US gold mining giant Newmont Mining and Swiss utility Bernische Kraftwerke (BKW) won the Bern Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland’s fifth Public Eye Awards held at Davos, Switzerland, on the first day of the World Economic Forum, for blatantly disregarding the environment and their social responsibility.
Newmont Mining, the world’s largest gold producer, won two Public Eye Awards, the Global Award and People’s Award, for its gold mining project in eastern Ghana. The American company is ignoring the environmental and social damage its planned 1,915 hectare gold mine will create. If the project goes ahead, 10,000 farmers will lose their land and livelihood and cyanide, used to extract the gold, will poison the soil, water and wildlife.
Bernische Kraftwerke (BKW), the Bernese utility company, was awarded the Swiss Award for pushing for the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Germany. Coal is the most climate-damaging of all fossil fuels and BKW’s plan to build more coal-fired power stations will damage the global fight against climate change. Its plans blatantly contradict its self-promotion as a forward-looking company that promotes renewable energy and energy efficiency.
In contrast to these offender awards, there was a Positive Award for the most courageous employee of the year. This year’s Award is shared by two Colombian union leaders, Jairo Quiroz Delgado and Freddy Lozano for their fight for workers’ rights at Colombia’s El Cerrejon coal mine.
The Public Eye Awards are held to remind the world’s corporate leaders at the World Economic Forum of their social and environmental responsibility and provide a rallying point for a public that views the Forum with critical eyes.
For more information go to www.evb.ch/publiceye
