EU bans phthalates in toys
Pesticide residues in your food
How many dead cows does it take to upholster a car?
ChristianAid launch cyberactivist site
Environmentjob.co.uk
Xposé Awards 2004
The Xposé Awards Ceremony, sponsored by Friends of the Earth, took place on Monday 27th September at the Labour Party Conference.
Xposé for Best Omission from a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report
While some companies now produce reports on their social and environmental performance, there are no rules as to what goes in the report and what stays out. It is entirely up to companies to decide. Which company has published the glossiest report whilse skilfully omitting the biggest environmental damage or social impact?
Nominees:
• BAE Systems - for failing to mention they make weapons that kill people,
• Shell - for failing to mention its lack of liaison with aggrieved community members directly affected by its operations and pollution in Port Arthur, Texas
• British American Tobacco - for using anti-smoking schemes aimed at children to market cigarettes that kill.
And the winner was...BAE
Xposé for Taking the Most from the Government Box Office
Big business is rightfully proud of its entrepreneurial risk taking record - aided and abetted, of course, by taxpayers who repeatedly bale it out when things go wrong. Which industry made the most creative use of public subsidies or tax exemptions, i.e. getting money for what it would do anyway?
Nominees:
• Aviation industry - for securing £9.2 billion in tax exemptions
• Big oil - for securing government financial support for projects around the world, including $150 million for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.
And the winner was...aviation
Heart of Gold Xposé for Voluntary Action
Voluntary initiatives litter the CSR landscape. Which voluntary agreement has been the best at preventing regulation, while actually making the smallest possible difference to the way business is run?
Nominees:
• Supermarket Code of Practice - for getting businesses to write their own rules
• Global Compact - for getting companies to sign up to an agreement they don’t have to follow
• OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises - for imposing guidelines that governments can easily overlook.
And the winner was...Global Compact
Xposé for the Most Spectacular Special Effects
Corporate lobby groups have warned that ‘progressive’ regulations will mean the end of the world as we know it - from the minimum wage to new chemicals legislation. Who was the outstanding performer in such diversionary tactics, special effects and exaggeration?
Nominees:
• International Chamber of Commerce - for lobbying against the UN Norms on human rights
• CBI - for protecting British industry from the perils of CSR regulation and legislation
• Freedom to Fly - for hiding corporate interests behind the mantle of a community stakeholder group.
And the winner was...CBI
Special Achievement Xposé for Services to Africa
To mark the Prime Minister’s prioritisation of Africa while chairing the G8, this year there was a special award - which company has successfully promised the world to Africa, but done the least?
Nominees:
• Monsanto - for its generosity in promoting GM food to countries in Africa
• Shell - for increasing gas flaring in Africa, polluting the atmosphere, but providing no fuel.
And the winner was...Shell
Xposé for Most Ingeniously Injurious yet Commonplace Product
It really is hard to get a good, simple, money-spinning product out there these days, without someone ruining it all by claiming human rights, environmental or some other kind of abuse. This Xposé goes to the product that has managed to enjoy great success whilse failing to blip on the Good Samaritan radar.
Nominees:
• 4x4 - seven out of eight never get driven off road, yet they cause 47% more pollution than your average car
• Patio heaters - providing central heating to the great outdoors
• Palm oil - the hidden ingredient worth £ billions which destroys rainforest and its indigenous communities.
And the winner was...4WDs
Phthalates banned from EU toys
A group of hazardous chemicals used in toys and childcare products is set to be banned following a decision by EU ministers. The move follows a long running campaign by environmental groups to end the use of toxic chemicals known as phthalates.
Phthalates are a group of chemicals suspected of causing cancer, kidney damage and hormonal disruption. New research has also revealed that children’s risk of developing asthma and allergies increases when they are exposed to phthalates. Phthalates are used as softeners in toys made of PVC plastic and in other items.
The decision recommends a ban of three phthalates (DEHP, DBP and BBP) that the EU has identified as capable of causing reproductive damage from all products intended for children regardless of age. The three other phthalates (DINP, DIDP and DNOP) will only be prohibited in toys and childcare articles for children under three years old and which are intended to be sucked on or chewed.
For more information, contact:
Friends of the Earth, 26-28 Underwood St, London N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555 Fax: 020 7490 0881
Email: info@foe.co.uk
Pesticides in your food - new guide reveals the real problem
New research by the Soil Association shows that many popular foods contain levels of pesticide residues over the legal limit set by government regulators. The findings are published in a consumer guide 'What’s Your Poison?' which was launched at the end of October.
For example, over 170 million pears sold in the UK in 2003 could have contained residues of Carbendazim: this spray is a possible cause of cancer according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The government body that regulates pesticides, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, says that legal limits are set below safety levels and that pesticide residues in food, even those over maximum residue levels are ‘safe’.
Peter Melchett, the Soil Association’s policy director says, “It is wrong to say these residues are ‘safe’. The government and their advisors simply ignore areas of scientific uncertainty, such as the impact of pesticide residues on babies and the elderly, or where no scientific information is available, e.g. the cumulative impact of the cocktail of chemicals that end up in our bodies. They should not say that pesticide residues are safe – the truth is they do not know for sure."
Copies of the guide 'What’s Your Poison?' are available to people who donate to the Soil Association campaign to reduce the level of pesticides used in farming - contact 0117 314 5188.
It is also available free from www.soilassociation.org/pesticides.
Merciless Benz
It usually takes the skins of about four cows to produce the interior of just one car. DaimlerChrysler’s Maybach, however, requires seven cowhides, and BMW’s Rolls-Royce requires 15.
Ultimately, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants car manufacturers to stop using leather which is an integral part of the livestock trade. As a start, it wants DaimlerChrysler and other car companies to offer a non-leather option for each model of their vehicles.
DaimlerChrysler brands include Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Setra, Freightliner, Sterling Trucks and Western Star Trucks.
PETA wants supporters to write to DaimlerChrysler, asking the company to offer nonleather interiors in all models and ranges of its cars. You can sign a quick and easy online appeal that PETA will send to car companies to help.
Write to Wilfried Steffen, President and CEO, DaimlerChrysler UK Ltd, Tongwell, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK15 8BA
Tel: 01908 668899 Fax: 01908 664351
12-step detox for the New year
Pressureworks.org, a new cyber activist site from Christian Aid, provides remedies for seasonal bouts of political depression. Dom Collier, Pressureworks’ editor, says: ‘Pressureworks is medicine for a sick culture. It’s a seething hot house of ironic comment, rabid opinion and savage indignation for the conscience of a generation that’s tired of being lied to. It’s direct and fast moving, full of campaign action for the wired and the fired-up.’
Pressurework’s features news stories, reports, and regular columns. Topics include trade justice, debt, HIV/AIDS, peace and conflict, ethical lifestyle, the environment and world events. In addition to being outraged, irritated and provoked by a wealth of hard-hitting commentary, biting comment and frothing-mouthed libel, visitors can share their own stories, photos, and video clips, as well as stirring up debate in this virtual venue.
environmentjob.co.uk
With job vacancies ranging from conservation to campaigning and
from renewable energy to recycling, environmentjob.co.uk is a source
of information for anyone looking for a career in the environment. The
site was launched in 2002 to provide an easy and cost effective way
for environmental organisations to advertise their vacancies nationally.
It now has more than 400 advertisers.
Environmentjob.co.uk is run by a small business. Check out the website
or contact David White
Tel: 0161 282 0920 Email: david@environmentjob.co.uk
