xpose awards
Best omission from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) report
Hot stuff: gas flaring is on the increase thanks to Shell
While some companies now produce reports on their CSR performance, there are no rules as to what goes in the report and what stays out.
Which company has published the glossiest report whilst skilfully omitting the biggest environmental damage or social impact?
Nominees:
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BAE Systems - for failing to mention they make weapons that kill people.
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Shell (PDF format) - for omitting how it ignores aggrieved community members, and it's pollution record.
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British American Tobacco (PDF† format) - for backing anti-smoking schemes aimed at children while marketing cigarettes that kill.
Taking most from government
Which industry made the most creative use of public money and tax breaks?
Nominees:
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Aviation industry (PDF† format) - somehow securing £9.2 billion in tax breaks. Every year!
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Big oil - securing government financial support for projects around the world, including $150 million for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.
Heart of gold for voluntary action
Which voluntary agreement has been the best at preventing regulation, while actually making the smallest possible difference?
Nominees:
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Supermarket Code of Practice (PDF† format) - voluntarily "engaging in unfair trading practises".
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Global Compact - companies voluntarily sign up to a UN CSR agreement they don't actually have to follow.
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OECD Guidelines - in theory, these force multinationals to declare their environmental impacts. Easily overlooked in reality.
Most spectacular special effects
Corporate lobby groups have warned of the dangers of "progressive" regulations - from the minimum wage to new chemicals legislation.
Who was stand-out performer in such diversionary tactics, special effects and exaggeration?
Nominees:
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International Chamber of Commerce - for lobbying against UN Norms on human rights.
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CBI - for protecting British industry from the perils of CSR regulation and legislation.
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Freedom to Fly - for hiding corporate interests behind a supposedly community stakeholder group.
Services to Africa
Which company has successfully promised the world to Africa, but delivered the least?
Nominees:
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Monsanto - for their generosity in promoting GM food to countries in Africa.
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Shell (PDF† format) - for increasing gas flaring in Africa, polluting the atmosphere, but providing no fuel.
Most ingeniously injurious yet commonplace product
Voted for by Friends of the Earth's Local Group Members
This Xposé goes to the product that has managed to enjoy huge money making success despite a dodgy environmental impact.
Nominees:
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4WD vehicles - seven out of eight are never driven off road, yet they cause 47% more pollution then your average car.
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Patio Heaters - providing central heating to the great outdoors
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Palm Oil - the hidden ingredient worth billions which destroys rainforests and indigenous communities.
Surely it's time for new laws that would genuinely make companies improve their social and environmental performance, rather than just talk about it
Craig Bennett, Senior Corporates Campaigner
Xposé Awards 2004
Join Digby Moans and Decadent Flush in a Brighton evening awards cermony with a difference.
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4 mins 24 secs (4.9MB - MPEG format)
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