Funding fossil fuels, weapons, tobacco: Tracking cos barred by investors, banks

BankTrack Newswire
A coalition of NGOs has launched the Financial Exclusions Tracker, a new website that tracks which companies are being excluded by investors and banks for sustainability reasons. Most excluded corporations are barred due to links to fossil fuels, weapons or tobacco.
This public dataset is the first of its kind. It aims to inform investors and banks, civil society and media about which corporations are blacklisted by investors. The tracker lists a total of 4,532 companies that have been excluded by 87 financial institutions in 16 countries.
The coalition expects the list to put additional pressure on those identified companies to change their practices. Local communities, civil society, investors and governments can use the list to identify the companies with the largest Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks, as flagged by investors themselves.

Climate as most common reason for exclusion

The most common motivation for excluding companies is climate/fossil fuels (40%). This is followed by controversial weapons (17%) and tobacco accounting for 12% of exclusions. The fourth most prominent reason for exclusion is human rights (7%). Concerns around business practices are a fifth main motive for exclusion. The companies most excluded by investors and banks are:

Climate change (mainly fossil fuel companies): 1 Cenovus Energy; 2 Suncor; 3 China Energy; 4 ExxonMobil; 5 Shandong Energy;
Controversial weapons (cluster munitions, nuclear etc.): 1 Poongsan; 2 Northrop Grumman; 3 General Dynamics; 4 Larsen & Toubro; 5 LigNex1;
Tobacco: 1 Philip Morris; 2 Altria Group; 3 British American Tobacco; 4 Imperial Brands; 5 Japan Tobacco;
Human Rights: 1 Energy Transfer; 2 Vale; 3 Walmart; 4 OCP Group; 5 ConocoPhillips;
Business practices (corruption, tax evasion, etc): 1 JBS; 2 Gazprom; 3 Elbit Systems; 4 China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC); 5 Kangmei Pharmaceutical.

The company most excluded is Poongsan Corporation from South Korea, which is blacklisted by a total of 75 investors and banks due to its involvement in cluster munitions. Fossil fuel companies do not only feature prominently in the climate category, but also in the categories relating to human rights violations and controversial business practices.

Website shows original motivation for exclusion

The Financial Exclusions Tracker comes with a downloadable full data set in Excel, wherein the original motivation for excluding each company by the financial institution can be found, if provided by the financial institution. It will be updated on a regular basis, as investors and banks regularly add and remove corporations from exclusion lists. The data set is searchable by company, by investor, by country of investor, by country of company, by category and by subcategory for exclusion.
Financial Exclusions Tracker is an initiative by: BankTrack, Both ENDS, Fair Finance International, Forests & Finance, Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), PAX, Profundo Research Foundation, Rainforest Action Network, and the Environmental Paper Network.

Quotes

“This dataset shows for example that JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker and one of the largest drivers of deforestation and rights violations in the Amazon, is also the most excluded company in the category “business practices. This should be a red flag for anyone considering doing business with the company”, said Merel van der Mark, coordinator of the Forests and Finance Coalition
“We welcome the fact that several financial institutions exclude companies due to the links with detrimental climate impacts from financing. It demonstrates that some financials are willing to take steps to reduce their financed emissions, and we hope more financial institutions follow this example", said Peer de Rijk, campaigner Paris-proof corporations at Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands).
“This database is a very valuable source of information for the financial sector, media and civil society. Extra due diligence is required for companies who appear in this database. We request investors to share their Exclusion Lists with us, so that this database can be regularly updated”, said Kees Kodde, project lead Fair Finance International.
“Annually, the tobacco industry is responsible for more than 8 million deaths worldwide and has a reputation for deception and deceit. It is an industry in which one should not want to invest. This database will hopefully inspire other parties”, said Hans Snijder, director of the Health Funds for a Smokefree Netherlands.
“Public exclusion is a very important way for investors to exercise influence when companies do not listen to their sustainability demands. This tool helps to amplify investor positions and increases the pressure on companies to act”, said Jakob König, leader of Fair Finance Sweden.
"Our advocacy with investors will be empowered by this new database, and it allows us to better help people affected by the bad behaviour of companies violating human and environmental rights", said Cindy Coltman, Senior Policy Officer of Both ENDS (the Netherlands).
“Banks and other investors are well advised to carefully consult this new Exclusion Tracker as part of their overall due diligence procedures on new clients, as these exclusions by other institutions result from similar vetting procedures that have brought to light unacceptable aspects of those companies’ performance. Such exclusion may well be a good reason for a bank to follow their example”, said
Johan Frijns, executive Director of BankTrack (Netherlands).

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”

Counterview

Search This Blog