Corporate accountability requires global watchdog
Corporate accountability requires global watchdog
The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
Reckless multinational companies cause havoc to the environment and victims are unable to hold them responsible, according to a Greenpeace report calling for a global body to monitor corporate accountability and liability.
Greenpeace's Corporate Crimes report highlights 37 cases where mostly multinational companies have caused accidents that have damaged the environment but largely escaped responsibility in the absence of a global corporate monitoring system.
Marcelo Furtado of Greenpeace International said on Tuesday protecting the environment and its surrounding community from companies' reckless business practices necessitated the establishment of international legal measures for multinational companies to comply with.
"Corporations need governments looking at these issues because governments can set policies that will help clean industries to rise," Furtado said in a press meeting on the sidelines of the Fourth Preparatory Committee Meeting on Sustainable Development in Bali.
The meeting is to draw up an action plan, to be known as the Bali Commitment that world leaders will sign at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, later in August and September.
The Greenpeace report comes as delegates debate on whether or not to tighten regulations around corporate actions to ensure they comply with sustainable development principles.
Actions of corporations were behind a number of accidents causing the loss of lives and environmental damage, Furtado said.
The report by Greenpeace covers cases involving chemicals, pesticides, nuclear materials, and those in the genetic engineering, mining, forestry and oil sectors as well as one ship breaking incident.
Beginning its report with what Greenpeace called the worst chemical disaster is the 1984 Bhopal accident in India.
Gas leaked from a plant owned by Union Carbide India Limited in Bhopal, releasing a deadly amount of methyl isocyanate (MIC) into the surrounding area and exposing 520,000 people to the poisonous gas. In the first three days, 8,000 people died.
Eighteen years after, some 150,000 remain afflicted due to the effects of the gas leak with reports of third generation victims still suffering from various abnormalities.
In total the gas leak is believed to have killed about 20,000 people, with one dying every two days.
The Greenpeace report shows that behind this accident lies a history of poor corporate decisions.
According to the report, Union Carbide stored massive amounts of MIC in a densely populated area, ignoring its own safety measures and exceeding the permitted limit in Europe by over 100 times.
To cut costs, Union Carbide stored the MIC in unsafe conditions, reduced its staff and slashed the training programs for the remaining few.
In 1989, the company paid US$470 million in compensation but since its merger with Dow Chemicals, demands for further compensation have been largely ignored. Dow Chemicals itself is mentioned in three other chemical related accidents in the Greenpeace report.
"Governments have to be aware of what's going on, and they have to protect people because people have the right to a clean and just environment," Furtado said.
Other non-governmental organizations have also been calling for stricter control over corporate actions. The revised Chairman's Text, now called the draft plan of implementation, includes a phrase calling for an international framework for transnational corporate accountability.
But as the phrase is in brackets, its fate depends on the ongoing negotiations, with most developing countries in favor of it.
A number of developed countries have reportedly rejected the phrase, arguing that multinationals should be held accountable at national levels only.
Greenpeace said in its press release that governments were ultimately responsible for public welfare, and should force corporations to uphold the law and become more accountable to the public.
"Our calls for the governments to take this responsibility are not bad for the industries. But the industries have a tendency of not wanting any regulations, saying that they can run the world as they see fit and the market will fix everything," Furtado said.