Shell Shocked: Dutch Court Rules that Shell Must Reduce CO2 Emissions by 45% by 2030

Shell Shocked: Dutch Court Rules that Shell Must Reduce CO2 Emissions by 45% by 2030

While 100 companies are responsible for nearly three-fourths of global emissions contributing to climate change, governments have historically lacked the tools--or political will-- to effectively mitigate corporate contributions to climate change, even those that fossil fuel companies make.

However, a new ruling by a Dutch court may force change for corporate accountability on climate change.

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El legado de Valmore Locarno, Víctor Orcasita y Gustavo Soler: 20 años en búsqueda de  verdad y justicia en un entorno de conflicto armado

El legado de Valmore Locarno, Víctor Orcasita y Gustavo Soler: 20 años en búsqueda de  verdad y justicia en un entorno de conflicto armado

En marzo de 2021 se cumplieron 20 años de los asesinatos de los líderes sindicales Valmore Locarno y Víctor Orcasita a manos de miembros paramilitares colombianos de las Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), supuestamente financiados, en parte, por la empresa de carbón Drummond Co., la cual tiene su casa matriz en Alabama, Estados Unidos.

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Fair Trade USA & The Failures of Eco-Social Certification 

Fair Trade USA & The Failures of Eco-Social Certification 

When we choose to purchase a product that bears a certification label-- like a yogurt with a fair trade stamp-- we may assume that the workers and environment along the supply chain were respected in the product’s development. But the social auditing and certification industry behind such certifications do not always have the impacts we might think. Fair Trade USA’s recently-launched Certified Dairy label is an example of how social auditing and certification programs that are not worker-driven all too often end up as greenwashing and/or fairwashing schemes and fail the workers they are meant to protect.

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Why a Whole Country Went on Strike - And is Still Striking

Why a Whole Country Went on Strike - And is Still Striking

Although the Colombian government’s proposed tax reform ignited the protests that started all over the country on April 29, the motives behind the ongoing national strike are diverse. This is why, when President Duque announced that he was going to withdraw the tax reform from Congress five days after protests began, the strike didn’t stop.

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Hamida Begum v. Maran (UK) Limited: Shipbreaker’s Death Turning the Tide in Third-Party Liability Claims Under English Law

Hamida Begum v. Maran (UK) Limited: Shipbreaker’s Death Turning the Tide in Third-Party Liability Claims Under English Law

While large shipping vessels are meant to last for years, all vessels eventually reach the end of their working lives. These vessels must then be dismantled, a process known as shipbreaking. Maran, a UK-based company, sold a shipping vessel to a demolition cash buyer to have its shipping vessel demolished. This post focuses on a decision issued by the Court of Appeals for England and Wales on March 20, 2021, against Maran’s appeal of the trial court’s decision denying Maran’s application for reverse summary judgment.

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In Support of Environmental & Human Rights Defender Jani Silva

In Support of Environmental & Human Rights Defender Jani Silva

Colombian Human Rights and Environmental Defender Jani Rita Silva and her organization, the Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Sostenible Perla Amazónica (ADISPA), have recently received threats challenging their work to defend the Campesino Reserve of the Amazon Pearl of Putumayo, Colombia from corporate abuse.

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Valmore Locarno, Victor Orcasita and Gustavo Soler’s legacy - a 20-year relentless pursuit of truth and justice in an armed-conflict setting

Valmore Locarno, Victor Orcasita and Gustavo Soler’s legacy - a 20-year relentless pursuit of truth and justice in an armed-conflict setting

March 2021 marked the 20th anniversary of the killings of union leaders Valmore Locarno and Victor Orcasita at the hands of Colombian paramilitary members from the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), allegedly funded, in part, by Alabama-based coal company Drummond Co.

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Escazú: el llamado para proteger a líderes y lideresas ambientales en el Día de la Tierra

Escazú: el llamado para proteger a líderes y lideresas ambientales en el Día de la Tierra

En 2019, dos tercios de los asesinatos a defensores del medio ambiente en todo el mundo tuvieron lugar en América Latina. Esta tendencia no es nueva. En la última década, las comunidades que defienden sus tierras ancestrales y ecosistemas altamente biodiversos en esta región han sido consistentemente las más afectadas a nivel mundial: entre 2009 y 2019 se registraron al menos dos mil eventos victimizantes contra hombres y mujeres y doscientos contra organizaciones que defienden el medio ambiente y la tierra.

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Amazon’s Working Conditions in Alabama are the Tip of the Iceberg

Amazon’s Working Conditions in Alabama are the Tip of the Iceberg

In a 2019 segment on working conditions in Amazon’s eerily named “fulfillment centers,” Comedian John Oliver gave the world’s largest e-commerce company the brilliant faux-tagline: “Amazon: try not to think about it.” But as the world watched the historic unionization drive at an Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama unfold over the last several months, ending with a defeat to the organizers earlier this month, the reality of Amazon's labor practices have become harder to ignore.

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Biden Administration Executive Order on Supply Chains is an Opportunity to Fight Forced Labor

Biden Administration Executive Order on Supply Chains is an Opportunity to Fight Forced Labor

In February 2021, just a month after taking office, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) aimed at increasing the resilience of US supply chains. The EO instructs the heads of numerous agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services and Energy, to conduct a 100-day review of supply chain risks related to such goods as semiconductors, batteries, minerals and other rare earth elements, and pharmaceuticals.

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Introducing Our New Staff Attorney Samee Haque, and And Why IP Law is the Perfect Bridge Between Ethics and Tech

Introducing Our New Staff Attorney Samee Haque, and And Why IP Law is the Perfect Bridge Between Ethics and Tech

CAL is continuing to expand its presence in the IP space with the addition of our newest staff attorney, Sameeul Haque. In this introductory blog, Samee discusses CAL’s work with Ethical Source, an organization dedicated to empowering those in the open source tech community to exercise their rights as developers to ensure that their software is used for social good and in service of human rights. You can reach Samee by email at sameeul@corpaccountabilitylab.org.

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Pourquoi nous avons créé un laboratoire social sur la responsabilité des entreprises en matière de justice transitionnelle

Pourquoi nous avons créé un laboratoire social sur la responsabilité des entreprises en matière de justice transitionnelle

En collaboration avec l’African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA), la Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz (CIJP) et Dejusticia, CAL a récemment lancé le Laboratoire sur la Responsabilité des Entreprises pour une Paix Durable (Laboratoire CLASP, pour son acronym en anglais), un laboratoire social dont l'objectif est de faire progresser la responsabilité des entreprises dans les contextes post-conflictuels et transitoires du monde

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Por Qué Creamos un Laboratorio Social sobre la Rendición de Cuentas Empresarial en la Justicia Transicional

 Por Qué Creamos un Laboratorio Social sobre la Rendición de Cuentas Empresarial en la Justicia Transicional

En colaboración con el African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA), la Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz (CIJP) y Dejusticia, CAL recientemente lanzó el Laboratorio de Rendición de Cuentas Empresarial para una Paz Sostenible (Laboratorio CLASP, por sus siglas en inglés)-- un laboratorio social convocado para avanzar la rendición de cuentas empresarial en contextos posconflictos y transicionales en el mundo.

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Why We Created A Social Lab On Corporate Accountability In Transitional Justice

Why We Created A Social Lab On Corporate Accountability In Transitional Justice

In collaboration with the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA), the Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz (CIJP), and Dejusticia, CAL recently launched the Corporate Liability and Sustainable Peace (CLASP) Lab-- a social lab convened to advance corporate accountability in post-conflict and transitional settings around the world.

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El Arte de Operar con Impunidad: La Historia de Cerrejón en la Guajira Colombiana

El Arte de Operar con Impunidad: La Historia de Cerrejón en la Guajira Colombiana

Recientemente, varias ONG internacionales y colombianas presentaron quejas simultáneas contra las tres empresas accionistas de Cerrejón en Colombia, Glencore, BHP y Anglo American, alegando graves violaciones de derechos humanos y una devastadora contaminación ambiental por efecto de la actividad minera de Cerrejón.

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Escazú: Setting Protections for Environmental Defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean

Escazú: Setting Protections for Environmental Defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean

In 2019, two-thirds of worldwide environmental defenders killings took place in Latin America. This trend is not novel. In this last decade, communities that defend ecosystems and rich biodiversity hotspots in Latin America have been consistently the worst-affected worldwide: at least two thousand victimizing events against men and women and two hundred against organizations defending the environment and the land were recorded.

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Okpabi v. Shell: A Shifting Tide in Parent Company Liability?

Okpabi v. Shell: A Shifting Tide in Parent Company Liability?

While 2021 has not yet been the year we were hoping for, there is one bright spot: European courts are beginning to hold parent companies liable for human rights abuses committed outside the home country. In January 2021, the Hague Court of Appeal found Royal Dutch Shell’s (Shell) Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), liable for oil spills that occurred in the Niger Delta, an oil-rich region in Nigeria.

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From Cote d’Ivoire to Chicago: The Impact of Covid-19 on Workers in the Chocolate Supply Chain

From Cote d’Ivoire to Chicago: The Impact of Covid-19 on Workers in the Chocolate Supply Chain

With Valentine’s Day upon us, we know that chocolate sales will increase. Hearts of chocolate wrapped in red will find their way into peoples’ homes, along with truffles and fancy bars. But as we celebrate yet another chocolate-focused holiday, it’s important to remember how chocolate is produced and who is making and selling it.

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How to get away with impunity: Cerrejón’s evasion from accountability

How to get away with impunity: Cerrejón’s evasion from accountability

Last month, several international and Colombian NGOs filed simultaneous complaints against Glencore, BHP, and Anglo American, parent companies of the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, alleging serious human rights violations and devastating environmental pollution. The complaints were filed with the National Contact Points (NCPs) of the OECD in Australia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

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Shell Must Compensate Farmers for Niger Delta Destruction 

Shell Must Compensate Farmers for Niger Delta Destruction 

A Dutch appeals court reversed a lower court decision and found Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), responsible for several oil spills impacting three Niger Delta communities. In a first for a Dutch court, it also found that Royal Dutch Shell, SPDC’s parent company, breached a duty of care for foreign operations.

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