Vale Voted "Worst Company in the World"

Monday, February 13, 2012

The votes are in! Vale, the Brazilian mining company, has been voted the worst company in the world.  Vale received 25,042 votes edging out Tepco, Japan’s large energy company which blatantly disregarded structural safety of its nuclear plants resulting in the post-tsunami disaster.

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Vale’s history is summarized by Public Eye, who conducted the contest for worst company in the world, as follows:

Mines, steel plants, railroads, ports and hydroelectric dams at the expense of people and the environment: Vale is the second-largest corporation in Brazil, the second-largest mining corporation worldwide, operating in nearly 40 countries, and the largest global producer of iron ore. The corporation’s 70-year history is tarnished by repeated human rights abuses, inhumane working conditions, pillaging of the public heritage and the ruthless exploitation of nature.  An international network linking communities and workers affected by Vale was created in 2010. It recently launched a dossier describing several of the worst cases of Vale’s disregard for people and the environment in eight countries. One such example is the company’s recent purchase of a major stake in the consortium engaged in building the notorious Belo Monte Dam Complex in the Amazon. If the massive dam project continues, it will have disastrous social and environmental consequences, including the forced relocation of 40,000 people and devastation of a riverine ecosystem that is the basis of survival for indigenous communities, riverbank communities and fisher folk - who have not had a voice in the matter, nor will they receive adequate compensation.

For more information on the vote, including links to the vote results and information on Vale and the other contestants, click HERE.