Irresponsible corporate behaviour awards to be presented on January 26

Pro Natura – Friends of the Earth Switzerland
Berne Declaration

Corporate nominees include more than twenty global corporations that have failed in their responsibilities regarding human rights, labour rights, the environment or taxes.
The sixth edition of the “Public Eye on Davos“ conference takes place on 26 and 27 January 2005 in Davos, Switzerland. The event will be opened by renowned economist and globalisation critic Noreena Hertz.
“Our Public Eye Awards are meant as a reminder to members of the WEF and other large corporate groups that the public expects from them responsible environmental behaviour and respect for human rights, labour rights, and fiscal duties,“ says Matthias Herfeldt of the Berne Declaration.
Sonja Ribi of Pro Natura argues: “We need an effective legally binding international framework for corporate accountability. The Global Compact and other voluntary initiatives are insufficient, since they neither provide rules for implementation, nor monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms”.
In autumn 2004, non-governmental organisations from across the world submitted nominations for the “Public Eye Awards“.
Nominees include companies like Bayer, BP, Dow Chemical, KPMG, Monsanto, Nestlé, Shell, Stallion Garments, Syngenta, Total and Unocal, Wal-Mart and Vodafone.
For each of the four categories (human rights, labour rights, environment, and taxes) the non-governmental organizations supporting ‘The Public Eye on Davos’ [*] select a winner that excels in irresponsible corporate behaviour.
From 11 to 24 January 2005, the public is invited to vote online to select the winner of ‘the public’s award’.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sonja Ribi
Project Leader, Politics and International Affairs,
Pro Natura – Friends of the Earth Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)61 317 92 42; +41 (0)79 216 02 06

Matthias Herfeldt
Coordinator. ‘The Public Eye on Davos’
Berne Declaration, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)1 277 70 06; +41 (0)76 338 59 38

The Public Eye on Davos online:
– Events program and other information: www.evb.ch/publiceyeondavos.htm
– Complete list of award nominees: www.evb.ch/nominations.htm
– Public’s award: www.evb.ch/publicsaward.htm

NOTES TO EDITORS:
[*] The Public Eye on Davos is a a project of Bern Declaration (coordination) and Pro Natura (Friends of the Earth Switzerland), Friends of the Earth International (FoEI), Asociación Latinoamericana de Organizaciones de Promoción, Corporate Europe Observatory, Focus on the Global South, International South Group Network, Tebtebba Foundation, Women in Development Europe, and World Development Movement.
CONTACT The Public Eye on Davos c/o Berne Declaration, Switzerland
Tel. + 41 (0)1 277 70 06, Fax. + 41 (0)1 277 70 01,
Online: www.evb.ch/publiceye.htm