Biofuel and gold producers named and shamed
Finnish biofuel specialist Neste Oil and the AngloGold/Ashanti mining company have been given Public Eye Awards in Davos for social and ecological irresponsibility.
Neste Oil was awarded the public prize after more than 50,000 people took part in an online poll. According to the awards organisers, the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace, it beat out competition from petrol giant BP and cigarette maker Philip Morris.
Neste is the world’s biggest buyer of palm oil, used to produce its “Green Diesel”. Demand for this oil is leading to deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia and endangering orangutan habitats.
AngloGold/Ashanti received the jury prize for its responsibility in poisoning the environment and the local population near its gold mining operations in Ghana.
The Public Eye Awards are handed out on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos. They aim to highlight the downside of globalisation based only on profits.
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