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A detailed European action plan will soon be unveiled to deal with the growing problem of illness and disease caused by environmental pollution. Special focus will be given to children who are most vulnerable to environmental hazards. (Welcomeurope, 4 Apr. 2003)

Kill a watt and save the planet - and your money - It is 10 in the evening at Liverpool Street in the heart of London's financial district. The work day is over and office blocks are deserted but every window in row upon row of office buildings is ablaze with light...It is the same in every business district across Britain, throughout Europe and indeed, the world - a waste of electricity that is adding billions of tonnes of harmful greenhouse gases every year to Earth's atmosphere. (Reuters, 25 Mar. 2003)

Websites:

Amnesty International documents on Europe

Caspian Revenue Watch: The Central Eurasia Project, a program of the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundations), sees the transparent use of revenues generated by the sale and transport of Caspian natural resources as an issue of great importance for regional development and the promotion of civil society

CEE Bankwatch Network (Network's mission is to prevent environmentally & socially harmful impacts of international development finance)

CSR Europe

Development information about Europe and Central Asia (World Bank): Select "Europe & Central Asia" in the "All Countries" box.

EuropaWorld

European Business Ethics Network (EBEN)

European Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and the Environment (University of Glasgow)

European Forum for Child Welfare (EFCW) / Forum Européen pour le Bien-être de l'Enfance

European Institute for Business Ethics (Nyenrode University, Netherlands)

Human Rights Links: Europe (Derechos)

Human Rights Watch documents on Europe/Central Asia

The Nordic Partnership: Business Model for Sustainable Development

Social Venture Network Europe

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS

Other materials:

2003:

A detailed European action plan will soon be unveiled to deal with the growing problem of illness and disease caused by environmental pollution. Special focus will be given to children who are most vulnerable to environmental hazards. (Welcomeurope, 4 Apr. 2003)

Kill a watt and save the planet - and your money - It is 10 in the evening at Liverpool Street in the heart of London's financial district. The work day is over and office blocks are deserted but every window in row upon row of office buildings is ablaze with light...It is the same in every business district across Britain, throughout Europe and indeed, the world - a waste of electricity that is adding billions of tonnes of harmful greenhouse gases every year to Earth's atmosphere. (Reuters, 25 Mar. 2003)

2002:

A tale of two definitions - the European Campaign for CSR - CSR Europe's five year 'CSR Olympics' is half way through. The group has produced, along with the Copenhagen Centre and the International Business Leaders Forum, a mid-term report that details some of the progress to date. Mallen Baker investigates (Mallen Baker, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 2 Dec. 2002)

CSR on the move - new report CSR on the move: new report gives first-time overview of Corporate Social Responsibility efforts throughout Europe (CSR Europe and Copenhagen Centre, 21 Nov. 2002)

Beer Boiling, Green Traffic Lights Scoop EU Business Awards - Ten companies have won European Business Awards for their efforts in sustainable development [includes reference to BP, B&Q, Bofferding brewery, brewing-technology expert Steinecker, Integral Umwelt und Anlagentechnik, ST-Microelectronic] (Edie News, 11 Oct. 2002)

EU Banks Come Up Short on Environmental Issues - European banks have much room for improvement with regard to their assessment of the environmental credit risk of projects for which potential clients are seeking funding, says a leading investment company. The study of 10 Western European banks by investment company ISIS Asset Management was designed to benchmark the environmental credit risk assessment (ECRA) procedures of banks...The leaders are Barclays, Credit Suisse Group and Lloyds TSB. Behind them the chasing pack are HSBC, ING Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered. Finally, the starting grid plays host to Santander Central Hispano, Société Générale and UniCredito Italiano. (Edie News, 1 Oct. 2002)

Adidas Sweats Over Third World Subcontractors Sweatshops -...In the past few years, however, the issue has crossed the Atlantic. Human rights leaders, trade unions, and religious groups have formed a loose alliance called the Clean Clothes Campaign and have begun attacking Adidas, Hennes & Mauritz AB, Benetton Group (Victoria Knight, Dow Jones, 23 Sep. 2002)

EUROPE-CENTRAL ASIA: Gender Gap Growing In Transition Countries - Gender disparities are growing in the 27 transition countries of Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank said in a report released yesterday...Citing Tajikistan as an example, the report says that women who work now earn just a little over half what men earn. The picture is similarly distorted in Kazakhstan, a wealthier country, where women earn less than 70 percent of what men earn, even when they are more qualified. (UN Wire, 19 Sep. 2002)

Developers of genetically modified crops forge on - Researchers and seed companies are hard at work developing new genetically modified (GM) crops despite the storm of opposition they face from consumers, especially in Europe, scientists told a conference yesterday. (Eric Onstad, Reuters, 13 Aug. 2002)

Discount-Davos - Over 2,200 people from the corporate world, governments and EU institutions as well as a handful of NGO representatives attended the second European Business Summit, 6-8 June in Brussels...CSR Europe was the most visible business grouping at this year's EBS...[it] consists of around 60 member corporations, including BP, Shell, ENI, Nestle, Unilever, Danone, BT, ABB, Citigroup, Nike, Levi and Suez...CSR Europe was one of the corporate lobby groups involved in a successful lobbying offensive to discourage the European Parliament (EP) from proposing mandatory reporting on corporate social and environmental performance. (Corporate Europe Observer, Aug. 2002)

New ICFTU report reveals widespread discrimination and occurrences of child labour in Europe - Salary discrimination against women of up to 35% still exists across Europe... The report also finds “unacceptable exploitation of children” occurring in most countries to some degree, “mainly in unregulated activities and in agriculture.” (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 24 July 2002)

Internationally-recognised Core Labour Standards in the 15 Member States of the European Union - Report for the WTO General Council review of the trade policies of the European Unions  (Geneva, 24 and 26 July 2002) - All eight of the core ILO conventions have been ratified by all fifteen European Union (EU) member states. In certain areas however, law and practice in several EU countries require further government efforts in order to respect the commitments to fundamental workers’ rights [refers to pay gap between men and women, child labour, trafficking in women and girls for the purposes of forced prostitution] (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 18 July 2002)

'Teleworkers' to be granted equal rights [European Union] - Employers and trade unions yesterday signed a ground-breaking deal giving the growing number of people using technology to work from home or those on the move equal rights with their conventional office-bound counterparts...The agreement...guarantees them equal rights in areas such as employment, training and health and safety. (Michael Mann, Financial Times, 17 July 2002)

Europe's firms are 'wasting women' - European women's chances of progressing into senior positions in business are slimmer than in the US, according to new research. (BBC News, 19 June 2002)

Anti-union repression still on the rise worldwide - The ICFTU’s Annual Survey on trade union rights violations, which covers 132 countries and territories across the world, notes 223 cases of murdered or “disappeared” trade unionists in 2001 (i.e. 14 more than in 2000), with a terrifying record number of 201 assassinations or disappearances in Colombia alone. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 18 June 2002)

Revealed: how the smoke stacks of America have brought the world's worst drought to Africa -...new research indicates that pollution from factories and power stations, especially in North America and Europe, has exacerbated drought in countries south of the Sahara (Charles Arthur, Independent [UK], 13 June 2002)

Bank Accountability Redux: The Campaign for Compliance and Appeal Mechanisms at the European Development Banks -...Now citizens’ groups in Eastern Europe, such as CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth, have started to demand that the EU representatives to these banks establish mechanisms to allow citizens to voice concerns in cases where they are negatively affected by projects financed by the publicly owned banks. They are also seeking mechanisms to hold those institutions accountable to their own policies and procedures, as well as international laws and conventions. [refers to Frontera Resources oil development project in Azerbaijan] (Petr Hlobil, Centre for Energy and Transportation [Czech Republic], international oil and climate coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network, in Multinational Monitor, May 2002)

WEST AFRICA: New FAO project to tackle illegal fishing - A programme to combat fish poaching implemented by the Food and Agriculture Programme, is to target illegal trawling in West African countries including Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal and Sierra Leone...Vessels from Europe, FAO said, trawl off the coasts of West African countries taking advantage of lack of surveillance aircraft....The fish is sold in supermarkets in wealthy countries to consumers who do not realize that they are buying food stolen from the poor (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 10 Apr. 2002)

All mouth, no trousers?: Best practice in reporting corporate responsibility - "All mouth, no trousers?" is the first in-depth research into the reporting of corporate responsibility [including human rights] in annual reports. Each annual report from the top 100 European companies has been examined for ethical statements. The 52 that contain some form of statement are then further evaluated to ascertain whether these claims ring true. (Hoop Associates, Apr. 2002)

Europe's Double Standards: How the EU should reform its trade policies with the developing world (Oxfam, Apr. 2002)

Poor countries hit by subsidised fishing, UN says: The United Nations environmental agency UNEP warned poorer countries that uncontrolled opening of their waters to subsidised fishing fleets from Europe and Asia could bring economic disaster [refers to problems of nations like Argentina, Senegal and Mauritania which had allowed in foreign fleets from European Union member states, Japan, South Korea & China] (Robert Evans, Reuters, 18 Mar. 2002)

China's poor pick profits from toxic tech trash:...Electronic waste can contain 1,000 different substances including lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury - heavy metals which are highly toxic...This brew of toxic substances can damage nervous, kidney and reproductive systems, while some of the metals contain carcinogens...Despite the Basel Convention, which in 1994 banned the export of hazardous waste from rich to poor countries, electronic waste from the United States and to a lesser extent Europe, South Korea and Japan has ended up on Chinese shores, environmentalists say. (Reuters, 15 Mar. 2002)

How Monsanto got bruised in a food fight: The group's genetically modified crops were welcomed in the US. It was unprepared for the reaction in Europe, says Michael Skapinker (Michael Skapinker, Financial Times, 7 Mar. 2002)

Exposing the global crisis in last ancient forests Greenpeace blocks cargo of African timber in Italy:...SEFAC (Société d'Exploitations Forestières et Agricoles du Cameroun), which is among the companies logging in Cameroon, is the subsidiary of the Italian company Vasto Legno. SEFAC is guilty of major violations of local forestry legislation and disregard for the rights of local people. (Greenpeace, 26 Feb. 2002)

Greenpeace exposes global crisis in last ancient forests:...both logging companies targeted during the actions in France, Inland Logging Company ( ILC) and Mohammed Group of Companies (MGC), have a documented history of violating national and international forestry law and creating serious social conflicts. According to a United Nations Security Council report of October 2001, the chairman of MGC has been involved in aiding sanctions-busting arms transfers to Liberia. (Greenpeace, 25 Feb. 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO [World Health Organization] Chief Calls For Tighter Controls In Europe - Smoking reduction efforts have met significant political and economic barriers, "but most important of all, there are obstacles put up by the tobacco companies," Danzon [WHO's European director, Marc Danzon] said. (UN Wire, 19 Feb. 2002)

The European Response to Public Demands for Global Corporate Responsibility:...NPA studied policies developed in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the European Union, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Europeans have sprung ahead of the United States in fostering an environment that has led to a plethora of innovative public policies. (Susan Ariel Aaronson & James Reeves, National Policy Association, 5 Feb. 2002)

Western European companies dump toxic ships on Turkish beach: Greenpeace Holds EU partly responsible for Poisoning [comments on ship-scrapping in Turkey; calls on EU to demand its ship industry remove hazardous substances from ships prior to export] (Greenpeace, 14 Jan. 2002)

New Calls For Open Government in Europe: The European Federation of Journalists today warned that secrecy and a lack of accountability over corporate and political lobbying pose a threat to independent reporting of the European Union. (European Federation of Journalists, 14 Jan. 2002)

2001:

The WTO's Hidden Agenda: Three confidential documents from inside the World Trade Organization Secretariat and a group of captains of London finance, who call themselves the "British Invisibles," reveal the extraordinary secret entanglement of industry with government in designing European and American proposals for radical pro-business changes in WTO rules. (Greg Palast, special to CorpWatch, 9 Nov. 2001)

AARHUS CONVENTION: New International Law Enters Into Force Today - The U.N. Economic Commission for Europe's Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, also known as the Aarhus Convention, enters into force today...The convention is specifically aimed at allowing the public greater access to environmental information held by authorities, providing an opportunity for people to voice their views and concerns to leaders on environmental issues and providing the public with access to review procedures when their rights to information and participation have been violated. (UN Wire, 30 Oct. 2001) 

Eastern Europe countries battle legacy of the past: More than 10 years after the 1989 collapse of communism, the rusting remains of smelters and mines are a legacy eastern Europe is finding hard to get rid of. Dilapidated smelting and mining facilities continue to spew toxins into an already befouled environment in these countries, many of which are hoping to join the European Union. The EU is using the lure of enlargement to push candidate states to put clean-up high on their agenda. [Details on Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria] (Adrian Dascalu, Reuters, 24 Oct. 2001)

New European Sustainability Indexes Launched: Four Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Indexes are introduced to satisfy the growing demand for sustainability benchmarks in Europe. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 15 Oct. 2001)

Bleak Story Of The Black Sea Highlighted In Global Assessment Of World's Waters: United Nations Environment Programme Joins Scientists in Urging Action to Save One of the World's Great Natural and Economic Jewels - One of the world's great seas is spiraling into decline as a result of chronic over-fishing, high levels of pollution and the devastating impacts of alien, introduced, species, an international team of scientists is warning. (U.N. Environment Programme, 12 Oct. 2001)

From dismissal to murder, Europe is not exempt from trade union rights violations - ...“While the situation in Europe is not as bad as in the rest of the world, it is by no means of model of good behaviour as regards the respect of trade union rights” deplored Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the ICFTU. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 10 Oct. 2001)

Scandinavian Companies Work toward Sustainable Business Model: Fifteen prominent [Nordic] companies have agreed to join a partnership launched last week that will focus on developing an entirely new business model centering on sustainability. The project, dubbed the Nordic Partnership, was initiated by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature in the four Nordic countries and House of Mandag Morten, a Copenhagen-based news and research provider. Well-known corporate participants include the Danish enzymes and pharmaceuticals group Novo A/S, Volvo Car Corporation, Swedish lumber and paper company AssiDomän, and the Swedish postal service, Posten AB...The objective of the partnership is to develop a business model, based on Nordic values and attitudes, that integrates sustainability into the way businesses are managed, organized and developed. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 3 Oct. 2001)  (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 3 Oct. 2001) 

Myths of the European forest: Air pollution is a major concern as yet not well understood. (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 3 Oct. 2001)

UNECE Ministers Adopt Declaration for Johannesburg Summit: Ministers of the member States of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) met in Geneva on 24-25 September 2001 to prepare their contribution to next year’s World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)...The Ministers set priorities for regional and global action on: poverty eradication; sustainable management and conservation of the natural resource base; making globalization work for sustainable development; improving governance and democratic processes at all levels; financing sustainable development; and education, science and technology for decision-making. (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 25 Sep. 2001) 

UNECE [United Nations Economic Commission for Europe] Environment Ministers to Revitalize Rio Spirit:...over the past 10 years, the UNECE region has made progress in economic development and environmental sustainability. Yet problems persist, in particular underdevelopment, poverty, ill health and weak governance in many countries in transition together with high unemployment, social exclusion, growing waste volumes and the build-up of chemicals in the environment throughout the region. (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 20 Sep. 2001)

Intensive farming blamed for Europe's food crisis: Intensive agriculture - once lauded for producing an abundance of cheap food for the masses - is now public enemy No. 1, blamed for striking British cattle with a disease that has killed hundreds of herds and an increasing number of people. (Elizabeth Piper, Reuters, 18 Sep. 2001) 

ALCOHOL: WHO Calls For Higher Prices To Curb Young Drinkers The World Health Organization Wednesday called on the alcohol industry to raise prices in an effort to curb drinking among young people, warning that drinking and alcohol-related deaths in the European region are on the rise. The WHO's European committee reported that one in four deaths of men and boys between the ages of 15 and 29 in the region is alcohol-related, including traffic accidents. (UN Wire, 14 Sep. 2001)

Coastguards scoop up half Baltic oil slick: Rescue boats have scooped up almost half of an oil slick in the southern Baltic Sea, coastguards said. (Reuters, 24 Aug. 2001) 

European Commission initiatives, 18 July 2001:

Aarhus Convention starts count-down to entry into force: The Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters will come into effect on 30 October 2001. (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 9 Aug. 2001)

Overview of Recent Developments on Monitoring and Verification in the Garment and Sportswear Industry in Europe (Nina Ascoly, Joris Oldenziel, Ineke Zeldenrust, SOMO - Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, Mar. 2001)

2000:

Europe and Cuba: The Dilemma of Economic Interests Versus Human Rights (Liduine Zumpolle, Coordinator of Latin American Dept. of Pax Christi Netherlands, and Jan Dagen, in Cuba Today: Best Business Practices and Labor Rights, Summer 2000)

Regional Study on Human Development and Human Rights in Central and Eastern Europe (Darko Silovic, 2000)

1997:

E. European Women Battle for a Better Workplace (Kristin von Kreisler, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Aug. 1997)