RPT-FEATURE-Firms stumped for anti-globalisation response
September 23, 2001 11:01pm Source: Reuters
http://finance.individual.com/display_news.asp?doc_id=RTI23a8989reuff&page=news
By Patrick Chalmers
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Branded villains by anti-globalisation protesters, many of the world's largest companies are casting around for a fitting response.
But they are finding it tough.
At violent protests in Seattle in 1999 and in Genoa last July, the behaviour of multinationals was a rallying cry for a body of causes, from the plight of world's poor to destruction of the environment.
Many companies are worried the protests will get worse, especially if the attacks on Washington and New York hurt the global economy and pull the world into conflict, leading to greater unemployment and other cutbacks.
``We have got to work out how to deal with them,'' said Richard Sykes, group environmental adviser for Anglo-Dutch oil firm Shell International BV. ``And to me it's not obvious how you do it.''
But the array of causes emblazoned on the banners of angry marchers -- such as poor country debt, sweat-shop labour, human rights and the perceived hand of business in thwarting climate change action -- has made it hard to forge coherent replies.
Executives tackled the topic at a recent meeting of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in Malaysia, whose Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has voiced sympathy for some issues raised by protesters.
Participants came from the coalition of 150 global firms in the council, a body styling itself as a leader in ``eco-efficiency, innovation and responsible entrepreneurship.''
DEMANDS NOT IRRATIONAL
``We think that the violence is totally crazy, however, we think that the protests are not all irrational,'' said Al Fry, a WBCSD programme manager.
``Although there's a wide spectrum of protests, and sometimes internal conflicts within these movements, there are some serious and genuine concerns. Most of these protesters are not crazy.''
Shell is one of several high-profile multinationals that has been singled out by demonstrators.
It came under criticism in 1995 for its part in Nigeria's oil industry at a time when writer Ken Saro Wiwa and eight fellow activists were hanged on disputed charges of murder.
Saro Wiwa's organisation had campaigned against Shell, arguing the oil industry had devastated his native Ogoniland and left its people in poverty.
That same year Shell came under fire for trying to dump its disused Brent Spar oil installation at sea, sparking consumer backlashes in Europe before it backed down.
``We took a year out to understand society's changing expectations and why we'd gone wrong,'' Shell's Sykes told Reuters on the sidelines of the WBCSD meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Shell's apparent change of heart has seen it join fellow oil major BP in backing the Kyoto protocol to limit the emission of climate warming greenhouse gases. Full Story: http://finance.individual.com/display_news.asp?doc_id=RTI23a8989reuff&page=news
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