Core to Global Exchange’s founding is providing an analysis of corporate power and challenging neoliberal free trade. Through our work, we provide global citizens with the information to understand the perils of an economic system that benefits very few – the 1% – and empower people to take action. For the 5th year in a row, we’ve compiled a “Most Wanted” list of Corporate Criminals and maintained the Alumni list.
The 2016 list is comprised of six new “most wanted” corporations judged on issues like unlivable working conditions and pay, violations of human rights and voting rights, climate change denial, and environmental destruction. Four corporations, Koch Industries, McDonald’s, Chevron and Monsanto were on earlier lists but are included again, as the corporate behavior of these companies has reached egregious levels this year and merits repeat attention.
A note on the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Global Exchange has been actively involved in campaigns to stop free trade deals that sabotage worker rights, environmental rights and human rights since the days of the battle against NAFTA. For the 2016 list, we wanted to identify a corporation that has been a leader in promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but we ran into a problem: according to the Center for Responsive Politics, government data on corporate spending on lobbying for the TPP is mixed in with data on other issues. Some of the companies that lobbied on TPP that spent the most overall (on all issues) are Dow Chemical, Boeing, Google, Comcast and Exxon. Trade associations are also among the biggest contributors, including the Chamber of Commerce, PhRMA and the Business Roundtable. So while we were not able to identify a specific “top corporate criminal” on this issue, we want to highlight the crucial challenge the TPP will be this coming fall as President Obama attempts to get it passed. Learn more here.
Join us to stop the TPP and take action with these organizations: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Communications Workers of America, Greenpeace, Credo Action, Green America
The Ten Top Most Wanted Corporate Criminals list is a guide to learn about what companies like PepsiCo, Exxon Mobil, and others you might have heard less about are doing to undermine human rights and the environment. The more we know, the less corporations can continue to act harmfully and out of the public eye. Share the list with friends, family, and co-workers. Use the Take Action section to add your voice and increase the pressure.
We at Global Exchange encourage you to exercise your right as a global citizen to promote social justice and defend the Earth.