The David and Goliath battle

Yesterday I saw Joe Berlinger's documentary CRUDE which prompted me to google Chevron and look at their CSR strategies Chevron - Corporate Responsibility and sure enough I found something about how they care about the environment.

CRUDE details the 13-year battle between the US oil company Chevron and 30,000 Ecuadoran plaintiffs. The plaintiffs were asking that Chevron makes amends for dumping 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste in the Amazon contaminating their water and livelihood. Of course fighting a big company like Chevron can be a daunting task (its taken 13 years!) but what I found interesting was the arguments made by Chevrons lawyers and spokes people. In one breath the lawyers claim they had experts sample the water and concluded that it was not contaminated. An analyst from Chevron later admitted the presence of bacteria in the water that causes skin rushes but this had nothing to do with oil but due to poor sanitation. Thus goes the back and forth of this battle.

I know if this had happened anywhere on US soil, the public outcry alone could bankrupt Chevron. So the question then becomes - is corporate responsibility only relevant to the west?
That may have been the case 13 years ago but this David and Goliath battle between Chevron and the indigenous tribes of Ecuador proves that the tables have turned. People and communities in developing countries are also requiring that companies do right by them. Therefore gone are the days when companies can use sweat shops abroad and then claim they care about human rights. People around the world now assess corporate responsibility on a global scale.

This semester I continue my CSR research looking at how multi-national companies communicate and implement their CSR strategies abroad especially in developing countries. Please let me know if you have any insights or send any articles of interest my way:)

You can check out the CRUDE trailer on YouTube http://www.crudethemovie.com/
Also read, http://hunterseeker.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/battle-between-indigenous-ecuadorians-and-the-us-oil-giant-chevron/