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See also the following sections of this website:

• Gardening & landscaping companies
• Building materials & equipment companies

Websites:

Other materials:

2002:

Spotlight on corporates reveals need for global rules - Some corporations continue to abuse the rights of people, destroy the livelihoods of communities, and pollute water and forest resources for future generations, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth International published today. The report graphically illustrates the need for governments to agree to introduce tighter rules for multinationals at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. (Friends of the Earth, 16 Aug. 2002)

• Call for 'global enviro rules' - The environmental group, Friends of the Earth, on Friday called on world leaders meeting at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to introduce global rules for business....In the report the environmental group mentions the mining giant, Rio Tinto that is prospecting for gold in the Poboya protected forest in Indonesia despite opposition from local people. South Africa's chemical company Sasol also comes under fire. (South African Press Association, 16 Aug. 2002)

• full report: Clashes with Corporate Giants: 22 campaigns for biodiversity and community (Friends of the Earth, Aug. 2002) 

includes section entitled "Towards binding corporate accountability"

also includes the following case studies:

22. UK: Scott's Company (peat extraction for compost)

Ten Planet Trashers: Why corporate accountability matters -...Friends of the Earth today publishes details of “Ten Planet Trashers”, companies whose behaviour since Rio shows the need for binding rules on corporate behaviour. [the 10 companies: Exxon Mobil (Esso), AMEC, Premier Oil, ICI, Scotts, Barclays, Associated Octel, Aventis/Bayer, BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels), Associated British Ports] (Friends of the Earth, 1 June 2002)

• company websites:
  • ExxonMobil (Esso)
  • AMEC
  • Premier Oil
  • ICI
  • Scotts
  • Barclays Group
  • Octel Corp.
  • Aventis / Bayer Group
  • BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels)
  • Associated British Ports

Gardening Supplier to End Sale of Chemical Pesticides: Canadian food distributor Loblaw Companies Limited has announced that it will stop marketing chemical pesticides in its 440 garden centers across Canada by next spring. (GreenBiz.com, 13 Mar. 2002)

Home Depot, Lowe's to stop selling arsenic-treated wood: Home-improvement retailers said this week they would stop selling wood treated with an arsenic-based pesticide that is widely used for home decks and fences (Karen Jacobs, Reuters, 15 Feb. 2002)

Wood industry may drop the use of arsenic: Wooden decks, playground equipment and picnic tables treated with a preservative containing arsenic could be taken off the market soon. (Associated Press, in St. Louis Post - Dispatch, 3 Feb. 2002)

2001:

Bolivian forests get green appeal: Over the last five years Bolivia has responded to the growing demand for ecologically sustainable wood products by becoming the world leader in certified management of natural tropical forests. The development has opened new markets for Bolivian tropical woods in Europe and the US and has turned one company, The Roda Group, into a leading supplier of garden furniture to the UK's largest home improvement chain B&Q. But concerns exist that the lack of price premiums on certified woods may prove the weak link in a business that perhaps more than any other could protect the bio-diversity of the world's tropical forests. (Andrew Enever, BBC News, 13 Dec. 2001)

California enforces emissions standards for lawn and garden equipment: Californians who own lawn and garden equipment that emits more air pollution than state standards allow are trading those tools for cleaner ones this month. The exchange is part of an overall settlement worth approximately $200,000 between John Deere Consumer Products Inc. and the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board. (Environmental News Network, 21 Sep. 2001)

Business power must be checked (Matt Phillips, senior campaigner at Friends of the Earth, in The Observer [UK], 8 July 2001)