#regulations_and_norms

Information, Democracy and Corporate Power
►http://multinationales.org/Information-Democracy-and-Corporate-Power

Without free and independent information, there can be no democracy. Yet the growing power and #influence of bug business and transnational corporations in the economic and political realms is partly based on the control of information about their influence and impacts. This article was first published as an introduction to our publication Democratic Information in an Age of Corporate Power. It seems obvious that without information, democracy cannot exist. It’s impossible to imagine modern (...)

#Investigations

/ #internal_democracy_within_firms, #social_impact, #environmental_impact, influence, #regulations_and_norms, (...)

#transparency
“►https://multinationales.org/Democratic-Information-in-an-Age-of-Corporate-Power”

#France's Blatant Disregard for the Health of its People – How the Government and Lobby Groups have been Pushing Diesel Cars
▻http://multinationales.org/France-s-Blatant-Disregard-for-the-Health-of-its-People-How-the-Gov

The large majority of France’s car fleet runs on diesel, despite its lamentable health effects and the enormous costs involved for society. But who is to blame? Since the eighties, political authorities, industrial figures and transport professionals have persistently backed the diesel engine even though its emissions have always been recognized as extremely harmful – and even carcinogenic. And the evidence continues to mount against it. But the French government recently announced an (...)

#Investigations

/ #Automotive_Industry, France, #PSA_Peugeot_Citroën, #Renault, #Lobbying, #environmental_impact, #influence, #regulations_and_norms, Environmental (...)

#Environmental_Health
“►http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/ED81.pdf”
“►http://www.senat.fr/commission/enquete/cout_economique_et_financier_de_la_pollution_de_lair.html#c617158”
“►http://www.airparif.asso.fr/_pdf/fiches-polluants-2014.pdf”
“►http://www.liberation.fr/terre/2013/03/04/corinne-lepage-le-lobby-automobile-a-detricote-la-loi-sur-l-air_886185”
“►http://www.france5.fr/emission/5089153dbb94781404003039/50891541bb94781404003430”

#Extractive_Industries and the Right to #water: The Responsibility of Multinationals
▻http://multinationales.org/Extractive-Industries-and-the-Right-to-Water-The-Responsibility-of

This report is the conclusion of a series of #Investigations and articles on #Extractive_Industries and water published, over a year and a half, by Basta! and the Multinationals Observatory, with the support of France Libertés – Fondation Danielle Mitterrand. The focus of this work was to look at the role and responsibility of multinational corporations, as the main drivers of extractivism. Water is a critical input for #extractive_industries (mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction). All of (...)

Investigations

/ A la une, Extractive Industries, Extractive Industries, #local_communities, #human_rights, water, #social_impact, #environmental_impact, extractive industries, #regulations_and_norms, #corporate_legal_responsibility, corporate social (...)

#corporate_social_responsibility
“►https://multinationales.org/IMG/pdf/rapport-eng.pdf”
►http://multinationales.org/IMG/pdf/rapport-eng.pdf

Are the Chemical Industry’s Interests Taking Precedence Over People’s Lives in Europe?
▻http://multinationales.org/Are-the-Chemical-Industry-s-Interests-Taking-Precedence-Over-People

The #european_union has still not regulated usage of endocrine disruptors, chemical substances with colossal health impacts utilized in many common consumer products. Yet endocrine disruptors are the source of many disorders: birth defects, cancers and obesity. This regulatory delay, which has just been condemned by the European justice system, owes nothing to accident. The chemical industries - manufacturers of pesticides and plastics - are #Lobbying intensively and hamper any serious (...)

#Investigations

/ #Chemicals, Lobbying, #Environmental_Health, #regulations_and_norms, #new_technologies, european union, (...)

#influence
“▻http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34711-in-europe-are-the-chemical-industry-s-interests-taking-precedence-o”
“▻http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/consensus/wingspread1.htm”
“►http://www.who.int/ceh/publications/endocrine/en”
“►http://press.endocrine.org/doi/full/10.1210/er.2009-0002”
“▻http://www.figo.org/sites/default/files/uploads/News/Final%20PDF_8462.pdf”
“▻http://www.cefic.org”
“►http://www.ecpa.eu”
“▻https://www.cosmeticseurope.eu”
“▻http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/endocrine/pdf/sota_edc_final_report.pdf”
“▻http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/03/ttip-what-why-angry-transatlantic-trade-investment-partnership-guide”

Pollution, Drought and Threats: the Disturbing Cocktail of #Colombia's Oil Industry
▻http://multinationales.org/Pollution-Drought-and-Threats-the-Disturbing-Cocktail-of-Colombia-s

Perenco is a low-profile French oil company, owned by one of France’s richest families. Basta! and the Multinationals Observatory investigated its practices in Colombia where #Perenco owns several concessions, alongside other companies. The oil industry has been accused of playing a role in the droughts that have grown more frequent in the Amazon Savannah. It also faces accusations of negligence in regards to the pollution left to contaminate marshes and rivers. In spite of the blockading (...)

#Investigations

/ #Extractive_Industries, Colombia, Perenco, #Extractive_Industries, #Fossil_fuels, #local_communities, #human_rights, #social_impact, #environmental_impact, #extractive_industries, #regulations_and_norms, A la (...)

“▻http://casanarenoticias.com/index.php/component/k2/item/1526-en-caso-del-estero-matemarrano-tribunal-demanda-pacto-de-cump”
“►http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/nacional/autoridades-apuntan-cinco-pecados-posibles-causa-de-seq-articulo-48412”
“►http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/justicia/detrimento-patrimonial-en-zonas-con-poca-agua/16372557”
“►http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2012/02/25/la-colombie-ferme-les-yeux-sur-les-entreprises-alliees-aux-milices_798637”
“►http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/investigacion/petrolera-perenco-y-los-paras-articulo-320929”
“▻http://www.perenco-colombia.com”
“►http://www.bnamericas.com/news/oilandgas/colombian-regulator-suspends-perenco-crude-transport”
“▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2CKkaSzQEg%20et%20https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awjKzdKCsnE

In Alberta and Downstream, the Heavy Toll of the Oil Sands Industry on #water and the Environment
▻http://multinationales.org/In-Alberta-and-downstream-the-heavy-toll-of-the-oil-sands-industry-

In Alberta, Canadian and international oil companies, including #Shell and #Total, develop oil sands deposits at a frantic pace. Despite the current oil price slump, they still hope to triple production by 2030. While there is much talk of its greenhouse gas emissions, the oil sands industry also has heavy, lesser-known impacts on water resources and #biodiversity. The consequences of excessive water extraction and pollution are beginning to be felt downstream, perhaps all the way to the (...)

#Investigations

/ A la une, #Extractive_Industries, #Canada, Shell, Total, #Extractive_Industries, #Fossil_fuels, biodiversity, #climate_change, #local_communities, water, #environmental_impact, #social_impact, #extractive_industries, #regulations_and_norms, #Environmental_Health, (...)

#energy

Cleaner Oil Sands? #Shell and Veolia’s Carmon Creek Project
▻http://multinationales.org/Cleaner-Oil-Sands-Shell-and-Veolia-s-Carmon-Creek-Project

Shell and Veolia, an oil and gas major and a #water company, have joined forces to design a new, ’ecological’ oil sands plant at Carmon Creek, on the Peace River in Alberta, #Canada. According to them, this new plant will have almost zero impact on water resources. But many experts are skeptical, and there is little detail about their exact plans. Meanwhile, the starting date for the plant seems to have been postponed until at least 2019. Second part of Edward Struzik’s report on oil sands and (...)

#Investigations

/ #Water_and_Sanitation, #Extractive_Industries, Canada, Shell, #Veolia_environnement, #Fossil_fuels, water, #shale_gas, #environmental_impact, #extractive_industries, #regulations_and_norms, #Environmental_Health, #transparency, (...)

#energy

Synthetic Biology : Life reconstructed by engineers and multinationals
▻http://multinationales.org/Synthetic-Biology-Life

According to its proposents, synthetic biology would seem to be leading us into a brighter future, full of promises of better medicines, anti-pollution bacteria and synthetic fuels. But whilst it continues to attract investments from the largest global companies in the biotechnology, #Energy and agribusiness sectors, the use of lab-built DNA and of patented gene factories to produce life at industrial scale raises many questions. As the first fully computer-designed organisms are just (...)

#Investigations

/ Food & Agribusiness, Energy, #Pharma, #France, #United_States, #Michelin, #Total, #Sanofi, #Green_Economy, #Amyris, #new_technologies, #intellectual_property, #Environmental_Health, regulations and (...)

#Food_&_Agribusiness #regulations_and_norms
« ►http://www.genopole.fr/Bioparc-les-projets-structurants.html »
« ►http://www.sanofi.com/Images/32474_20130411_ARTEMISININE_fr.pdf »
« ►http://www.etcgroup.org »
« ►http://www.foe.org/news/archives/2012-03-global-coalition-calls-oversight-synthetic-biology »
« ►http://cache.media.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/Rapport_Biologie_de_synthese/58/5/L2_BIOLOGIE_DESYNTHeSE_version_finale_web2_202585.pdf »
« ►http://biobricks.org/about-foundation »
« ►https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank »
« ►http://www.issb.genopole.fr/Research/teams »
« ►http://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/2012/06/22/01008-20120622ARTFIG00775-faut-il-avoir-peur-de-la-biologie-synthetique.php »
« ►http://www.lapaillasse.org »
« ►http://www.lemonde.fr/le-monde-2/article/2009/09/04/biohackers-les-bricoleurs-d-adn_1235563_1004868.html »
« ►http://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Info/Index »
« ►http://2013.igem.org/Team:INSA_Toulouse »
« ►http://biologie-synthese.cnam.fr/historique »
« ►http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/rap-off/i4354.asp »
« ►http://wallpapersus.com/dna-nanotech-creative-design »
« ►http://www.piecesetmaindoeuvre.com/spip.php?page=resume&id_article=395 »
« ►http://total.com/fr/energies-savoir-faire/energies-renouvelables/biomasse/projets-realisations/amyris »
« ▻http://sciencescitoyennes.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fiche_FSC_Artémisinine.pdf »

The UK : latest front line in the European #shale_gas battles
▻http://multinationales.org/The-UK-latest-front-line-in-the

The #United_Kingdom is full of strong opinions when it comes to shale gas, which requires hydraulic fracturing (or ‘fracking’) – the controversial technique where a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected at high pressure into rock followed by depressurisation – to extract it. David Cameron’s conservative coalition government is pushing harder than ever on both a domestic and European level to promote the practice (and the lucrative rewards assumed to go with it). Meanwhile, thousands of (...)

#Investigations

/ #Extractive_Industries, #Energy, United Kingdom, #Total, #GDF_Suez, #Cuadrilla, #Extractive_Industries, #Fossil_fuels, #Lobbying, #local_communities, shale gas, #greenhouse_gas, #social_impact, #environmental_impact, #extractive_industries, #energy, regulations and (...)

#regulations_and_norms #influence
« ►http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21120-how-fracking-caused-earthquakes-in-the-uk.html »
« ►http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/28/fracking-office-single-unit-shale-gas-produced »
« ►http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geoffreylean/100282976/want-to-know-how-fracking-will-affect-you-sorry-thats-a-state-sec »
« ►http://www.ukoog.org.uk/about-ukoog/press-releases/131-new-survey-shows-57-of-britons-support-natural-gas-from-shale »
« ►http://www.leparisien.fr/environnement/exclusif-environnement-72-des-francais-contre-l-exploitation-du-gaz-de-sc »
« ►http://www.renewablesinternational.net/german-government-wants-shale-gas/150/537/79666 »
« ▻http://www.northernenergy.co.uk/mainnews/fracking-supported-by-majority-of-uk »
« ►http://www.nodashforgas.org.uk/campinfo »
« ►http://www.nodashforgas.org.uk/uncategorized/breaking-operation-mums-and-grandmas-omg-occupy-proposed-drilling-s »
« ►http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/18/fracking-protesters-occupy-blackpool-office-cuadrilla »
« ►http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/europe »
« ►http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-promises-fracking-tax-boost-for-councils-willing-to-app »
« ►http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/01/13/fracking-councils_n_4587143.html »
« ►http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2013/04/decc-energy-statistics,-march-2013 »
« ▻http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/3284/British-public-split-on-nuclear-power.aspx »
« ▻http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/25/labour-regulation-uk-fracking-industry »
« ▻http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/company/news-and-updates/speeches/shale-gas-american-success-story »
« ►https://www.chathamhouse.org/media/comment/view/187991 »
« ►http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26735000 »
« ►http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/jun/06/shale-oil-boom-over-energy-revolution-blackouts »
« ▻http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/31/uk-shale-gas-fracking-cuadrilla »
« ►http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geoffreylean/100222841/drilling-set-back-regulator-caught-out-as-fracking-opponents-draw »
« ►https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency »
« ►http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/06/fracking-trespass-law-changes-opposed-by-74-of-britons »
« ►http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/04/ban-fracking-from-national-parks-say-majority-of-uk-public »
« ►http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-25695813 »
« ▻http://www.wwf.gr/crisis-watch/issues/21-issue-21-december-2013/shale-gas-lobby-wins-war-against-strict-environmental-rules/28-shale-gas-lobby-wins-war-against-strict-environmental-rules »
« ►http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/08/05/support-fracking-not-my-backyard »
« ►https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economics-of-shale-gas »
« ►http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/energy/shaleGas/home.html »
« ►https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/potential-greenhouse-gas-emissions-associated-with-shale-gas-production-and-use »
« ►http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/fracking-regs-tarnished-new-report_05062014 »
« ►http://www.foeeurope.org/fracking-brussels-240714 »

Mount Polley mine spill : an accident waiting to happen ?
▻http://multinationales.org/Mount-Polley-mine-spill-an

A enormous tailings pond containing waste from a nearby gold and copper mine collapsed last month in British Columbia (B.C.), releasing billions of litres of wastewater and toxic sludge into nearby lakes and streams. A local state of emergency was called following the incident, and a temporary ban put on using #water from the area. But was this just an unfortunate accident, or the inevitable result of #Canada's increasingly lax and mining-friendly environmental regulation? The spill, which (...)

#News

/ #Extractive_Industries, Canada, #Imperial_Metals, #Extractive_Industries, #local_communities, water, #environmental_impact, #influence, #regulations_and_norms, Environmental (...)

#Environmental_Health
« ►http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mount-polley-mine-tailings-pond-breach-followed-years-of-government-warnings-1.2 »
« ►http://www.miningwatch.ca/blog/catastrophic-tailings-spill-mount-polley-mine »
« ►http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/bc-interior-health-partially-rescinds-water-restrictions-tsx-iii-193778 »
« ►https://news.vice.com/article/the-mount-polley-mine-disaster-has-produced-a-mysterious-waxy-blue-substa »
« ►http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/council-canadians/2014/09/mount-polley-imperial-metals-and-government-focus-on-coveri »
« ►https://www.facebook.com/UBCIC/posts/821691411194771?fref=nf »
« ►http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/05/imperial-metals-shares-tailings-spill/?__federated=1 »
« ►http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Imperial+Metals+insurance+likely+enough+collapse+cleanup/10105163/story.html »
« ►http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/09/canada-stephen-harper-revolt-scientists »
« ►http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/david-suzuki/canada-mining-industry_b_5718889.html »
« ►http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/13/mount-polley-mine-spill-british-columbia-canada »
« ►http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Major+Imperial+Metals+shareholder+held+private+fundraiser+Clark+election/10102715/story.html »
« ►http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mount-polley-mine-spill-minister-reveals-plans-for-2-reviews-1.2739488 »
« ►http://www.greenparty.bc.ca/mt_polley »
« ▻http://nationtalk.ca/story/sierra-club-bc-comments-on-mount-polley-disaster »

#Perenco in the Democratic Republic of Congo : when oil makes the poor poorer
▻http://multinationales.org/Perenco-in-the-Democratic-Republic

Perenco’s operations in Bas-Congo are an example of how oil extraction can destroy the environment and the livelihoods of #local_communities, without giving them almost anything in return. In Muanda, the “poorest oil city in the world,” exploitation of petroleum by the Anglo-French company Perenco has brought no real development benefits. A report by the French NGO CCFD-Terre Solidaire paints a damning picture of the situation: unwelcome news at a time when the Democratic Republic of Congo is (...)

#Investigations

/ #Extractive_Industries, #DR_Congo, Perenco, #Total, #Extractive_Industries, #biodiversity, local communities, #corruption, #human_rights, #tax_system, #social_impact, #environmental_impact, #extractive_industries, #commodities, #regulations_and_norms, #poverty, (...)

#corporate_social_responsibility #parent_company #transparency
« ►http://ccfd-terresolidaire.org/infos/rse/petrole-a-muanda-la »
« ►http://www.profundo.nl »
« ►http://www.perenco.com/fr/actualites/single/reussite-de-la-fracturation-sur-el-franig-en-tunisie.html »
« ►http://ccfd-terresolidaire.org/mob/agir/campagnes/investissements-hors »
« ►http://www.asso-sherpa.org/drame-au-bangladesh-le-gouvernement-se-defausse-sur-lue-plutot-que-dass »
« ▻http://oecdwatch.org/cases/Case_307 »
« ▻http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/central-africa/dr-congo/188-black-gold-in-the-congo-threat-to-stability-or-development-opportun »
« ►http://nawaat.org/portail/2013/10/29/enquete-sur-le-gaz-de-schiste-en-tunisie-des-profondeurs-du-sous-sol-tunisie »
« ▻http://www.scribd.com/doc/179884156/Mensonges-Gaz-de-Schiste-OTE-2013 »
« ▻http://platformlondon.org/carbonweb/documents/drc/A_Lake_of_Oil_Congo_DRC_Tullow_PLATFORM_May_2010.pdf »

Ilana Solomon: “In terms of climate and #Energy policy, TTIP takes us exactly in the wrong direction”
▻http://multinationales.org/Ilana-Solomon-In-terms-of-climate

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the risks of the transatlantic #Trade_and_Investment partnership (TTIP) project for #Europe and its regulations. But the consequences on the other side of the Atlantic could be just as dramatic, particularly in the boost it could give to further large-scale shale oil and gas developments. Interview with Ilana Solomon, director of the Sierra Club’s “responsible trade” programme. How did the Sierra Club, one of the most long-standing environmental (...)

#Investigations

/ #Lobbying, #Fossil_fuels, Trade and Investment, Europe, #United_States, #energy, #trade_and_investment_agreements, #public_campaign, #shale_gas, #greenhouse_gas, #environmental_impact, energy, #climate_change, #regulations_and_norms, #influence, european (...)

#european_union
“▻http://www.bastamag.net/Transatlantic-trade-a-bust-for”

Toxic pollution: chemical giants free from all liability?
▻http://multinationales.org/Toxic-pollution-chemical-giants

‘Manufacturers must answer for the poisoning caused by PCBs!’ demands the Coalition against #Bayer Dangers, a German organisation that has fought against the abuse of the German chemical multinational corporation for 35 years. This article was originally published in French. Translation: Jocelyn Timperley. PCBs – polychlorinated biphenyls – are industrial products used from the 1930s up to the 1980s in transformers, seals, paints and flooring. They are highly chlorinated organic compounds, and (...)

#News

/ #Germany, #Monsanto, Bayer, #Chemicals, #environmental_impact, #regulations_and_norms, #Environmental_Health, #occupational_health_and_safety, #corporate_social_responsibility, corporate legal (...)

#corporate_legal_responsibility
“▻http://www.cbgnetwork.de/4.html”
“►http://www.bayer.com/en/asm_2014_countermotions_en.pdfx”