![\"Polar](\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/01\/03db3b1c-gp0strcii_medium_res.jpg\")
Polar bear hijacks Coke\u2019s holiday advertising in London. 5 Dec, 2017<\/p><\/div>\n
We stand in the\u00a0way of imports of dirty cars<\/a>\u00a0and expose corporate misbehaviour wherever we encounter it.<\/p>\n The public image of Greenpeace is often one of “corporate bashers”. We can indeed be pretty harsh and irreverent when calling attention to corporate misdeeds, like in this satire video.<\/p>\n Of course, we don’t believe that everyone in a corporation thinks like the man in the video. There are many in business – and many businesses – that want to do the right thing for people and planet. We applaud them.<\/p>\n Greenpeace never says no without offering an alternative. We are so committed to getting the solutions our world needs adopted fast, that we are, at times, willing to praise corporations that are still part of the problem.<\/p>\n We’ll\u00a0say \u201cwell done\u201d<\/a>\u00a0to Coca Cola for eliminating climate damaging refrigerants from their cooling equipment because it benefits our climate and future generations. But we do so in the context of us demanding more fundamental change. \u00a0And we do so\u00a0at the very same time<\/em>\u00a0as\u00a0we campaign against them<\/a>\u00a0on plastic pollution.<\/p>\n We have \u201cno permanent friends or enemies\u201d. That’s part of our\u00a0core values<\/a>\u00a0– and it works to achieve change. The work with Coca-Cola to eliminate climate damaging gases, for example, also started as a brand jam when they were providing the \u201cgreen Sydney Olympics\u201d with cooling equipment that destroyed our climate.<\/p>\n Campaign against the use of HFCs in fridges by the Sydney Olympics sponsor, Coca-Cola. 14 Jun, 2000<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s a fact, though, that corporations who misbehave are too rarely punished – and too often have captured our political leaders. The public good – our planet, our future – is the loser.<\/p>\n You can see that clearly in our new report\u00a0Justice for People and Planet<\/em><\/a>, which showcases 20 case studies of corporate capture, collusion and impunity. The report describes how some corporations have abused and violated human and environmental rights around the world. The examples are as shocking as they are diverse, ranging from deforestation, water and air pollution, plastic pollution, or waste dumping, to chemical spills, nuclear disaster, violations of Indigenous rights and more.<\/p>\n The report argues that it is the rules that govern our global economy (and lack thereof) that are the real reason behind such corporate misdeeds. Economic globalisation has created significant governance gaps. There are no enforceable social and environmental global rules governing global economic players.<\/p>\n That we lack these rules to deliver a sustainable and fair economy worldwide is the result of specific political choices by our leaders. The cases presented in our report show that corporate impunity for environmental destruction and human rights violations is a result of the current economic and legal systems.<\/p>\n The failure to protect human rights and the environment is often caused by state institutions and decision-makers being captured by specific corporate interests. This all too often leads to politicians failing to pass binding laws and failing to ensure corporations are held to account.<\/p>\n There is a different way. Effective state action could end corporate capture and close the governance gap. Global regulations with teeth are clearly possible \u2013 they exist! The World Trade Organisation, for example, can sanction countries that break its rules.<\/p>\n We need similarly strong roles for the environment and human rights. That\u2019s why we’re putting forward\u00a010 Principles for Corporate Accountability<\/strong>:<\/p>\n You can find much more detail about these principles (and why they are needed) in the report itself.<\/p>\n And you can, like us, take heart in some steps in the right direction that are already underway:\u00a0France<\/a>, recently required corporations to identify potential risks to people and the environment as a result of their activities, and act to prevent harm to people and the environment.<\/p>\n Switzerland is gearing up for a people\u2019s referendum that would legally oblige corporations to incorporate respect for human rights and the environment in all their business activities.<\/p>\n New specialised laws such as the\u00a0UK\u2019s Modern Slavery Act<\/a>\u00a0also require businesses to tackle slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains.<\/p>\n All these show how governments can make rules with teeth to govern corporate activities around the world. If they want to.<\/p>\n![\"Greenpeace](\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/01\/7453cf1a-gp0jbh_medium_res.jpg\")
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![\"Statue](\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/01\/71f969a8-gp0strgtz_medium_res.jpg\")