Vale and Barclays named as corporate villains
Non-governmental organisations Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland have handed out their annual Public Eye Awards, naming and shaming Brazilian mining giant Vale and the Barclays banking group.
The awards expert panel chose Barclays for its role in driving up “food prices at the expense of the poorest” as the world’s “fastest growing food speculator”.
The public vote went to Vale, the world’s second-largest mining company and biggest global producer of iron ore. According to the NGOs, the corporation’s 60-year history has been tarnished by human rights abuses, bad working conditions and exploitation of nature.
The runners-up in the public vote were Japan’s Tepco, owner of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and Korean electronics firm Samsung.
The awards are handed out every year in the Swiss resort of Davos during the annual World Economic Forum.
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