learn more about corporate power
Transnational companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Monsanto and Newmont have enormous economic and political power, while ordinary people and parliaments have increasingly little influence over decision making in national states and international institutions.
The problem
Corporate influence over decisions is especially true for the European Union, where over 15.000 lobbyists are roaming the corridors of the EU institutions, a large majority representing companies' interests and fighting hard to defend their limited commercial agendas. Many companies whose operations have disastrous environmental impacts spend major sums on slick advertising campaigns to improve their image. This practice is known as ‘greenwash’.
However, they are rarely held to account for the abuses they commit: damaging the environment, harming local communities and forcing workers to accept unfair conditions and/or salaries. While they reap the profits of what they do, it is usually the environment, regular people and society at large that pays for the damage caused. It is time for companies to be held accountable and for their political power to be curbed.
The solution
The financial crisis has proven once again that corporations are incapable of regulating themselves. Therefore, we are calling for binding legal frameworks that allow peoples to protect themselves against corporate power. Companies, and their directors, need to be held liable for the damage they cause, at home and in other countries. We are calling for improved transparency around lobbying and an end to these companies' privileged access to decision-makers. Corporate rule should be replaced by rights for communities and citizens to choose and develop their local economies and to hold corporations legally accountable for bad practices. Those affected by corporate crimes need to be enabled to take the company to court on its homeground, if needed.
What we do
We challenge the powerful role of corporations in institutions like the World Bank, the UN system, the European Union and the World Economic Forum. We also expose and denounce ‘greenwash’ practices by challenging misleading corporate advertisements and statements. We support local communities in their struggle to defend their rights and their territories. We work with these communities in the implementation of referenda in which they express their opinion on corporate practices and we support them when they take companies to court for the damage they cause. And finally, we work with parliamentarians to establish legally binding rules for big business.
