We are in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. All areas of our lives have been permeated by technological interference. Agriculture, an inherently slow practice governed by nature’s cycles, has been particularly susceptible to technofixes – the use of technological solutions to address real or perceived problems. The most sought after technologies are those that promise to speed up those biological cycles and eliminate genetic variation for productivity and profit.

Here we look at technofixes specifically in the context of the UK dairy industry. The decline of this industry over the past 50 years has added to the pressure on farmers to incorporate dystopian technologies – that is, products which impose extreme levels of surveillance and control on living beings.

In this report, we set out the technological changes taking place in the industry and the corporate interests driving them, including:

• the intensification of livestock-rearing;
• the growth in the genetic uniformity of livestock, and moves towards gene edited plants and animals;
• total systems of tagging and tracking;
• the full automation of the milking process; and
• the use of technofixes to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry.

Despite some efforts to portray these technologies as beneficial to the animals, many in fact have severe implications for their welfare and freedom – as well as for our relationship with our food.

Dairy’s decline

The UK dairy industry is in trouble. People in the UK drink half the milk they did 50 years ago, and the image of the milkman delivering glass bottles to people’s houses is now largely a throwback to the past. Individuals are consuming smaller quantities of the white stuff, and growing numbers are abandoning it altogether.

Why? Changing tastes, the growth in alternatives, and rising disposable income are all to varying degrees likely to have influenced this shift.

However, the rise in veganism on environmental, animal rights or human health grounds has certainly been a factor in recent years. Besides concerns over significant land and water use, the meat and dairy industries continue to draw heavy criticism for their role in climate change – mainly through deforestation for animal feed crops and methane emissions from burping cows. Some scientists argue that avoiding meat and dairy is the “single biggest way” to reduce our impact on the planet.

Animal rights concerns range from the repeated impregnation of cows to produce milk, and the toll this takes on their bodies; the distress caused by the forced separation of mothers from their calves; the treatment of male calves, many of whom are shot at birth for economic reasons; and cows generally being treated as machines rather than sentient beings with their own desires. Finally, health concerns include the relationship between high levels of milk consumption and diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Meanwhile, the huge growth in alternatives has inevitably made ditching dairy more thinkable; a third of the UK population is now drinking plant-based milks – either alongside or instead of cow’s milk.

Another major blow has been Brexit, which has significantly worsened the outlook of the industry. Milk and cream sales to the EU were down a whopping 96% in the year 2020-21 – over twice that of the 40% overall decline in food and drink exports. Sales to the EU represented nearly 80% of the UK’s total pre-Brexit dairy export, and things are so bad that the government is planning a lump sum payment scheme of up to £100,000 for farmers wanting to exit the business.

In the context of this slow-burning crisis in reputation, demand and sales, many farmers have been turning to technological solutions.

The Rise of the Megadairies

Photo by Sebastien on Unsplash

Despite the declining market, there are still some 8,000 dairy producers in the UK. While the actual dairy cow population across the country has dropped by at least 28% since 1996, there has been a corresponding population concentration and an intensification in farming practices. The number of UK dairy farms with large herds has grown, while the number with small ones has shrunk. This is a pattern that is echoed across different livestock and cereals sectors. There has also been a “stealth rise” in the number of so-called megadairies – farms whose dairy herds number over 700 cows.

Yield has grown too: despite the fall in the overall number of cattle, farms have become more extractive, with quantities of milk produced per UK cow increasing 100% since 1975. This has been achieved through numerous technologies, the main being selective breeding and automation. Yet in an unending quest for productivity, these technologies are themselves undergoing major change.

Technofixes

From selective breeding to gene-edited animals?

Selective breeding has been one of the biggest factors behind this increase in milk production over the past few decades. Like all livestock today, the modern dairy cow is a very distant beast from her wild ancestors. Generations of human control over reproduction, particularly since the Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century, has ensured that cattle are produced with the most desirable traits for milk production – such as docile personalities and a high yield.

Selective breeding for particular traits using a very limited gene pool has resulted in extreme inbreeding. Virtually all the world’s Holsteins, a top dairy breed, descend from just two bulls bred in the 1960s. Due to the degree of inbreeding, although there are 9 million Holsteins in the US, their “effective population” stands at just 43. In the wild, animals with an effective population of less than 50 are classed as being at immediate risk of extinction. But this won’t happen to Holsteins, since the industry’s total control over their reproduction forces them to continually give birth.

In the UK, the rate of inbreeding has risen significantly since 1990. A 2004 study in the Journal of Dairy Science identified that between 96-98% of UK Holsteins were inbred to some degree, compared with around 50% in 1990. Yet there are clear limits to what this technofix can achieve: extreme selective breeding based on “productive” characteristics can in fact lead to lower productivity due to disorders and health problems.

Photo by Amber Kipp on Unsplash

If there wasn’t already enough interference in cows’ reproduction, a new and more disturbing development is on the horizon: gene editing (“GE”). This is a form of genetic modification which enables breeders to achieve traits not possible by simple artificial selection, for example, cattle that are faster growing, hornless, or disease resistant.

The use of Genetically Modified (“GM”) plants is tightly controlled in the UK and GM crops are not grown here commercially, though there have been trials. But that is largely a legacy of EU membership, and Brexit has shifted the goal posts. A European Court of Justice ruling had kept gene editing at bay on the continent by refusing to recognise a distinction between GE and genetic modification. Yet in the wake of Brexit, the government wasted absolutely no time in overturning existing protections, and in January 2021 it ran a “consultation” on whether gene editing should be treated more leniently.

Despite 88% of individual respondents supporting the continued regulation of gene editing as GM, the government announced regulatory changes on the practice just a few months later. It said it would “cut red tape and make research and development easier”. A “Precision Breeding” Bill is now going through parliament to provide a minimal regulatory framework for the research and commercial production of GE plants and animals. For the time being, this will allow scientists to carry out research on gene-edited crops in England with less red tape and expense. The government has also made it clear that in the longer term, there would be a “review of England’s approach to GMO regulation more broadly”.

According to Gideon Henderson, the chief scientific officer at DEFRA, engineered livestock will be next. Genetics companies such as Genus have been developing GE livestock for years, and powerful lobbyists such as the National Farmers’ Union are predictably pushing for its use. It doesn’t help that George Eustice – former UKIPer, best friend of the dairy industry, and current Agriculture and Environment Minister – is a strong advocate of the technology. The spin is already being spewed, with the government claiming that “gene editing has a vital role to play in helping address animal welfare concerns and reducing the carbon footprint of livestock production”.

Environmental groups emphasise the distinctive set of risks that gene editing carries to both the individual organism and the environment. For one, claims that it is a precise art have been strongly disputed. It can bring about unexpected mutations, and new or increased levels of toxins or allergens in plants. When US biotech start up Recombinetics used gene editing to produce hornless dairy calves, they also accidentally introduced genes from another species (bacteria which had been used to carry out the process), that conferred resistance to three antibiotics. It is feasible that these genes could transfer to disease-causing bacteria, rendering them resistant to antibiotics and potentially posing a risk to humans. The error was only picked up in checks by the US Food and Drug Administration, oversight which Recombinetics had vociferously resisted. And by that point the genetic trait is thought to have been passed down to the animals’ offspring, at least some of whom were subsequently culled. The project, initially heralded as a breakthrough for animal welfare with “no unwanted effects”, turned into a disaster.

Livestock genetics companies have catalogues featuring grotesquely oversized, specially-bred animals, such as the ones in these Semex magazines

Gene-edited hornless cattle are a clear example of how technofixes can be a means to profit from a “problem” that is itself manufactured by industry. In industrial agriculture, calves routinely have their horns removed with searing hot irons in a process known as “disbudding”. It’s an extremely painful and distressing procedure for the calf that can result in the animal losing consciousness. The rationale is to prevent cattle from injuring each other – and people – either during transportation or through their otherwise cramped and stressful conditions. GE hornless cattle are promoted as a solution to the hassle and pain of disbudding. But that “need” is entirely the product of a certain farming culture, and in many parts of the world farmers do not remove the animals’ horns at all.

Gene editing takes selective breeding to another level by allowing scientists to increasingly pick and choose specific genetic traits desired for mass reproduction. But as we’ve seen, artificial selection has resulted in dangerous levels of inbreeding. To paraphrase Friends of the Earth, whereas ecological resilience lies in species’ diversity, GMO science relies on predictability. Gene editing will only take us further down the disastrous path of uniformity with the added risks involved in manipulating DNA itself.

‘Robot-ready cows’

Over the course of the 20th century, hand milking was replaced by a combination of automated and manual processes. The total robotisation of the milking process has been growing since the 1990s, with 10% of UK dairy farms using fully-automated systems in 2019. In other Northern European countries, home to the leading suppliers of robotised milkers, the figure is double that.

It works like this: cows wear RFID chips, which allow them to be identified. Incentivised by the lure of food, they pass through checkpoints and either enter a single machine, or a stand in a large rotary unit. Robotic arms locate, sterilise, hose down and attach themselves to the cow’s udders. Sensors monitor the cow’s output, how much milk each teat gives, and whether there are any changes to the milk. After milking, the gate opens and the cow leaves.

Robotisation is claimed to increase yield and significantly decrease labour requirements. It is also presented as beneficial to animal welfare, since many systems rely on the cow entering the milking system ‘voluntarily’ to access food.

A rotary milking parlour. Image: dolgachov

Yet automation of the process is clearly not enough: the animals too must “evolve” along with the machines. Enter the “robot-ready cows”. These are cows specially bred by livestock genetics companies like Semex for traits best suited to being milked by a robot. Such traits include the “correct” udder shape and length to ensure a good fit with the machines, higher milking speeds, and pliable personalities. Animals who do not adapt well to this new conveyor belt regime are likely to be culled.

Why stop at extreme selective breeding and genetic modification? In the eyes of some agritech companies, hormonal cycles are fair game too. While injecting hormones to stimulate milk production is banned in the UK and EU on animal health grounds, some companies are using light to manipulate the animals’ natural cycles. The lighting reportedly influences their circadian rhythms to stimulate hormones and increase milk yield, as “the cows’ reproductive cycle must be tricked into resuming it earlier than is natural”. Kew LED and Dairy Light are two such companies in the UK marketing LED lighting in cattle sheds which can deliver “summer-light conditions all year-round”.

Sensors and shocks

Automated milking relies heavily on the use of sensors, truly the biggest fad today in animal agritech. Sensors are in the cowsheds, on the milking robots, in the fields, attached to the animals, and even in their guts. There’s now a plethora of startups competing to sell various forms of livestock surveillance gadgets, often promoted under the guise of animal welfare. From “facial recognition for cows” to bluetooth ear tags, these sensors monitor the animals’ movements, hormonal cycles, health and behaviour. Again, most of these factors are essential to achieving one key objective: a higher pregnancy rate. A sick cow is an unproductive cow.

Some startups have gone yet a step further: shock collars to control the movements of “free range” cattle. These are inevitably not marketed as such; instead they’re presented as a way of allowing livestock to graze in the fields and save on fencing costs. As the animal approaches the invisible boundaries determined by the farmer, the collar emits a sound. And if the cow doesn’t turn around, they receive an electric shock.

“Draw your virtual fence anywhere on your property, and your cattle are trained to remain within the virtual barrier”, says one supplier. The idea is that the area can easily be moved to cover fresh terrain by simply redrawing the map boundaries. Yet we can only guess at how much confusion this will cause the cows, as they tentatively navigate the edges of an entire perimeter in search of untouched pasture. This is to say nothing of the impact on their ability to run around as they would naturally. The lack of the usual visual clues could be disorientating for the animals, and as the RSPCA point out, some cows learn how to avoid the shocks far more quickly than others. A number never quite get to grips with how the system works, to their detriment and suffering.

Another danger of these technologies is that they’re invisible to people as well. The public will be unaware that free-range cattle in the fields may in fact be bombarded with sounds or electric shocks, and may object less to this practice than seeing farm hands with electric cattle prods.

A few taps on a farmers’ phone and automated feedlots can release more pellets, cows can be corralled, and udders can be hosed down from the comfort of the farmers’ living room. In many cases these things can happen entirely automatically, and the modern farmer need have very little real contact with the animals at all.

Will these gadgets have any beneficial impact on animal welfare as claimed? Automation will reduce contact with farmers, which can be stressful for the animals. But equally, being corralled and controlled by unseen machine systems such as virtual fence shock collars, is likely to be confusing and potentially even more distressing.

While some of the sensors also pick up on health problems, most issues detected will require human intervention. Given the severe impact of alienation on our relationship with nature (and each other), we have to wonder whether farmers who have less contact with their animals will have the same degree of care. Meanwhile, sensors will not be the magic bullet in disease detection. They can be unreliable and malfunction, while the growth in dependency on machines can potentially degrade the knowledge of farmers long-term.

Photo by MRC Témiscamingue on Unsplash

Low-emission cows?

Double-speak is rife on Dystopian Farm: from shock collars sold as necklaces of freedom and sensors merely monitoring the animals’ health, to ‘low-emission’ cows. Indeed, the environmental impact of the dairy industry is one more issue that technofixes claim to be able to reckon with.

Of all livestock, cattle produce the highest rate of greenhouse gas emissions by far (62% of the total emissions from livestock farming). Methane is over than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. While some people are opting to cut dairy and beef altogether, many scientists are developing technofixes to prop-up the industry. Zelp (Zero Emissions Livestock Project), a startup launched at the Royal College of Art, has developed cattle masks which convert methane to CO2. Cargill, agribusiness giant and animal feed provider linked to massive Amazon deforestation, will be the exclusive distributor of this “green” technology in Europe. Other solutions being explored in the UK include breeding cows or gene editing their food crops so that they burp less; while technologies currently being developed abroad include using gene editing to remove the predisposition towards certain gut bacteria, and even developing vaccines against their natural gut microbes.

Yet as Friends of the Earth point out, gut flora is essential to animals’ immune systems, and interference may have serious health implications. Rather than invest in education to influence food production systems and more ethical dietary choices, many researchers are choosing to put their money into the continued manipulation and exploitation of animals’ bodies. For some, the devasting impact of animal agriculture is merely another business opportunity. They know full well that despite the growth in veganism, meat and dairy consumers are still in the distinct majority, and it’s more profitable to sustain these industries – even through extreme technologies – than it is to invest in education and alternatives.

Conclusion

By monitoring and controlling their movement, their environment, their production and reproduction, their physical traits and even their personalities, corporations have attained truly totalitarian control over livestock.

Many of these technologies are no doubt effective in achieving their narrow, short-term objectives of increasing yield and profit. There is after all no shortage of eager entrepreuneurs – nor for that matter, venture capitalists willing to throw money at them.

But whether we actually want this dystopian picture is an altogether different question. Dominating nature begets problems, both for animal and human health. Milk production, circadian rhythms and genetic variation all exist for very important reasons, none of which relate to corporate profit. The full dangers of interference with these natural processes are still unknown to us, but the documented impact of extreme selective breeding on animal health and the tale of the gene-edited cattle should spell alarm.

Ditching meat and dairy, consuming local produce, working with nature’s cycles, supporting small-scale farming; many solutions to meet our food demand such as permaculture are slower, low tech, and won’t produce big bucks for start ups and their investors. But they’re often healthier, lower impact, and far more ethical. And crucially, they’re also within people’s reach, offering possibilities for autonomy from multinationals and their machines.

What can we do?

If you’re disturbed by many of the developments discussed in the article, there are things you can do. Go vegan, subscribe to a locally-grown veg box scheme, and participate in seed swaps to preserve genetic diversity. Get active in campaigns against animal abuse and GM. And participate in this year’s Earth First! summer gathering to learn more about active campaigns for environmental justice and animal rights, skill up, and get involved.

Corn in Mexico, where small-scale farmers are keeping the genetic diversity of the crop alive. Photo by ALAN DE LA CRUZ on Unsplash

The post Dystopian Farm: the UK dairy industry & its technofixes appeared first on Corporate Watch.

Thanks to the sustained efforts of animal rights campaigners, fur farming was outlawed in the UK in 2000. The widespread awareness of the cruelties involved in its manufacture led to a decline in its popularity and fashion designers largely avoiding it.

But the industry bribed its way back onto the catwalk. In the 2000s, fur auction houses were said to have, ‘aggressively courted designers, especially young ones, to embrace fur by giving them free samples and approaching them through trade groups — sometimes when they are still in college.’

The strategy proved successful. By the early 2010s, fur was making a comeback with designers and celebs desperately searching for something new and unique, and the emerging herds of Instagram influencers promoting luxury lifestyles and products.

While much of the increased demand in the earlier part of the last decade was driven by the nouveaux riches of China, South Korea, and Russia, it was nevertheless noticeable that fur had once again become less taboo in the West. According to the HMRC, by 2019 the UK was importing more than £55m worth of fur, including £5.3m from China. A quick glance at sites such as Etsy, and there is clearly still custom, even if some buyers feel guilty about their purchases.

One major auction house revealed their strategy for manipulating consumers into buying fur, explaining the bizarre prevalence of pom-pom key rings on major furriers’ websites:

“We start with the young consumer buying a fur key ring, then maybe a little later she has more money for a fur bag … Eventually she buys a full coat…[it’s]…all part of the agenda, to inspire the upcoming generation of women.”

European sellers have also ridden on the green capitalist bandwagon, with many doing their best to rebrand their products as as ‘sustainable’ and ‘natural’. Lobbyists such as the British Fur Trade Association and Fur Europe, discussed below, play a major role in this PR effort.

One other likely reason for the industry’s resurgence during these years, ignored by the mainstream media, is the sustained repression against the UK animal rights movement in the mid to late 2000s. Although the brunt of this was felt by those fighting the vivisection industry, the widespread use of injunctions to prevent protests by animal rights activists was also used to stifle campaigns against major fur retailers such as Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Canada Goose (although the injunction against the latter was later overturned). Campaigners’ previous successes and the impact the clampdown had on the social acceptability of fur is testament to the power of grassroots resistance.

Thankfully however, fur sales in the UK have been on the decline again over the past few years. As the campaigns continue, hundreds of major fashion designers have gone fur-free, and the UK government is even considering a ban on the sale of fur. Now is is a better time than ever to make that happen.

Here we provide a non-exhaustive overview of those working to keep the fur trade alive in the UK.

Giles Roca, CEO of The British Fur Trade Association and former Head of Strategy at Westminster City Council

British & European lobbyists

The British Fur Trade Association (‘BFTA’) dates back to 1919 and describes itself as ‘the voice of UK fur’. A list of its members can be found here. Its CEO is Giles Roca. Roca is a PR man who seems to specialise in helping dodgy industries on the decline, having has previously represented the Tobacco Manufacturers Association. Last year he set up a PR consultancy firm, Capital Counsel UK Ltd, to support ‘highly scrutinised and sensitive industries’. Roca’s background is in communications and strategy at Westminster City Council.

The BFTA’s directors are Steven Hurwitz and Pierre Lipski (see below for more on their business interests), Paolo Borello, and Frank Zilberkweit. Zilberkweit was previously involved in the now-dissolved fur merchants Philip Hockley, a company which was the focus of major anti-fur protests in the late 1990s and early 2000s (protests which were also stifled by injunctions). The BFTA is currently fighting the prospect of a ban in UK fur sales.

While it has been officially registered to Sky Gardens in Wandsworth since 2019, the BFTA and its directors have a history of association with two neighbouring Archway addresses, Brookstone House and Bellside House1. Directors Steven Hurwitz and Frank Zilberkweit have run property businesses of the same names. Six members of the BFTA appear to be registered to Brookstone House.

The International Fur Federation (IFF) is an organisation with offices listed in London and Beijing. The IFF’s role has been described as ‘fighting obstacles to the global fur trade’. Its CEO is former Lib Dem MP, Mark Oaten. Oaten has no apparent experience in the industry for which he is now a global spokesperson and advocate. The IFF runs another platform which is used to promote members’ products, the Business of Fur. LinkedIn states that the IFF’s London office is at 100 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1NL. A list of national member bodies of the IFF can be found here.

Fur Europe calls itself as an association representing all parts of the European fur trade. The organisation is based in Brussels, and has been described as responsible ‘for lobbying for the entire fur sector in Europe’. It organises ‘This is Fur’ events in the European parliament where representatives make speeches, lobby MEPs and run stalls. Fur Europe is working hard on its greenwashing, and its website now redirects to sustainablefur.com.

Mark Oaten, former Lib Dem MP and now CEO of the International Fur Federation

British fur retailers

Major luxury brands

Harrods sells a long list of expensive fur products for the Cruella de Vils of the world, including an £18,000 chinchilla coat, and a hideous bag made of unspecified fur, crocodile, and stingray skin. Harrods is owned by Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority. The CEO is Mathew Powers.

Harvey Nichols is another Knightsbridge department store and purveyor of fur. It went fur-free in 2004 thanks to the efforts of campaigners, however, it abandoned its policy a decade later, triggering new protests outside its stores. It sells products made from coyote, racoon and fox fur, among others. Harvey Nichols has seven stores across the UK, and six abroad. Its parent company is Dickson Concepts, owned by Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon. His son, Pearson Poon, is Harvey Nichols’ Executive Director, while Manju Malhotra has just been appointed its new CEO .

Flannels is a luxury department store that sells many fur items, including mink rabbit, fox and coyote products. Flannels is owned by Frasers Group plc, headed by Mike Ashley of Sports Direct notoriety. Flannels has repeatedly backtracked on promises to stop selling fur. As a result, the company has for years been the target of the Stop Fur at Flannels campaign, which has picketed its stores and crashed a fashion show.

Canada Goose is a Toronto-based company which sells glorified parkas, lined with real fur and fetching over £1000 in price. The company uses fur from coyotes caught in leg traps. Its Regent Street store has been the site of protestors opposing its use of fur as well as the treatment of geese whose feathers are used to stuff the jackets. Canada Goose is listed on multiple stock exchanges. Its president & CEO is Canadian Dani Reiss, who owns about 18% of the company. In 2017, PETA bought 230 of its shares, enabling it to file shareholder resolutions against the use of fur and goose down. Canada Goose recently announced that it will only use ‘reclaimed fur’ from 2022, but in view of its history, some campaigners view this with scepticism.

Moncler is a Canada Goose rival that sells fur-trimmed parka-type jackets, for which it uses fox and marmot fur. The company also owns menswear brand, Stone Island. Moncler is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. Its CEO is billionaire Remo Ruffini, who owns over 20% of the company via his investment firm, Ruffini Partecipazioni Holding Srl. A list of other shareholders can be found here. It has over 200 shops around the world, including 12 in the UK – all in London.

Members of the British Fur Trade Association

Steven Hurwitz, British Fur Trade Association director

Hurwitz Exports Ltd is a British fur merchant active since 1945. It calls itself ‘one of the largest suppliers of all types of fur: mainly mink, fox, sable and wild fur’. It is run by British Fur Association directors, Steven Hurwitz and Pierre Lipski. Its subsidiary, Bleistein & Co., is based in Hong Kong and specialises in supplying Chinese fur to the Russian market.

Rachel London is owned by founder Rachel Zeitlin, who is also Vice Chair of the British Fur Trade Association. It sells fur products made of chinchillas, sables, mink, foxes & raccoons. The company also provides consultation services to others in the industry, ‘drawing on Rachel’s contacts, expertise and knowledge’. Rachel London has a ‘1200sq foot showroom’ in North London that can be visited only by appointment.

Rebecca Bradley creates bespoke fur products ‘from any fur’, restores and alters existing items, provides ‘consultation’ services, and runs a shop selling fur teddy bears, backpacks and more.

The Fur Hot Water Bottle Company. Actually a genuine company that sells £175 hot water bottle covers made from rabbits. The idea for the company came to the founder whilst doing some luxury shopping ‘following a girls’ ski weekend’. One of their slogans is ‘Real fur, real warmth. No conscience’. The irony is apparently lost on them.

Betwitched, a bespoke fur company run by Rozalind ‘Ninx’ Flanagan, aka Rozanne Valerie Bulmer. Flanagan’s company is a member of the British Fur Trade Association, and she has participated in a promotional video for Fur Europe.

Rozalind ‘Ninx’ Flanagan of Bewitched, member of the BFTA

Cara Mila flogs mink and sable coats, including one with a £30,000 price tag. The family-run business has an ‘atelier’ (shop) in Bayswater, London at Unit 1, 32 Leinster Gardens, W2 3AN, which must be visited by appointment.

Bijoux Bijon is London-based fur specialist selling remotely. Owned by Rufaro Cherry John-Baptiste.

Furs of Mayfair sells coats made from mink, foxes, chinchillas, unborn lambs’ skins, rabbits, beavers and sables. Directors’ details here.

The London Fur Company sells many mink coats, among other fur items.

Tatiana Bespoke Fur. Fur bomber jackets for hipsters.

For a fuller list of members, see here.

Other fur specialists

DaymisFurry is a significant Manchester-based fur merchant. It is a huge seller on Etsy (with nearly 2000 items on sale) and Ebay (with over 1,000 items available). The company claims to be ‘inspired by the British multicultural scene’ and is run by 26 year-old Weiwei Shi. DaymisFurry’s Facebook page can be found here.

Lanes of Fur London Fox and raccoon fur products. Also on Facebook.

English Rabbit Fur supplies dog coats made from rabbit fur. On Etsy, Facebook & Twitter.

Mad March Hare makes rabbit teddy bears from real rabbits and sells them on Etsy.

Weiwei Shi of DaymisFurry

Major international sellers

Auction houses

Kopenhagen Fur is a Danish fur auction house and the world’s biggest, selling millions of pelts each year to corporate customers. It has just announced its closure over the next 2-3 years.

Saga Furs is another major fur auction house, based in Finland. The company’s most important market is China, representing 70-75% of its buyers. In 2019, it took over the bankrupt North American Fur Auctions (NAFA), once the largest fur auction house in North America. Saga Furs is listed on the Helsinki stock exchange, though its share price has been on the decline since 2013. In a recent annual report, the company described fur production as unprofitable, ‘after three large producers were declared bankrupt’. Losses have been reported over the past three years, with COVID-19 resulting in a pre-tax loss of €10m in 2019-2020.

Sojuzpushnina is a formerly state-owned Russian fur auction house based in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company sells pelts from a variety farmed and trapped animals at auctions two to three times per year. Well over 100,000 sable skins can be sold at a single auction.

Fur Harvesters Auction is an Ontario-based auction house which sells fur from animals trapped in the wild. In 2017, the company sold 386,400 animal skins, including foxes, badgers, coyote, otters, lynx, raccoons, and mink.

E-commerce sites

Etsy, the cutesy arts and crafts e-commerce site, is a major platform for fur products, listing well over 100,000 non-vintage fur items for sale at the time of writing. But perhaps Etsy’s most important role is in increasing fur’s social acceptability through buyers’ passive exposure to the many promoted accounts selling fur, and the plethora of accounts selling cheaper, more low-key fur products like cat toys and phone covers. The company has a selective policy on which animal remains can be sold. The US company is listed on the Nasdaq; a list of institutional investors can be found here.

Ebay is another major platform for new and second-hand fur products. It has a similar policy to Etsy, only excluding items made from cats and dogs, and animals considered endangered.

Amazon also provides a platform for fur sellers, and is one of many companies to have sold real fur items advertised as fake.

Miscellaneous

T&S Nurseries is a franchiser with farms across the UK breeding rabbits for meat and selling their fur as a ‘by product’. Rabbit Farm Resistance and Animal Aid have been campaigning against the expansion of the farms, with one in Cornwall successfully opposed last month, and another in Buckinghamshire currently seeking planning permission. It claims to be a family-owned company and is represented by Phil Kerry.

United Vaccines is a specialist US company that produces a variety of vaccines for the fur industry. It is headed by Dutch CEO Wim Verhagen (Facebook page here). Verhagen has reportedly been the director of the Dutch national fur breeders’ association since the early 1980s. United Vaccines appears to be majority-owned by a Dutch cooperative federation of furriers (CFE – Coöperatieve Federatie van Edelpelsdierenhouders).

Beyond Retro is vintage clothes chain which sells fur, among other items, at its stores in the UK and Sweden.

Useful resources & anti-fur campaign groups

Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT), a grassroots group campaigning against the fur industry in the UK.

Coalition Against Fur Farms (CAFF), US-based project which publishes details on fur farms in the country.

The Final Nail, a guide to destroying the fur industry and overview of direct action taken against it.

Fur Free Alliance, an international coalition comprised of national NGOs. It promotes bans on fur farming and encourages retailers to stop selling fur.

Humane Society International, a big animal rights NGO with branches around the world. Frequently reports on developments the fur industry and carries out undercover investigations providing insight into conditions on farms. HSI is currently promoting its Fur Free Britain campaign to end the sales of fur in the UK.

Rabbit Farm Resistance is a campaign opposing the expansion of rabbit farms for meat and fur in the UK.

Respect for Animals, a UK-based group campaigning against the fur trade.

The post The Fur Industry: a corporate overview appeared first on Corporate Watch.

Summary

• The WHO is currently exploring the possibility that China’s wildlife farms may be at the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have more specifically suggested that the country’s lucrative fur industry is a likely source.
• Mink, the animals most widely-bred for their fur, are especially susceptible to contracting the disease and are the only species known to infect humans. Coronavirus cases have been reported across hundreds of European mink farms.
• The European and North American fur industries have been on the decline for years, with a number of major companies going bust. The mass culling of mink to stave off the spread of the virus in Europe and the resulting bans on fur production have hit the industry hard.
• Despite the risks posed by mink farming, China has done little to regulate its fur industry, which is the world’s largest. In fact, Chinese producers are making the most of the global fall in production and rising prices.
• Concerted efforts by lobbyists to rebrand the company as sustainable, and the recent announcement of a new mink vaccine may be sufficient to rescue Europe’s fur trade unless action is taken to shut it down for good.
• The risk of recurring pandemics in the near future remains high so long as toxic industries such as factory farming and the fur trade continue to exist.

Introduction

A WHO delegation to Wuhan has recently announced that Wuhan’s infamous seafood and live animal market, long presumed to have been the source of the COVID-19 pandemic, may merely have served as an early super-spreader event. One prominent theory the team is investigating is whether the virus in fact originated in China’s extensive network of wildlife farms before being carried to the market.

Wildlife farming involves the capture and breeding of wild animals for a broad variety of uses, including food, fur, medicine, experiments, the pet trade and entertainment. A 2017 report by the Chinese Academy of Engineering valued the industry at 520bn yuan, or £57bn.

It goes without saying that the conditions in the farms are hellish, with animals confined to tiny cages and deprived of all needs bar the minimum required to keep them alive. This industrial, 21st century effort to domesticate wild animals is seen as more cost-efficient and lucrative than trapping them in the wild, and has been subsidised by the Chinese government and promoted as a way to alleviate rural poverty.

If the farms were indeed the source of the virus, this would make COVID-19 just the latest disease suspected to have made the leap to humans through intensive animal farming.

Animal exploitation & pandemics: a brief history

Factory farming is one of the biggest risk factors for epidemics and pandemics. Reasons for this include overcrowded, stressed, poorly-nourished and selectively-bred animals with low genetic diversity; unhygienic conditions; the overuse of antibiotics; and the proximity of this population to humans. The risk of a virus successfully infecting a new species is increased with the degree of contact; therefore, animal agriculture heightens this risk.

Leading origin theories for some of the 20th century’s largest pandemics point the finger at animal farming.

The Spanish Flu, possibly the most deadly pandemic in modern history, has its origins in birds, and one leading hypothesis is that it emerged from North American poultry farms. Almost all cases of flu pandemics among humans – including some of the deadliest of the twentieth century – have been caused by descendants of the Spanish Flu virus, having mutated in pigs and poultry to produce new strains along the way. One form infected captive pig populations and later recombined with both human and avian flu to produce a new type of swine flu, which resulted in another pandemic in 2009.

SARS, a coronavirus responsible for a 2002-4 epidemic mainly in China, is believed to have originated in palm civets (also known as civet cats), which have been bred for meat and the production of an expensive coffee known as ‘Kopi Luwak’. The production of this coffee involves such cruelty that even its first importer to the West has since called for the end of the industry, yet it is still being sold to wealthy tourists in destinations such as Bali (in the UK, Harrods sells it for £500 per 250g bag). An alternative hypothesis, however, suggests that the roots of SARS lie in the Chinese fur industry.

MERS is a relatively new coronavirus which is far deadlier than COVID-19, but less transmissible, with cases having been mostly localised to Saudi Arabia. While the virus is still not fully understood, it is known to infect humans via camels, which are bred and farmed on the Arabian peninsula for milk, meat, leather and racing.

Meanwhile, the emergence of COVID-19 in China came fresh on the back of an epidemic of African Swine Fever, which resulted in the culling of over half of the country’s 440-odd million pigs. Although this particular virus does not affect people, a senior Russian epidemiologist has said that mutations which could lead to human infection are possible.

How new viruses emerge

New viruses tend to evolve in two ways:

Mutation: As a virus replicates, mutations can occur along the way. These can alter its characteristics, such as the severity of an infection. An accumulation of mutations can enable a virus to reinfect a host (for example a pig or human) since their antibodies fail to recognise its newest incarnation. These changes can also undermine vaccination programmes.

Recombination: This is when a host is simultaneously infected with two different viruses of the same family, leading to the production of unique viral offspring. So it may well be possible, for example, for a virus to emerge with the transmissibility of coronavirus and the lethality of MERS, if a host is infected with these viruses at the same time. Recombination can happen across species, with the risk being higher the greater the degree of contact.

Captive populations are ideal sites for recombination. A hypothesis under active investigation is that the virus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic was the result of recombination between coronaviruses circulating among bats and pangolins, with the pangolin strain contributing the elements required to penetrate human cells. The 2009 Swine Flu pandemic is thought to have resulted from a complex recombination in pigs between two pig strains, an avian strain and a human strain. Pigs’ susceptibility to these different types of flu has led to them being called ‘mixing vessels’. However, since they are animals which are intensively farmed in appalling conditions the world over, the odds of them contracting multiple viruses simultaneously are high.

Mutation and recombination can both produce viral strains that have the ability to infect new species, such as that which gave rise to COVID-19.

China’s wildlife trade

Despite having encouraged the growth of wildlife farming in recent years, within the first few months of the pandemic, the Chinese government shut down almost 20,000 sites rearing animals for food. It issued a list of animals which from then on could be legally consumed. Off the list are bamboo rats, porcupines, peacocks and dogs. The government said that dogs could now only be considered pets, in accordance with the ‘progress of human civilisation’ and changing cultural values in China.

However, many animals can still be reared for consumption, including tortoises, ostriches, deer, crocodiles, salamanders, and numerous species that are extensively farmed in the UK and Europe. Meanwhile, the changes failed to curtail any other form of wildlife farming. The condition of the 10,000-odd bears kept on Chinese bear bile farms is likely to deteriorate since the government recommended bear bile as a treatment for coronavirus. Likewise, monkeys can continue to be captured and bred for medical research labs at home and abroad, with the COVID-19 vaccine quest increasing demand. China, along with Mauritius, is a leading exporter of monkeys for vivisection, supplying 80% of the tens of thousands of monkeys imported to the US prior to the pandemic.

Perhaps most noticeably, however, the changes do nothing to address the most lucrative form of wildlife farming: the fur trade. On the contrary, by classing mink, foxes and racoon dogs as ‘special livestock’, the changes only seal their fate.

COVID-19 & the Chinese fur trade

China is the world’s leading producer of fur, rearing over 40 million animals for their pelts in 2019. It is a sector worth 389 billion yuan (£43 billion) a year – that’s 75% of all the country’s wildlife farming. The number of fur farms in the country mushroomed in the 2000s, with European companies facilitating this by supplying mink for breeding and even running joint venture farms in China. And far from being shut down, the fur trade in China is now experiencing a pandemic-induced boom.

The French environmentalist publication, Reporterre, among others, suggests that the pandemic’s origins lie not just in China’s wildlife farms, but more precisely in its fur industry. Its investigation found:

• The three main species bred for fur in China (mink, foxes and raccoon dogs), are all highly susceptible to coronavirus.
• In the top mink farming region of Shangdong, the production of mink fur dropped dramatically by 55% in 2019 (from nearly 15 million mink pelts in 2018 to 6.5 million the following year). After being pressed on this, trade representatives claimed this was merely the result of market stagnation and overproduction.
• Mink have been inexplicably left out of studies on the origins of COVID-19.
• The fur industry may not only be the origin of COVID-19, but the source of the 2003 SARS outbreak too, as ‘China manoeuvred to incriminate the civet, a species of marginal economic importance’ and whose numbers are dwarfed by that of animals bred for their fur, ‘in order to divert attention from and protect the fur industry’.

It has been established that mink are particularly susceptible to coronavirus and transmit it easily among each other. In their recent report, the WHO names the animals as possible ‘intermediate hosts’ which first allowed the virus to spillover to humans; the other contenders are rabbits and raccoon dogs (both widely bred for their fur), pangolins, which are used in traditional medicine, and cats. It recommends that surveys be carried out on animals ‘bred for fur such as mink and racoon dogs’, since there has been a ‘massive’ undersampling of potential hosts. The report was followed by further criticism of the Chinese government’s obstruction and the the lack of access to full data.

Since mink are the only animals so far confirmed to be capable of transmitting the virus to humans, the Chinese government’s failure to thoroughly investigate and rein in its fur trade betrays its eagerness to protect its multi-billion pound industry.

While COVID-19’s full origin story remains inconclusive, scientists have nevertheless highlighted the risks of people being infected by captive or runaway mink, in particular, the threats that mink variants could pose to vaccine efforts. If there were strong reasons for shutting down parts of China’s wildlife industry, there are overwhelming reasons to shut down its fur farms.

COVID-19 & the European fur trade

In Europe, mink’s susceptibility to coronavirus has devastated the fur industry, with infections reported in over 400 of the continent’s 5,000 mink farms, as well as a number of significant mutations. Governments have responded with mass culls, including the slaughter of Denmark and the Netherlands’ entire mink populations. As the world’s top producer of mink pelts, this is ultimately expected to be the death knell of the Danish industry. In fact Kopenhagen Furs, which is the biggest fur auctioneer in the world and reportedly accounts for 40% of Denmark’s production, announced its closure within the next 2-3 years

Yet the industry was on the decline in Europe even before COVID-19 reared its head. Despite growth in demand for fur in the early 2010s, primarily driven by Chinese buyers, the expansion of Chinese mink farming and fall in fur prices had a major impact on European producers. By 2019, mink fur production in Europe and North America dropped 25% year-on-year, with some banks being unwilling to continue financing ailing businesses. In Poland, a major fur-producing country, a third of the country’s farms closed down between 2015 and 2020.

Since the start of the pandemic, public health concerns associated with mink farming have precipitated bans and suspensions in production across the continent. Europe’s fur industry is now on its way out, and it’s time to put the boot in once and for all.

New bans on fur production

In June 2020, the Netherlands announced all mink farms must close permanently by March 2021, bringing forward its phase-out plans by two years. Meanwhile Ireland is expected to ban mink farming by the end of the year, with the 120,000 mink on Ireland’s three remaining fur farms ordered to be culled.

Poland, the world’s third biggest fur producer, is in the process of passing a ban – although rabbits will be excluded from its scope. Similarly, Hungary announced a ban due to ‘animal welfare concerns’ and public health risks, but inexplicably excludes chinchillas.

In September, France declared an end to mink farming, yet is dragging its heels and wants to postpone the closure of its four remaining farms until 2025.

Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and Italy have all made more lacklustre announcements: mink farming will be suspended in these countries until 2022.

As we can see, the changes don’t spare all fur-bearing animals, and while the Chinese fur trade is horrific, many exposés by undercover activists shed light on equally harrowing scenes in European fur farms. These include cages littered with dead or dying animals, starvation, and cannibalism. Filthy conditions, sick and injured animals, cages barely large enough to move in, and animals driven to madness, aggression and self-mutilation are the norm.

Despite having banned fur production in the UK 20 years ago, rabbits are still farmed in the country, with fur being passed off as a mere ‘by-product’ of meat. Campaigners are currently fighting against one franchiser’s proposals to build more such farms in the UK.

Industry survival strategies: mink vaccines & greenwashing

As it clambers to maintain a foothold, the fight against the European fur industry is far from over. And its salvation may come in the form of a vaccine.

The Russian veterinary and agricultural agency Rosselkhoznadzor has just announced the creation of a successful vaccine for mink, foxes and other animals, known as Carnivak-Cov. Mass production expected to begin this month. Breeding facilities in various countries, including prominent fur producers such as Greece, were said to have ‘expressed interest’.

Meanwhile, the US firm Zoetis, which calls itself as the ‘largest global animal health company’, is still working on its own a vaccine for animals including mink. Medgene Labs, a much smaller US company, has also been developing a vaccine. If the mink coronavirus vaccines prove viable and affordable, they may be enough to rescue the decaying industry from its death throes.

Mink are already vaccinated against many diseases. In the US, fur farmers are said to be precariously dependant on just one vaccine supplier, United Vaccines, a US company which specialises in producing vaccines for the global fur trade.

The concerted efforts of fur industry representatives such as the International Fur Federation, Fur Europe and British Fur Trade Association over the years to promote fur as ethical, natural and sustainable are also likely to present further obstacles to change.

And while mass mink culls have taken place in Europe, ‘little action’ has been taken in China against its mink farms. In fact, the culls have caused the global price of fur to shoot up by a third, which has been fully taken advantage of by Chinese producers. The year’s events will likely leave China the world’s biggest producer of mink pelts, overtaking Denmark’s plummeting output. This only adds further credence to the theory that the state has been protecting the country’s fur trade and shielding it from the scrutiny of COVID-19 investigators.

The COVID-19 vaccines: why we can’t technofix our way out of a pandemic

The various human coronavirus vaccines now being used are likely to shield us from the worst of the disease. However, neither the human nor animal vaccines should signal a return to business as usual.

For one, the virus could evolve as it seeks to ‘get round’ the inoculation drive, meaning there is likely to be a sustained effort to develop vaccines that are effective against new strains for years to come.

The risks of mutation and recombination as the virus continues to infect captive populations, whether intensively-reared animals such as those held in the UK’s expanding network of megafarms, or humans kept in institutions such as prisons or detention centres, remain high. Various strains of COVID-19, as with other coronaviruses, are highly unlikely to just disappear. So long as there are vast pools of captive animals, viruses will simply continue to evolve – even if the original strain becomes less deadly.

This risk of mutation or recombination is particularly high as long as fur farms continue to operate, given mink’s susceptibility to the disease. Attempts to develop a vaccine for farmed mink are aimed at propping up an industry that may well be the origin of the pandemic. Capitalism has always seen animals as commodities and intensive farming is merely an extension of this mentality. As long as resources are injected into the survival of this system, our species is being committed to successive plagues, and we have no control over what form they will take, nor how deadly they will be.

Today, our species may be considered to be at the height of medical and technical skill, but we can’t break the current bind with more vaccinations, antibiotics and steroids – for either humans or livestock. Despite the staggering scientific advances of the past 200 years, the conditions that make us vulnerable to pandemics are arguably more present than ever: dramatic changes to ecosystems, and the massive growth in industrial animal farming.

By upsetting the balance, encroachment into wild spaces increases the risk of viruses and other pathogens infecting new animal species, while the growth in intensive animal agriculture provides the perfect environment for their leap to humans. The frequency of ‘spillover events’ in which pathogens jump from animals to humans, has doubled or even trebled in the past 40 years, and this has been linked directly with the conversion of forested areas to livestock production.

From ‘virus factories’ to a sustainable future

Following Denmark’s national mink cull, stories emerged of the animals resurfacing from their graves and contaminating the local groundwater. A striking metaphor perhaps for a toxic industry that needs to be laid to rest once and for all.

Many former wildlife farms in China are now being subsidised for conversion to other uses, such as mushroom-farming and brewing. Mushrooms are popping up, quite literally, in former cages where once sad and terrified wild animals were raised to be eaten. This must happen in fur farms too.

The European fur industry is slowly dying, it just needs a push. Recognising intensive animal farming as a major source of pandemics, particularly the vulnerability of mink farms to COVID-19, is the first step. Humane Society International is pushing a #FurFreeBritain campaign to ban the sale of fur countrywide, and there’s no better time to back this demand. But ending the industry in one part of the world will not safeguard us from future coronaviruses. It must be wiped out everywhere, along with all other forms of animal exploitation.

See here for part two of our series on the fur trade, which explores the marketing strategies used by the industry to maintain consumer demand, and maps the companies and lobbyists sustaining the fur trade in Britain and abroad.

Illustrations by Lanternfish.

The post Animal farming & COVID-19: from China’s wildlife trade to the European fur industry appeared first on Corporate Watch.

Telling the story of the search for the COVID-19 vaccines puts capitalism under the microscope. It is a story that helps us to zoom in on why the pharmaceutical industry is set for one of the biggest profit windfalls in its history. And it magnifies our view of the commanding role of the capitalist state in a process that the likes of Boris Johnson present as driven by corporate ingenuity and naked competition – but in reality is driven by our wealth and by scientific knowledge that is part of the commons.

As we get to the end of the story, we find out that the search for the vaccine is not really a search for a cure at all, but a search to avoid dealing with the causes of the virus.

A sustainable business model

In April 2018, long before COVID-19 emerged from the zoonotic swamp, a report by Goldman Sachs analysts proposed that providing a “one shot” cure for diseases could never be a “sustainable business model.” Noting the advances made in gene cell therapy and gene editing – advances that paved the way for the COVID-19 vaccine – they said (with more than a hint of regret): “such treatments offer a very different outlook with regard to recurring revenue versus chronic therapies”.

The Goldman Sachs analysts were only saying what everybody in the drug business knows: there is much less money in preventative medicine and vaccines than there is in treatment for chronic conditions. Until this virus came along, it was much more profitable to keep people with chronic conditions ill than to actually cure them. And, as the Prime Minister rightly says, Big Pharma follows the money. In 2019, the global vaccines’ market size was $47 billion. Sales of just four ‘treatment’ drugs matched this volume of sales (Humira, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis; Keytruda, the cancer treatment; Revlimid, used to treat multiple myeloma and Opdivo, also a cancer treatment). Before 2020, the vaccine industry was a classic oligopoly: four big players accounted for about 85% of the market (GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Merck and Pfizer).

The concentration of power in the industry, and its constant benchmarking with the lower risk business model that shapes the rest of the industry explains why earlier coronaviruses SARS 1 and MERS had no vaccine. With both viruses, tests were initially conducted on animals but not on humans. As the virus died out, so did the research. The Ebola vaccine – largely funded by WHO aid – was finally approved in 2019, a full 6 years after the start of the epidemic in West Africa. The Zika virus is currently undergoing clinical trials, but no vaccine is expected on the market soon.

There can be little doubt that racial capitalism and geo-economics has shaped our response to this virus. Previous viruses did not threaten our economy. Contrast the costs of Ebola to West African countries (estimated at over $50 billion) and the costs of the 2015 Zika virus outbreak to Latin America and the Caribbean (estimated at $18 billion). The most advanced economies stand to lose at least 4.5% of GDP as a result of this pandemic, as cost to production that is estimated at $28 trillion. This is counted in the trillions. The COVID-19 vaccines were needed to save the people of the Global North (and of course our economic system).

Indeed, equity held by the richest investors jumped in value at key stages in the vaccines’ development. The first of the vaccine trials published hopeful results in early August. By the end of the month, the world’s stock markets were reporting the best August in decades. The ongoing recovery in shareholder value through the last quarter of 2020 encouraged by the imminent vaccine roll-out also saw hedge funds reporting the biggest gains in more than a decade.

Our vaccine

The vaccines developed to deal with COVID-19 have undoubtedly given us a unique springboard to develop other vaccines in future. Yet this does not make up for years of neglect. We started from a low knowledge base about COVID-19 precisely because the big four had calculated that developing vaccines for the earlier coronaviruses was not worth the portfolio risk.

Our earlier Vaccinating Capitalism report on the profits being made by the main vaccine producers shows how this time portfolio risk was taken out of the equation. The reason the COVID-19 vaccines arrived at such warp speed is that the risk model changed overnight. Indeed, the normal risks associated with vaccine development were almost completely removed from investors. First, research and development, combined with direct subsidies, were mobilised on an unprecedented scale. Second, governments used our money to place the biggest drug advance orders in history and remove all market risk from future sales. Those two things prompted an unprecedented single-purpose investment in the sector. This unprecedented investment will, of course, be followed by unprecedented profits.

The development of this vaccine is part of a vast system of public subsidy that deceives the public into thinking that it is private capital in the form of Big Pharma that saves us through its innovation. Yet perhaps the biggest subsidy to those companies is hidden.

Universities provide trained scientists, a foundation of knowledge that has been built up over hundreds of years. It is in universities that the rules for clinical research are developed, and it is university researchers who establish the system of peer review and publish results in academic journals. Universities make the largest social contribution to verifying and disseminating scientific breakthroughs. It is knowledge that we hold in common. Part of the ‘commons’ it may be, but in economic terms, this knowledge production counts as an ‘externality’: an invisible subsidy that never shows up on a corporate balance sheet.

The infrastructure that produced the vaccines was nurtured in publicly funded universities, in public institutes and in heavily subsidised private labs. When we recognise this, we realise that it is we who are saving Big Pharma from its failure to develop an effective vaccine against similar viruses in the first place.

Vaccinating Capitalism

Most infectious disease experts expect that new viral diseases resulting from zoonotic ‘spillover’ – moving from animals to humans – will become ever more frequent occurrences. SARS-Cov-19 is not the first case, and we are likely to face many more. There are difficult issues that we need to face regarding this unprecedented vaccination programme: how it allows governments to avoid tackling the root causes of SARS-Cov-2, and indeed may help weaken our defences against the next pathogen that spreads from animals to humans.

We know some of the main drivers of spillover. One is deforestation. New pathogens are released when land that has been left relatively un-touched is cleared for development and industrial use by humans. Once wild animals carrying those pathogens are displaced, the pathogens then need to maximise the opportunity to ‘leap’ from one species to another in a process of genetic drift. This is not an easy process. But, as writers like Rob Wallace have been warning us for years, large scale industrial farming can vastly increase the chances of a virus mutating into a form that can make the leap. Once it is in the human pool, it finds its most fertile conditions in closely packed workplaces like factories, warehouses and call centres.

The problem is that it is not just us who are being vaccinated but capitalism itself. The danger is that the vaccines will merely provide a short-term “technofix” which helps ensure the survival of the system that keeps on killing us.

The entire public funding effort – furlough, government loans, suspension of the normal regulatory rules – has had one primary aim: to keep corporations on life support. Some of our most damaging and irresponsible corporations have been kept alive by public funding, often in ways that have allowed them to sack workers, rip-off customers, and profit from intensifying poverty. Meanwhile, the Covid crisis (despite all the celebratory news about falling pollution levels) has also been used to weaken efforts against climate change. Corporations in Europe and North America have taken the opportunity to lobby hard – with some success – for environmental deregulation and further weakening of Paris Agreement targets.

The development of the vaccines will save many lives, but there is a price to pay. The profit-maximising, risk-minimising model ensures that we, not the corporations, will ultimately end up paying the financial costs. But there is an even higher social cost that might be paid. If we don’t deal with the root causes of the problem, and simply continue to reproduce the same uncontrolled conditions of capitalist development and industrial farming, then we will keep being exposed to more and more zoonotic pathogens long after we have got rid of this one.

The post Vaccinating Capitalism: corporate pharma raids the commons and leaves the root causes untreated appeared first on Corporate Watch.

This article looks at a few ways the economic system we call capitalism has been fundamental in spreading the virus – and in fostering a wider crisis of panic, repression, and looming poverty. And this is by no means a complete list. The general point is that capitalism, based on prioritising profits over people’s lives, is incapable of serving our health and well-being. To care for each other now and in the future, can we use our anger to fight for change?

Feature image above: occupation of Deutsche Bank owned building to create a mutual aid hub in Chicago, US

Medics protest against lack of resources in Athens, Greece

1. Industrial agriculture incubates new viruses

COVID-19 didn’t appear out of the blue. It is just the latest pandemic linked to industrial agriculture, and in particular the mass-scale production and sale of meat.

In this case, the disease has been traced to the Wuhan seafood market and to China’s “wild animal” trade, also implicated in the 2003 SARS pandemic. However, as biologist Rob Wallace, author of Big Farms Big Flu, makes clear: “this is no Chinese exceptionalism […] The U.S. and Europe have served as ground zeros for new influenzas as well, recently H5N2 and H5Nx, and their multinationals and neocolonial proxies drove the emergence of Ebola in West Africa and Zika in Brazil.”

The common factor is profit-driven intensive meat farming. “Zoonotic”, or cross-species infections from animals to humans, count for the majority of new human pathogens. Wallace identifies at least two common origin patterns. One is a leap from intensively farmed animals such as cows, pigs, chickens – as in the recent avian and swine flu pandemics. As he puts it:

“You couldn’t design a better system to breed deadly diseases. […] Growing genetic monocultures of domestic animals removes whatever immune firebreaks may be available to slow down transmission. Larger population sizes and densities facilitate greater rates of transmission. Such crowded conditions depress immune response. High throughput, a part of any industrial production, provides a continually renewed supply of susceptibles, the fuel for the evolution of virulence.”

Covid-19, like SARS or Ebola, appears to belong to the other pattern – in which the virus leaps from non-domesticated species. But again, capitalism plays a key role. The Chinese economy’s rapid growth drive and marketisation in the 1990s included corporate consolidation of agriculture, alongside major deforestation and destruction of biodiverse habitats. As smaller farmers were squeezed out of traditional livestock farming, one state-promoted strategy was to move into intensive breeding and farming of captive “wild” species. This led to further incursions into remaining forest areas and to new zoonotic infections, which can then spread rapidly through high-volume markets like Wuhan.

NB: see also this more detailed account by Wallace and other authors in Monthly Review; and this in-depth essay by Chuang journal examining how these factors played out in Wuhan and China.

2. Big Pharma diverts medical research

We still know relatively little about COVID-19 and its impacts. Although obviously dangerous, research is inconclusive as to precisely how virulent it will turn out to be, or how it can best be combated. But some issues are clear enough. One is the absence of drug treatments: no vaccine, and a lack of proven antiviral treatments.

Respiratory infections are well known to cause harm. So why is medical research so far behind on this area?

Much medical research is led by profit-chasing corporations – along with the universities and foundations they sponsor. One issue with the capitalist research model is that, because drugs are high value property, research data is guarded as “commercially confidential” rather than being shared for all to develop.

Another big problem is that drugs targeting respiratory viruses just aren’t that profitable. Adrian Hill, the professor who led UK research on the Ebola virus, has condemned the pharma industry’s “market failure” to tackle that pandemic in Africa. He explained in an interview with the Independent in 2014:

“Today, commercial vaccine supply is monopolised by four or five mega- companies – GSK, Sanofi, Merck, Pfizer – some of the biggest companies in the world. The problem with that is, even if you’ve got a way of making a vaccine, unless there’s a big market, it’s not worth the while of a mega-company …. There was no business case to make an Ebola vaccine for the people who needed it most.”

In a recent interview, Mike Davis – author of The Monster at Our Door: the Global Threat of Avian Flu – calls the problem: “Big Pharma’s abdication of the research and development of new antibiotics and antivirals.” He says:

“Of the eighteen largest pharmaceutical companies, fifteen have totally abandoned the field. Heart medicines, addictive tranquilizers, and treatments for male impotence are profit leaders, not the defenses against hospital infections, emergent diseases, and traditional tropical killers. A universal vaccine for influenza — that is to say, a vaccine that targets the immutable parts of the virus’s surface proteins — has been a possibility for decades but never profitable enough to be a priority.”

So in the US, as reported by Bloomberg, venture capitalists have poured $42 billion into drug development in the last three years. Nearly half of that has flooded into potentially lucrative treatments for cancer and rare diseases. Only 5% went into drugs that prevent infections.

Medics protest against lack of resources in Quetta, Pakistan

3. Markets decimate public healthcare

It started with a virus, but it’s the failure of our healthcare systems that have made this a serious health crisis. As well as lack of drugs, we can add the shortage of key equipment from testing kits to ventilators, down to masks and other basic protective clothing. And the shortage of hospital places, of doctors and nurses to treat people with severe symptoms. Whatever the real scale of the pandemic turns out to be, one thing is certain: because of these shortages, people will die.

Again, none of this comes as a surprise. In the UK, there have been repeated warnings, including the 2016 “Exercise Cygnus”, that the NHS couldn’t cope with a new pandemic. In fact, the NHS is in continual “winter crisis”: overwhelmed ICU wards and images of patients dying in the corridors are not extraordinary but regular events. With hospitals already at full stretch, it only takes a slightly more aggressive virus to turn this “normal” crisis level into something even worse.

This is not just a UK issue. In Italy, for example, the healthcare union USI identifies recent cuts of “43,000 workers (which means the loss of 70,000 beds, including 3,000 in intensive care).” They write that continuous funding cuts have:

“led to a widespread collapse of the healthcare system. As a result, access to treatment has been reduced for an increasing number of people. Today it is the coronavirus, tomorrow it could be another virus or even any trivial disease: to maintain only Essential Levels of Care (ELC) is to sign a death sentence.”

In the UK, the number of hospital beds has halved in 30 years. There are less than 3 hospital beds per thousand people and only 7 Intensive Care places for every 100,000 people.ⁱ Hospital places are just the most obvious indicator – all the same points could be made about testing facilities and other resources.

These health shortages are entirely avoidable: the UK and Italy are richer than ever before. The basic problem is that capitalism does not prioritise collective healthcare: the services we do have are concessions that people have won and defended through decades of struggle against “market forces”. In recent years, these victories have been eroded by privatisation and “austerity”.

In England for example, successive governments have failed to give the NHS the money it needs to care for a growing and ageing population. The other issue is where the money goes – much of it returns to corporate pockets. Here are just three examples of NHS profiteering:

• PFI debt. Debt on “private finance” schemes costs “up to £1 in every £6” of the budget for some NHS trusts, according to the IPPR thinktank. These were schemes pushed by the last Labour government in which hospitals were refurbished by borrowing from the private sector at extortionate long-term interest rates.
• Drug companies. According to The King‘s Fund, “estimated total NHS spending on medicines in England has grown from £13 billion in 2010/11 to £17.4 billion in 2016/17.” This is over 10% of the total NHS budget.
• Private health businesses and outsourcers. Much NHS work, for example cleaning or transport services, is now outsourced to profit-chasing companies. The latest development has involved handing contracts for actual medical services to private sector companies. These were worth £3.6 billion in 2019, with the biggest winners being Care UK and Richard Branson’s Virgin Care.

4. Work makes us sick

A well-prepared health system might respond to the virus with wide scale testing, plus hospital care for those hit by severe symptoms. Instead we get a brutal last-ditch measure: mass lockdown. Medics hope this can slow the pandemic so that fragile health services aren’t overwhelmed. Many governments are happy to seize the opportunity and race through new police state powers.

But here too, the capitalist drive for profit takes precedence. Even as police and public outrage target “irresponsible” individuals taking some air, workers are still being crowded into factories, building sites, and tube trains.

The European corona epicentre so far has been Lombardy, Northern Italy. This is Italy’s “industrial heartland”: the home of steel mills, car plants, textiles factories, and in total over one fifth of all Italy’s GDP. Lombardy was placed under the first quarantine measures on 1 March, and went into deep lockdown on 7 March, with people confined to their homes other than for “essential” activities. These measures then went nationwide on 9 March.

But there were no rules against the most obvious transmission sites of all: workplaces. Car factories and fashion sweatshops kept on going through the lockdown. This only changed on 21 March when the government finally ordered closure of “non-essential” workplaces.

While shouty Italian mayors berated joggers, workers were taking action against being forced to turn up in corona conditions. Wildcat strikes began on 12 March, and spread across Italy the next day. Workers are up against the employers’ confederation Confindustria, which has lobbied hard to keep the factories open. Despite the 21 March decree stopping “non-essential” work, calls for a general strike continue – even from the country’s three biggest unions. They argue that the “essential” rules are full of loopholes: making machinery for the tobacco industry is included, for example.

In the UK, much the same drama played out with a two week delay. The government ordered people to “stay at home” on 23 March – with the big exception being if you have to go to work. On 24 March, as building workers walked out of a 1,700 person site in Middlesborough, the housing minister tweeted: “If you are working on site, you can continue to do so. […] Outside of work, remember to #StayHomeSaveLives.”

As anyone who’s ever worked in construction knows, and has been widely pointed out on social media, the idea of observing “social distancing rules” on building sites is a bad joke.

Like Italy’s manufacturing bosses, the British building industry has political influence. At the top are a handful of big contractors – many close to the Conservative Party, and with a shady record of ignoring safety issues and blacklisting organising workers. In the manufacturing sector, too, we get stories about companies like William Cook Rail or Wren Kitchens, major Conservative Party donors refusing to shut down.

So, which are more dangerous, parks or workplaces? We haven’t seen any research assessing that. What we do know is that, in capitalism, “essential” is a close cousin of “profitable”.

5. Click-hungry media feed panic

Corona is a healthcare crisis, but it has also become something more: a crisis of fear. The 24/7 feed of anxiety through our TV, computer and phone screens has created a social panic of unprecedented scale and speed. This has spiralling impacts on billions of people’s mental, social and material well-being, and is used by governments to justify brutal power grabs.

Here are a few basic observations about media coverage of coronavirus:

• The pandemic has swiftly achieved almost total media dominance, eclipsing every other issue. Even back in January, as a study in Time magazine showed, corona had received extraordinary coverage in English speaking media – for example, more than 20 times as many headlines as the Ebola outbreak in its first month.
• It is largely framed in terms of fear and death. Back in February, media scholar Karin Wahl-Jorgensen analysed the use of fear language in major newspaper reporting. Social media platforms ramp up this sensationalism. A post presenting cautious analysis is unlikely to go far – as opposed to a viral tweet thread like “HOLY MOTHER OF GOD […] the most virulent virus epidemic the world has ever seen.”
• Coverage is pinned to simplified and obsessively reported numbers: the daily tally of “confirmed cases” and deaths. Questions about the accuracy and comparability of these headline figures may be discussed in a side note – but not allowed to get in the way of the constant countdown.
• It fixates on authority. While medical and scientific expertise are clearly extremely valuable they are subject to the distortions of the media and are open to being exploited by political leaders, who are either heroes to rally round, or castigated for failing to play their roles. Here the corona panic has elements of the classic sociological model of a “moral panic”, in which the media’s call on authorities to save us from a threat to society presents a serious threat of authoritarian abuse.

While capitalism isn’t the only force shaping these patterns, profit is again a crucial factor. Psychologists point out how “our minds like to jump to threatening headlines with big, alarming numbers”. But if that’s true, it isn’t simply a settled fact of human evolution – it is actively used and reinforced by the dominant media business model.

Most major media platforms have a financial model based on advertising. Advertising revenue depends on audience, meaning attracting the maximum possible views and “hits”. While this has been the case since the birth of the popular press in the 19^th century, online technologies have accelerated the feedback loop between content and “clicks”.

The well-known market leader is Facebook’s algorithmic News Feed Editor, which automatically selects and targets news. More “traditional” media outlets, including state-backed broadcasters, now also have to compete with the social media giants and adopt their methods – or lose even more of their market share and relevance.

The upshot of this profit imperative is a constant and rapid bombardment of the most click-worthy images, figures, tragic anecdotes, and “hot takes”. We are left swimming in numbers, information, and anxiety, with no space for reflection and critical thinking. And if we’re unable to sort through the noise and form our own informed and considered views, all we can do is trust and obey the authorities.

6. Gross inequality threatens lockdown poverty

Now the corona crisis is mutating into an economic crisis, as lockdown measures shut “non-essential” production, travel and consumption. In itself, switching off much of the capitalist economy is no bad thing: we really don’t need all the disposable plastic crap it churns out; wildlife, forests, and oceans could do with a breather. The problem is not “the economy”, but that billions of people rely on wages to eat and live.

Capitalism has created the most unequal society in human history: billionaires with unimaginable wealth, billions on the breadline. The lockdown affects us very differently depending on where we are in this pyramid.

To the rich, “stay at home” is no great hardship. For online professionals, or better off workers with permanent contracts, recipe swaps and yoga classes can take the edge off the frustration. To low-income, precarious and informal economy workers, it means the threat of unemployment and impoverishment. And as the crisis spreads to countries without welfare and healthcare safety nets, many millions will be hit.

In India, as Arundhati Roy writes, Modi has “borrowed the playbook from France and Italy” to impose a rapid lockdown on 1.38 billion people. In this context:

“The lockdown worked like a chemical experiment that suddenly illuminated hidden things. As shops, restaurants, factories and the construction industry shut down, as the wealthy and the middle classes enclosed themselves in gated colonies, our towns and megacities began to extrude their working-class citizens — their migrant workers — like so much unwanted accrual. […] The lockdown to enforce physical distancing had resulted in the opposite — physical compression on an unthinkable scale. […] The main roads might be empty, but the poor are sealed into cramped quarters in slums and shanties.”

In the rich world the curfew is, so far, largely maintained by agreement and social pressure. In India, where quarantine may mean starvation, it requires widespread “beating and humiliation” by police. In Kenya, one case of police enforcing lockdown by the lethal shooting of a thirteen year old boy has already been widely reported.

But here in Europe, too, when it comes to the margins of society – migrants, prisoners, the homeless – “stay at home” takes on very different meanings. We have already seen evictions and mass arrests in Athens, round-ups of refugees in Calais, at least eight dead in prison riots in Italy, as barbed wire fences go up around migrant accommodation in Croatia, and the army imposes quarantine on Roma settlements in Slovakia.

“Solidarity is the virus that capitalism fears.” To knit (back) our networks. Organise you neighbourhood, common pot, mutual aid.

Conclusion

This crisis is developing on multiple levels. The pandemic itself is just one. Then there are wider psychological and social impacts of continuing fear and isolation. There are political impacts as governments take advantage to rush through new powers. And there are the looming material impacts as millions are threatened with poverty and violent repression.

On all these levels, capitalism is a big part of the problem. The virus kills, and responses to it by states and corporations could kill many more. Many of these deaths are avoidable. We live in an age of enormous wealth, where vast amounts of human labour and natural resources are directed to produce trillions of dollars worth of anything from smart phones to fighter jets. These resources could be used to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all.

To quote Arundhati Roy again:

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.”

The post #CoronaCapitalism: six ways capitalism spreads the crisis appeared first on Corporate Watch.

“The earth is not dying, it is being killed, and those who are killing it have names and addresses.” Utah Phillips

London is one of the main worldwide hubs of ecocidal capitalism. This city is home to oil and gas giants including BP and Shell, as well as many of the world’s most devastating mining corporations. Perhaps even more significant is London’s role as a global centre for the banks, investors and traders who fund the planet-killers and launder the profits. As well as the insurers, law firms, arms dealers, security companies, PR agencies, lobbyists, and others who provide critical support.

Our “Wreckers of the Earth” map of London identifies and locates them. It comes in several forms: a poster map; an online map; and a written directory.

Poster Map

This A2 poster shows a map of central London with locations of 130 companies, their addresses and one-line introductions.

Click on this link to download a high res version for printing (OrangeDox, 10 MB). And here for a medium res (3 MB) image to view on screen.

Online map

We could only fit a small sample on the poster — the online version has a lot more. It features over 300 companies, with bios, references, and links for further information. This is available in OpenStreetMaps:

See full screen

You can also see a version in Googlemaps here. (This allows viewing in Google earth, but you also have to put up with all of Google’s clutter advertising nearby restaurants etc.)

You can also download all the data in this spreadsheet, including geo coordinates, to make your own map.

Wreckers directory

We’ve also put all the written information together in a Wreckers of the Earth company directory. As well as all the company information from the online map, this also features sector introductions explaining more about the roles these companies play.

You can read it online here.

And you can download it here as a PDF.

The “Wreckers of the Earth” project …

These are just the first outputs in our ongoing “Wreckers of the Earth” project. We’ll be publishing more info and analysis soon.

Capitalism is burning up our planet, devastating ecosystems and communities in its ceaseless hunger for profit. Everything is for sale, and the one great goal is growth: producing and consuming ever more stuff, even as it kills us. This engine of mass destruction is driven by burning forests: the long-dead forests of fossil fuels, and the living forests of today.

Though we all play our parts in the consumer system, some humans play much bigger parts than others. The people killing the earth are those directing the machine — and trying to crush our resistance to it.

Our “Wreckers of the Earth” project has two aims: to identify some of the main planet-killers; and to show how they work together as an overarching system of power and profit.

To break things down, we identify three main categories of wreckers:

1. Primary planet-killers: companies on the “front lines” of ecological devastation. Hydrocarbon extractors, mining giants, agribusiness empires, plastics or cement producers, and other major polluters.
2. The facilitators: the banks, investment funds, insurers, law firms, security companies, etc., who provide the supply lines and services without which the “front line” companies couldn’t function.
3. Ideology industry: the institutions promoting and normalising environmental destruction, runaway growth, and the profit motive. Including media, academic units, think tanks, lobbyists, PR firms, and the boom industry of specialist “greenwashing” initiatives.

Future work in the project will investigate the links, from investment to ideas, that connect these together.

Wreckers in London

Ecocidal capitalism is a global system, but its nodes are local: right here, around the corner. Our particular focus is on identifying its bases and networks in London and the UK.

London is one of the main global hubs of ecocidal capitalism, home to fossil fuel giants and to many of the worst mining polluters. It is the world’s second largest financial centre (after New York). It is the key financial marketplace for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”, in bankers’ jargon), and for trading oil, metals, minerals and other “commodities” sucked out of the earth.

Lax regulation and tight security make London a money-laundering haven for the world’s tyrants, oligarchs, and billionaires. Its imperial legacy still lives in the infrastructure and services it offers: insurance markets, law firms, arms dealers, PR agencies, universities, down to prestige shopping and investment property.

Future work may also look beyond London to other parts of the UK.

Please get in touch if you have any information to add or other comments on this project!

The post Wreckers of the Earth: a map of ecocidal capitalism in London appeared first on Corporate Watch.

Our new “Wreckers of the Earth” map of London identifies planet-killing companies based in the city, giving their addresses and short descriptions. This directory, accompanying the map, presents all the company information in one document. It also features sector introductions which explain a bit more about the roles these companies play.

London is one of the main global hubs of ecocidal capitalism. London is home to fossil fuel giants and to many of the worst mining polluters. It is the world’s second largest financial centre (after New York). It is the key financial marketplace for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and for trading oil, metals, minerals and other “commodities” sucked out of the earth. Lax regulation and tight security make London a money-laundering haven for the world’s tyrants, oligarchs, and billionaires. The legacy of the British empire still lives in the infrastructure and services London offers: insurance markets, law firms, arms dealers, PR agencies, down to prestige shopping and investment property.

To break things down, we identify three main categories of wreckers in this directory:

1. Primary planet-killers: companies on the “front lines” of ecological devastation. Oil, coal and gas companies, mining giants, agribusiness empires, plastics or cement producers, and other major polluters.
2. The facilitators: the banks, investment funds, insurers, law firms and security companies who provide the supply lines and services without which the “front line” companies couldn’t function.
3. Ideology industry: the institutions promoting and normalising environmental destruction, runaway growth, and the profit motive. Including media, academic units, think tanks, lobbyists, PR firms, and the new boom industry of specialist “greenwashing” initiatives.

Our list is not comprehensive – there are more London-based companies working in these industries than we include here. We have prioritised those with the biggest global scale, plus others we think are worth highlighting in certain areas.

NB: this information was compiled and checked in February 2020.

“The earth is not dying, it is being killed, and those who are killing it have names and addresses.” Utah Phillips

Capitalism is burning up our planet, devastating ecosystems and communities in its ceaseless hunger for profit. Everything is for sale, and the one great goal is growth: producing and consuming ever more stuff, even as it kills us. This engine of mass destruction is driven by burning forests: the long-dead forests of fossil fuels, and the living forests of today.

Though we all play our parts in the consumer system, some people play much bigger parts than others. The people killing the earth are those directing the machine – and crushing any resistance to it.

Our “Wreckers of the Earth” project has two aims: to identify the main planet-killers based in London; and to show how they work together as a coordinated system of power and profit.

Our list is not comprehensive – there are more London-based companies working in these industries than we include here. We have prioritised those with the biggest global scale, plus others we think are worth highlighting in certain areas.

This project builds on the work of a number of other people and groups, highlighted in the text, and we hope it will encourage future work by others. Future work by us will investigate the links, from investment to ideas, that connect these together.

We have chosen to focus on London because it is the UK home for the most multinational companies, their financiers and other backers. Plus we don’t have the capacity to do the same exercise for the whole of the UK right now. But if you would like to do something similar for another city or town and want to hear about how we’ve put this together, get in touch.

Here we only identify the companies. Lots more could be done to investigate them further: to find out more about their business, key contracts or operations, which individuals are making the decisions, who is profiting, and so on. If you’re interested in this, have a look at our ‘Do-It-Yourself’ handbook, and sign up to news update emails to hear about the trainings we run.

1. Primary planet-killers

1.1 Hydrocarbon majors

The companies in this section provide the fuel that is burning the planet. “Big oil” includes the massive state-backed extractive industries of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, China, and the other major oil-soaked states. And alongside them the multinational “supermajors” – private corporations including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco Philips, Total, and Eni. Between them these companies are responsible for the supply end of much of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

London is a major centre for big oil and gas. BP is headquartered here. Shell is incorporated in London, and runs many of its operations from here. Most of the other major firms have London offices. Even those without London locations have connections to London-based finance, insurance and other companies (listed in Part 2).

The descriptions below give very brief glimpses into their impact on the world. The companies in this section cause oil spills and other pollution disasters, instigate wars and massacres, bankroll authoritarian regimes, suppress revolutions and popular movements, destroy indigenous communities, disrupt ecosystems and wildlife habitats on a massive scale. Their publicly recorded trails of destruction already fill volumes – but many more of their activities may never come to light, thanks to the enormous power and violence they wield.

Some useful sources and further information: Platform “Carbon Web” mapping of BP and Shell connections; Environmental Justice Atlas (EJA); Exxon Secrets (NB: Exxon’s UK base is outside London). For some more in-depth reading see: Burning Up – A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption, by Simon Pirani. We have referred to the CDB’s “Carbon Majors database” report listing major carbon emitters in the list below – this shouldn’t be taken to fully endorse their methodology, but it gives a useful glimpse of the scale of the problem.

Note: what about coal? This section doesn’t include the other big group of hydrocarbon planet-killers – the coal companies. Some multinationals involved in coal mining – notably, Glencore and RWE – are listed in the mining section below. However, the world’s very biggest coal producers are largely state-owned corporations – notably the massive Coal India Ltd, and the various Chinese coal companies – which do not have a presence in London. The world’s biggest private sector coal miner, US corporation Peabody Energy, has a “London” office that is actually in Guildford. On the other hand, many financiers of the coal industry are here: these are listed in Part 2.

1.1.1 The national oil companies

The world’s biggest oil and gas drillers are state-owned corporations run by the main fossil fuel producing nations. At the top of the list are the giants controlling the gulf oil fields of Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Russia’s vast gas reserves.

Saudi Aramco

Aramco Overseas Company: 10 Portman Square, Marylebone, London, W1H 6AZ

Source: https://europe.aramco.com/en/info/contact-us

Saudi Arabia’s national oil company. It is the world’s biggest single greenhouse gas emitter – responsible for 4.5% of all the world’s carbon emissions between 1988 and 2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. A minority of its shares were recently listed on the country’s local stock exchange but it remains majority owned by the tyrannical Saudi state.

Owners: majority owned by Saudi Arabia. A minority of shares are traded on the Saudi stock exchange.

Gazprom

20 Triton Street, London, NW1 3BF

Source: http://www.gazprom-mt.com/HowToFindUs/Pages/default.aspx

Massive Russian gas company, the world’s biggest natural gas producer. Responsible for an estimated 3.9% of all global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. Gazprom is a leading player in drilling new oil and gas fields opened by retreating ice in the Arctic.

Ownership: majority owned by Russian government. A minority of shares are traded on the London, Frankfurt and Moscow stock exchanges. Shareholders include BlackRock, Vanguard, and the other big investment funds profiled below in Part 2.

National Iranian Oil Company

NIOC House, 6th Floor, 4 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0NE

Source: http://www.iocukltd.co.uk/contact.php

Iran controls the world’s second biggest oil fields after Saudi Arabia. These contributed 2.28% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. In 2018 the collision of an Iranian oil tanker in the East China Sea was one of the worst oil shipping disasters in decades, killing all 32 crew members and causing three huge oil spills.

Ownership: Iranian government. Iran’s oil was formerly owned by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, the ancestor of today’s BP, before nationalisation in 1954.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

5 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1AN

Source: http://chinachamber.org.uk/index.php/en/member-list/403-petrochina-international-london-co-ltd

CNPC is the Chinese state oil company, responsible for 1.56% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. Its 2010 Dalian oil spill caused an oil slick stretching over at least 183 square kilometres off North East China.

Owners: the government of China. CNPC also has a publicly listed susidiary, called Petro China, whose shareholders are a mixture of Chinese banks and funds, along with the big global investment funds profiled below in Part 2.

Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA)

7 Old Park Lane, London, W1K 1QR

Source: http://www.pdvsa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6581&Itemid=898&lang=en

Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company, responsible for 1.23% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporting country in the world. Severe safety concerns have been raised about PDVSA’s working practices, in particular after a 2012 refinery explosion left 42 people dead and destroyed 1,600 homes. After Canada, Venezuela is the world’s leading producer of tar sands oil, as developing technology allows exploitation of the vast “extra heavy crude” deposits in the Orinoco Basin.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp

KPC House, 54 Pall Mall, London, SW1J 5JH

Source: https://www.kpc.com.kw/Pages/European-Regional-Office.aspx

Kuwait’s state-owned national oil company. Responsible for 1% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. The company has plans to increase oil production by 7.3% between 2018-30.

Sonatrach

Sonatrach Gas Marketing: 1^st and 2^nd floors, Panton House, London, 25 Haymarket, SW1Y 4EN

Source: https://www.sonatrach-uk.com/contact-us/

National state-owned oil company of Algeria. It is the largest company in Africa and is planning overseas expansion. Responsible for 1% of global carbon emissions 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. In July 2019, the company suffered its worst accident in 15 years when a huge liquefied natural gas complex exploded.

Petrobras

1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ

Source: http://www.petrobras.com.br/en/petrobras-worldwide/

Brazil’s national oil company. Responsible for 0.77% of emissions between 1988–2015 according to Carbon Majors Database. Responsible for a long list of oil spills, and mired in long-running corruption scandals.

Owners: Over 40% state owned. Other shares are traded on the Sao Paulo and New York exchanges, and held by Brazilian and global investment funds.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

159 Hammersmith Road, London, W6 8BS

Source: https://www.nnpcgroup.com/CorporateServices/Pages/LondonOffice.aspx

The Nigerian government oil company. The Niger Delta basin is the site of Africa’s biggest oil and gas fields, which account for the majority of Nigeria’s export income. The Nigerian oil industry is run by joint ventures between NNPC and the “supermajor” multinationals – above all, Shell. In contrast to the wealth being sucked from the ground, the people of the Niger Delta live with massive environmental damage from oil spills and gas flaring, extreme poverty, and vicious repression in a zone militarised by the state and multinationals to protect oil profits.

Socar

2 St. James’s Market, London, SW1Y 4AH

Source: https://www.socartrading.com/contact

The state-owned petrochemical company of the oil and gas-rich central Asian state of Azerbaijan. Azeri gas is becoming a major geopolitical commodity as European governments build costly and environmentally devastating pipelines from the country to try and escape dependence on Russia’s Gazprom.

Rosneft

Rosneft Marine UK : Office 461, 1 Kingdom Street, Paddington Central, London, W2 6BD

Source: http://www.rosneftmarine.com/locations/

Russian oil giant, active worldwide but particularly in Siberia, the Arctic, and former Soviet territories around the Black Sea. Chairman of the board is former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Owners: 50% owned by the Russian government, the other 50% publicly traded. BP owns around 20% of the public shares, and QH Oil Investments – a Qatari state company – just under 19%.

1.1.2 The multinational “oil majors”

The “oil majors” (or even “supermajors”) is the name often given to the top flight of privately owned oil and gas multinationals. Most lists include the three big US-based firms – ExxonMobil, Conoco Philips, and Chevron; as well as Total from France, Britain’s BP, and the Anglo-Dutch company Shell. Eni, based in Italy, and Russia’s biggest privately-owned company Lukoil are also of a similar scale.

Despite their historic national affiliations, all these companies are largely owned by the same international investors – the likes of BlackRock, Vanguard, and the other massive investment funds we profile in Part 2 below.

BP

Global HQ: 1 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4PD

Supply and Trading (IST) office: 20 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5NJ

Source:https://www.bp.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home/where-we-operate/london.html; https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/what-we-do/bp-at-a-glance/key-business-addresses.html

Oil and gas multinational headquartered in London. Has a bloody history of colonial exploitation, environmental devastation and violence, from its foundations in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company to the world’s largest oil spill, Deepwater Horizon in 2010. BP contributed 1.53% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. In recent years the company has cynically tried to rebrand itself as a “green” energy company developing renewable sources – while in reality its business remains overwhelmingly focused on fossil fuels. It plans to spend £41 billion on new oil exploration in the next decade including projects in the Canadian “tar sands”, the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, and the Amazon rainforest.

Royal Dutch Shell

Shell Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 7NA

Source: https://www.shell.co.uk/about-us/contact-us.html

British-Dutch multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom. Accountable for 1.67% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. Shell has no shortage of controversies; in particular it has been linked to the killing of the “Ogoni Nine”, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, as well as other horrific atrocities in the Niger Delta, where it is the main multinational oil exploiter. Shell, with Italian oil company Eni, is currently on trial in Italy over an alleged $1.3 billion bribery deal with a former Nigerian oil minister. In May 2016 an estimated 2,100 barrels of oil, nearly 90,000 gallons, spilled into the Gulf of Mexico – leaked from an undersea pipeline system operated off the Louisiana coast.

See also: Royal Dutch Shell: Corporate Rap Sheet, old Corporate Watch profile from 2005; Shell Must Fall campaign.

Owners: PLC listed on the London, Stock Exchange (LSE). The majority of shares are owned by the big investment funds profiled below in Part 2.

Chevron

1 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4HA

Source: https://group.canarywharf.com/office-occupier/chevron-uk/

US-based multinational oil company. Responsible for 1.3% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. And for a long list of oil spills, human rights atrocities, and much more. See the Environmental Justice Atlas for a map of social and environmental conflicts Chevron has a hand in.

Owners: PLC listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The majority of shares are owned by the big investment funds – the likes of BlackRock, Vanguard, and others profiled below in Part 2.

ConocoPhillips

20^th floor, 1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7HJ

Source: https://www.conocophillips.co.uk/

American multinational energy corporation, created through the merger of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum Company in 2002. While maintaining a lower profile than other oil companies it has grown into the 3^rd largest US oil company and been responsible for 0.91% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. Along with environmental degradation the company has a poor safety record in Texas, with more than two dozen workers killed in accidents and many others injured.

See also: “Corporate rap sheet” onthe Corporate Research Project website.

Owners: US PLC, owned by major investment funds.

Total SA

10 Upper Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5BF

Source: https://www.total.uk/contacts-gb

French multinational oil and gas company, one of the six biggest “supermajor” oil companies. Responsible for 0.95% of global carbon emissions in 1988-2015, according to Carbon Majors Database. Responsible for one of France’s worst environmental disasters, the 1999 sinking of the tanker Erika and the subsequent oil spill.

Owners: PLC, main shareholders are big global investment funds.

Eni

Eni House: 10 Ebury Bridge Road, London, SW1W 8PZ
Eni Trading & Shipping: 123 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9SL

Source: https://www.eni.com/enipedia/en_IT/international-presence/europe/enis-activities-in-the-united-kingdom.page

Italian multinational oil and gas “supermajor”, active worldwide. It is the second main multinational, after Shell, involved in the Niger Delta – “one of the world’s most polluted regions”. Eni and Shell are currently on trial in Italy over an alleged $1.3 billion bribery deal with a former Nigerian oil minister. In an extremely rare case, the Eni CEO actually faces criminal charges.

Owners: 30% owned by the government of Italy. The remaining shares are publicly traded and owned by major global investors.

Lukoil

25 Canada Square, London, E14 5LB

Source: http://www.lukoil.com/InvestorAndShareholderCenter/Contacts

Russian oil and gas multinational headquartered in Moscow, and Russia’s second biggest company after Gazprom.

Owners: around 40% of shares are owned by its top managers. Other shares are traded on multiple stock exchanges, and owned by global investment funds.

NB important companies without a London location:

ExxonMobil is the other massive US-based oil company. It does not have a London office, but a base with some 600 employees nearby in Surrey: Ermyn House, Ermyn Way, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8UX.

Pemex (Mexican state oil company)

Peabody Energy (US oil and coal multinational)

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

Iraq National Oil Company

1.2 Hydrocarbons: smaller oil companies, frackers and UCG

1.2.1 Smaller “conventional” oil and gas companies

Energean

3rd floor, Accurist House, 44 Baker Street, London, W1U 7AL

Source: https://www.energean.com/contact-us/

Greek-Israeli-UK oil and gas company racing to turn the Mediterrenean into an oil field. This company has grown fast in just a few years, thanks to capital injections from private equity investors and a warm relationship with the Israeli government. One of its projects is the first Israel-Cyprus gas pipeline. See our recent Corporate Watch profile.

Owners: major shareholders include “vulture fund” Third Point; oil-focused private equity fund Kerogen Capital; and Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, alongside the company’s founding partners. It also recently sold shares on the London, Stock Exchange, attracting the usual global investment funds such as BlackRock and Vanguard.

Neptune Energy

Nova North, 11 Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5BY

Source: https://www.neptuneenergy.com/contact-us/

British “independent” oil and gas company drilling in the North Sea, North Africa and Asia. Set up in 2015 with backing from private equity investors (see Part 2), it has since grown fast by buying up several other companies.

Owners: single biggest shareholder is China Investment Corporation (CIC), followed by a number of private equity investors.

Premier Oil PLC

23 Lower Belgrave Street, London, SW1W 0NR

Source: https://www.premier-oil.com/contact

Long-running British oil “independent” with licenses in the North Sea and Falkland Islands, as well as Mexico and more. A listed company and member of the FTSE 250 index.

Perenco

8 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HQ

Source: https://www.perenco.com/contact

Anglo-French oil and gas company with headquarters in London and Paris, calling itself “the leading independent oil and gas company in Europe”. It has exploration and production activities in 16 countries around the globe, particularly in Africa but also in Turkey, Vietnam, Australia, South America, and the UK. Has been accused of human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the ‘poorest oil city in the world’.

Tullow

9 Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 5XT

Source: https://www.tullowoil.com/contact

London based oil company, founded in Ireland but now calling itself “Africa’s leading independent oil company”, pursuing exploration licenses in multiple countries in West and East Africa. Supported by the UK government through its January 2020 “UK-Africa Investment Summit”,which focused heavily on UK companies exploiting African oil and gas.

Seplat Petroleum

4th Floor, 50 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5JH

Source: https://seplatpetroleum.com/contact/

Nigerian oil company focused on drilling in the Niger delta – the scene of horrendous pollution from oil spills and gas flaring, extreme poverty, and vicious repression. Recently bought Eland Oil and Gas, another Nigerian-focused company.

Victoria Oil & Gas Plc

Scott House, Suite 1 The Concourse, Waterloo Station, London, SE1 7LY

Source: https://www.victoriaoilandgas.com/contact-us/

London based company that has gas drilling contracts, and a gas pipeline, in Cameroon. It is also exploring for gas in Russia.

1.2.2 The frackers: “unconventional fossil fuels” specialists

The economic growth machine drives seemingly endless demand for fossil fuel energy, depleting the sources of so-called “conventional” oil and gas supply. Luckily for the industry (if not the rest of us), new technologies help keep the motor going. They also create openings for newer companies specialising in fracking and other new extraction methods. For a deeper look at these issues, see our 2014 publication: To the Ends of the Earth: A Guide to Unconventional Fossil Fuels.

Following significant local campaigns and strategic direct action, the UK government has currently ordered a halt or “moratorium” on fracking in Britain. It very much continues elsewhere, with many of the same companies involved. Much of the information in this section comes from the excellent Frack Off. See also their “list of bad guys”.

NB: not in the list:Ineos, one of the biggest UK players in this game, is listed below in the chemicals section (1.8). The infamous Cuadrilla Resources is based in Preston, Lancashire.

IGas Energy

7 Down Street, London, W1J 7AJ

Source: https://www.igasplc.com/contact

Operator of the largest number of onshore oil and gas fields in Britain. Frack Off identifies it as one of the key companies in the drive to fracking in the UK, with aims to extract Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and Shale Gas in England and Scotland. It began to drill the first shale well in Nottinghamshire in November 2018, which was initially delayed by an 80-hour blockade of the site entrance. See: Powerbase profile.

Owners: listed on the LSE AIM exchange. Its biggest investor is energy private equity investor Kerogen Capital.

Angus Energy PLC

Building 3, Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Street, London, W4 5YA

Source: http://www.angusenergy.co.uk/contact/

Angus Energy is a onshore oil and gas company which owns and operates two conventional production fields in Brockham and Lidsey, Southern England. It has a 25% stake in the Balcombe oil field, along with Cuadrilla, and is the operator there. (See also: Frack Off.)

Major Shareholders: Knowe Properties Limited (8.2%); Rupert Labrum (7.21%); JDA Consulting Limited (5.4%); Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius (4.9%).

Cluff Natural Resources plc

Third Floor, 5-8 The Sanctuary London, SW1P 3JS

Source: https://www.cluffnaturalresources.com/contact-us/

Has shares in a number of oil exploration licenses in the North Sea. Was one of the UK’s most visible companies pushing for Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) companies, although currently says it is focusing back on North Sea oil. Founded by multi-millionaire Algy Cluff who made his fortune in gold-mining in Africa and North Sea Oil. (See: Frack Off.)

Owners: PLC listed on the LSE AIM exchange. Major shareholders: Canaccord (16.9%); IPGL (Michael Spencer) (16.8%); Lombard Odier (8.1%); Janus Henderson Investors (6.7%); Hargreaves Lansdown (5%); Fiske (4.5%); James Caird Asset Management (3.9%); SVM Asset Management (3%).

Europa Oil and Gas

6 Porter Street, London, W1U 6DD

Source: http://www.europaoil.com/contacts.aspx

Exploration and production company focused on very high impact exploration in the Atlantic off the coast of Ireland, supported by revenue from oil production in onshore UK. They hold two Underground Coal Gasification licenses around the Humber Estuary. (See: Frack Off.)

Listed on the LSE AIM exchange. Many of its main shareholders’ identities are hidden behind nominee accounts.

Rathlin Energy

Suite 1, 3rd Floor, 11-12 St. James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4LB

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06478035

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Rathlin Energy is exploring for oil and gas onshore in the East Riding of Yorkshire. As of August 2019 activity at its West Newton site was “suspended pending the analysis of the data acquired to date during the drilling and testing of the well”. (See also: Frack Off.)

UK Oil and Gas (UKOG)

The Broadgate Tower, 8th Floor, 20 Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2EW

Source: https://www.ukogplc.com/page.php?pID=7

British oil company mainly active onshore in the Weald Basin in southern England. It currently has eight licenses, including two now producing oil and others being explored or developed. Its subsidiaries include Horse Hill Developments, a company formed to drill on the Horse Hill wellsite where the company took out an injunction in 2018 to ban protests. (See also: Frack Off.)

Owners: UKOG is a PLC, listed on London’s AIM “alternative investment market” for smaller companies. Manyof its biggest investors’ identities are hidden behind nominee accounts.

1.3 Oil and gas services and shipping

When we think of the oil and gas industry, we tend to think of the headline-hitting companies listed above. These are the ones that bid for and operate “concessions” from governments to explore and drill for hydrocarbons. But behind them are a host of others, less well known but also indispensable, which work as specialist contractors and sub-contractors on different parts of the process.

In the industry jargon, hydrocarbon extraction is often divided into:

• “upstream” – finding and drilling oil and gas;
• “midstream” – transporting it, e.g., with tankers or pipelines;
• “downstream” – refining it into finished products, such as petrol or plastics.

Some contractors work in just one of these areas, others cover a range of services. In this section we just give a few prominent examples. We also include a few of the big shipping companies that operate the major oil tanker fleets.

NB: notable companies without London locations: the UK has a thriving oil support industry, however many companies are based in and around the North Sea oil hub of Aberdeen rather than in London. This includes the UK HQs of: infamous US oil services and mercenary company Halliburton; big drilling contractor Transocean, involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster; Abbot Group, Score Group, and many more.

1.3.1 Oilfield services

John Wood Group (Wood PLC)

23rd Floor, 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5LQ

Source: https://www.woodplc.com/our-locations

Formerly Amec Foster Wheeler (2017), Wood provides engineering, production and maintenance services to the energy industry globally, including Canada’s tar sands industry and companies such as BP, Exxon Mobil, GDF Suez, Shell and EDF.

Lloyd’s Register Group

71 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4BS

Source: https://www.lr.org/en-us/contact-us/?region=GBR#office-locations

LR is a global engineering, business and technical services provider to the fossil fuel and energy industry. (NB not to be confused with Lloyds of London insurance, which features in Part 2 below.)

TechnipFMC

1 St. Paul’s Churchyard, London, EC4M 8AP

Source: https://www.technipfmc.com/en/where-we-operate/europe/united-kingdom

Major oil and gas services contractor, which provides everything from platforms to pipelines and refineries. Headquarters in London, Paris, and Texas. Has paid out over $500 million in various bribery cases involving Nigeria, Brazil, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana.

Owners: listed on Paris and New York exchanges. The French government has a small 4% holding.

Valaris PLC

110 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6EU

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07023598/filing-history

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Offshore oil drilling contractor based in London – the number one in the world by rigs managed (in 2018). It runs oil rigs for Total, Saudi Aramco and many others. Formerly known as Ensco Rowan.

1.3.2 Liquefied Natural Gas

The booming Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry involves plants cooling gas into a liquid form that makes it easier for shipping. The industry lobby seeks to present gas as a “transition fuel” that is less polluting than coal or oil – an argument to keep on depleting hydrocarbon stocks and pumping out greenhouse gases because the economy is not “ready” to give up its fossil fuel addiction. In addition to carbon emissions, LNG is linked to hazardous methane leakage. See this report by Global Energy Monitor for more information.

Angola LNG

5 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HE

Source: https://www.angolalng.com/en/contact-us/

The Angola LNG project is one of the largest ever single investments in the Angolan oil and gas industry. It is a partnership between Sonangol, Chevron, BP, Eni and Total to develop Liquefied Natural Gas.

Cheniere LNG

Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6BY

Source: https://www.cheniere.com/contact-us/

International energy company which is the leading producer of Liquefied Natural Gas in the US.

Nigeria LNG

Heron House, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H ODX

Source: http://www.nlng.com/Our-Company/Pages/Our-Locations.aspx

Main Nigerian liquefied natural gas-producing company with a plant on Bonny Island, Nigeria. It is owned by a consortium of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (49%) and several oil majors: Shell (25.6%), Total (15%) and ENI (10.4%).

1.3.3 Oil shipping and gas pipelines

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)

4 Thomas More Square, Thomas More Street, London, E1W 1YW

Source: https://www.msc.com/gbr/contact-us/msc-london?lang=en-gb

The Swiss-headquartered MSC is the world’s second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity.

Euronav

1st Floor, 99 Kings Road, London, SW3 4PA

Source: https://www.euronav.com/en/contact/

An Antwerp based company, listed on the New York stock exchange, which operates the world’s second biggest oil tanker fleet (after China’s COSCO, which has a UK base in Felixstowe).

Teekay Shipping

86 Jermyn St, London, SW1Y 6JD

Source: https://www.teekay.com/offices/europe/london/

One of the world’s biggest shipping companies, specialised in oil and liquefied gas tankers. Ranked as 8^th biggest oil tanker company by “Tanker Operator”.

Maran (MTM)

Manning House, 22 Carlisle Place, London, SW1P 1JA

Source: http://maranuk.co.uk/contact-us.html

One of the world’s top ten oil and liquefied gas tanker fleets, part of the empire of Greece’s biggest shipping owner John Angelicoussis.

Interconnector (Fluxys and Snam)

Interconnector (UK) Limited: 4th Floor, 10 Furnival Street, London, EC4A 1AB

Source: https://www.interconnector.com/

Interconnector is the company that operates the undersea gas pipeline between Belgium and the UK. It is owned 75/25 by two of Europe’s main gas infrastructure companies: Belgium’s Fluxys and Italy’s Snam. These are two of the four main companies identified by the European Network of Corporate Observatories (ENCO) as developing new gas pipeline infrastructure across Europe, including big environmentally destructive schemes piping gas across Southern and Eastern Europe; and also in lobbying heavily to entrench Europe’s reliance on gas. See: ENCO report and company profiles.

Owners: Fluxys is owned 75% by Publigas, a Belgian public sector inter-municipal holding company. The chairman is the former mayor of Ghent. Snam is a PLC with a major holding from the Italian state, other owners are large investment funds including BlackRock.

1.4 Non-fossil energy: nuclear, biomass, dams…

With pressure growing on the fossil fuel industry, many big energy companies are gradually – if much more slowly than their propaganda suggests – moving towards more “renewable” sources. But not all of these “green energy” solutions are by any means safe or environmentally harmless. Nuclear power, of course, is itself associated with tremendous ecological contamination. Hydropower, as practised by corporations seeking to maximise profits above all, often means mega-dam projects that displace human and other animal populations, divert water supplies, and devastate river-based ecologies. Another green-spun technology is biomass – which can include simply cutting and burning up forests before they even get the chance to turn into fossil fuels.

Some key sources and further information:

• Biofuelwatch: UK biomass industry map
• Corporate Watch: A-Z of Green Capitalism (2016)
• Corporate Watch: Techno-fixes (2008)

1.4.1 Nuclear

Electricite de France (EDF)

EDF Trading (Global headquarters): 3rd Floor, Cardinal Place, 80 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5JL

Source: www.edftrading.com/contact/our-offices

EDF is a French energy and electricity multinational. It is Europe’s largest nuclear power generator with 19 nuclear plants in France plus many more in the UK and across the world. It owns and runs all of the UK’s seven currently operating nuclear power plants. Its many other schemes include devastating dam projects that have met resistance from Brazil to Laos.

Vattenfall

1 Tudor St, London, EC4Y 0AH

Source: https://group.vattenfall.com/uk/who-we-are/contact-us

Swedish state-owned energy company which operates nuclear reactors in Sweden and Germany. Suing the German government over its decision to shut down nuclear plants following the Fukushima disaster. Also burns gas, coal, and biomass. Although its publicity focuses on wind and water, nuclear and fossil fuels remain its main energy sources.

Shareholders: Swedish government 100%

E.ON

E.ON Citigen CHP plant, 47-53 Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 6PB

Source: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:k6IWx-v385wJ:https://jobs.eon.com/uk/job/London-Business-Administrator/582664601/; http://interengineeringlgbt.com/event/site-tour-e-citigen-combined-heat-power/;

German energy company which is also one of the “Big Six” UK energy supply companies, and has been one of the main companies pushing for continued use of coal-fired power here. Its nuclear subsidiary PreussenElektra operates three nuclear power plants in Germany. E.ON is also a shareholder in Enerjisa, owner of the Tufanbeyli coal fired power station in Turkey.

NB: E.ON’s UK head office is in Coventry – the address above is the site of its “hidden power station” providing “combined heat and power” to the Barbican and offices in the City of London (more info here). It is also home for E.ON’s “national district heating control centre”.

Enel

Enel X, 360-364 City Road, London, EC1V 2PY

Source: https://evcharging.enelx.com/eu/support-eu/contact

Major Italian energy multinational. It owns stakes in nuclear power plants in Russia, France, Spain and Italy.

NB: This office belongs to its smaller UK business Enel X, which provides “energy solutions” to businesses and “smart city” technology projects.

See also: RWE, in the mining section

Not in London: Urenco (based in Stokes Poges); Horizon Nuclear Power (based in Gloucester)

1.4.2 Biomass

Drax Group

3rd Floor, Alder Castle, 10 Noble Street, London, EC2V 7JX

Source: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/142569

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/30/eco-activists-barricade-london-office-fossil-fuel-company-discover/

NB: this London address was confirmed as of July 1999 only. Drax’s registered address is at the Drax power station in Yorkshire.

Drax in North Yorkshire was the last big coal-fired power station built in the UK, completed in 1986, and privatised in the 1990s. As opinion turned against coal, Drax Group moved to burning wood – mostly shipped in from the forests of North America. According to Biofuelwatch, “Drax Power Station is the biggest burner of wood for electricity in the world and the UK’s single largest carbon emitter”. Drax is also now planning to convert its remaining coal-fired units to gas, and build additional new gas turbines, becoming “the biggest gas power station in Europe”. Drax has a busy corporate spin operation arguing that it can use Carbon, Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to become “carbon negative” by 2030. This includes its “Biofuel Energy CCS” (BECCS) technology, being developed with a company spun off by Leeds University’s School of Chemistry.

See also: dossier by Biofuelwatch on its #AxeDrax campaign.

Major shareholders: Invesco Limited (14%); Schroders plc (10%); Merian Global Investors (5%); Orbis Holdings Limited (5%); Blackrock (5%)

Active Energy Group plc

27-28 Eastcastle Street, London, W1W 8DH

Source: https://www.aegplc.com/contacts/contact-details/

Pollutant forestry-to-fuel biomass company, which has started operations in North Carolina. It calls itself “London’s only listed, combined, international biomass and forestry management business”.

Major shareholders: Gravendonck Private Foundation (18%); RG Spinks (4.5%); RM Derrickson (3%); InterTrade Ltd (3%).

AMP Clean Energy

1 Dover Street, London, W1S 4LD

Source: https://www.ampcleanenergy.com/contact-us

AMP provides biomass wood pellets and low carbon heat and power assets to the renewable energy industry in the UK.

Estover Energy Ltd

Central Working, Eccleston Yards, Eccleston Place, London, SW1W 9NF

Source: http://www.estover.co.uk/

Runs biomass power stations in Northumberland and Scotland, which have been met with local resistance (see p40 of this Biofuelwatch report).

Melton Renewable Energy Ltd (MRE)

33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09194088

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”. MRE’s main base is in Suffolk.

MRE runs five biomass power stations located at Thetford, Ely, Glanford, Eye and Westfield, which generate electricity from the combustion of poultry litter, straw, meat & bone meal, horse bedding and – like Drax – forestry wood chips.

1.4.3 Dams: hydropower companies

Statkraft

41 Moorgate, London, EC2R 6PP

Source: https://www.statkraft.com/energy-sources/Power-plants/UK/

Norway-based Statkraft is one of Europe’s largest renewable energy companies, and calls itself Europe’s biggest hydropower electricity producer. It has wind farms and hydropower plants in the UK and globally. But not everyone welcomes Stakraft’s dam building schemes. In Chile, indigenous Mapuche people are resisting the construction of several hydropower plants in their territory, including on sacred sites.

Shareholders: the parent company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of trade.

See also: EDF, listed in Nuclear section above. And the construction section below for companies involved in dam building.

NB: not in the list: London does not have a large presence of hydropower companies. The world’s biggest dam generators are in China (above all, the massive Yangtse River Power Company) and the Americas, and do not have offices here. So far, river power is not a major source of energy in Europe – although this is set to change as major dam-building projects get underway, particularly in the Balkans.

1.5 Mining: metals and minerals

The mining industry is one of the dirtiest and most environmentally catastrophic, both in its scale and in its violence against people and planet. Mining uses huge amounts of water, often already in scarce supply. Mining operations inevitably involve the production of huge amounts of toxic waste, much of which finds its way onto cultivable land or into water sources. Waste is often stored in huge ‘tailing’ dams which then not infrequently collapse, spilling toxic sludge over whole communities, and destroying livelihoods. (See the London Mining Network’s useful explainer.) A recent dam collapse in Brazil, at a mine owned by Vale, caused 12 cubic metres of toxic tailings to be released, seeping into surrounding land and leading to the pollution of an estimated 300 km of water.

Companies greedy for valuable raw materials are likely to take shortcuts with environmental protections, if these even exist, and they ride roughshod over local needs. Violence against individuals and local communities is widespread, and may include forced evictions, as well as repression and murder of people who try to resist.

London is a major centre for the global mining industry. Many of the world’s mining giants are listed on the London, Stock Exchange, while the London Metals Exchange is the number one marketplace for industrial metals trading (See Part 2 on exchanges). The miners thus use London as a hub to raise finance, trade their products, and launder their profits.

The companies below have been selected on the basis of their size or number of operations, and on past records of environmental violence. Some key sources and further information: London Mining Network; Environmental Justice Atlas, The Rivers are Bleeding (War on Want)

NB: who’s not on the list: Some multinationals involved in coal mining – notably, Glencore and RWE – are listed below. However, the world’s very biggest coal miners are largely state-owned corporations – notably the massive Coal India Ltd, and the various Chinese coal companies – which do not have a presence in London. The world’s biggest private sector coal miner, US corporation Peabody Energy, has a “London” office that is actually in Guildford.

In terms of metals, notable companies without London offices include Anglo Gold Ashanti, Newmont Mining, and Eldorado Gold. Lonmin, the infamous London-based gold mining company involved in the 2012 Marikana massacre, has recently been bought by Sebanye Stillwater, based in South Africa.

RWE

60 Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8HP

Source: https://www.group.rwe/en/the-group/countries-and-locations/london

RWE is a major German energy company, notorious as Western Europe’s biggest coal burner. Its devastation of the Hambach forest near Cologne for open-cast coal mining continues to meet fierce resistance. RWE also has aggressive plans for burning millions of tonnes of wood – including in the UK, where it is planning to convert a second power station to biomass. Its biomass investment will mean more destruction of forests in Canada, the US and elsewhere.

Major shareholders: KEB Holding, Blackrock

Glencore

50 Berkeley Street, London, W1J 8HD

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/search?q=glencore https://architizer.com/projects/glencore-london-offices/

NB: reportedly will move to 18 Hanover Square, London W1S 1HD later in the second half of 2020.

Mining and commodities trading company, the world’s largest mining company by revenue. It is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc, copper and other metals, and also a major global coal miner. The company was formed from the merger of Glencore and XStrata in 2013: both have a terrible history of environmental fines, fatalities, health problems, dumping toxic assets, contamination of water, air, land. Glencore is part-owner of Cerrejon, a huge open-pit coal mine in Colombia (see Anglo American.) See: London Mining Network; EJAtlas.

Anglo American PLC

20 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AN

Source: https://www.angloamerican.com/sustainability/contacts

UK and South African multinational that is the world’s largest producer of platinum and a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, metallurgical and thermal coal. Anglo American has violated indigenous land rights across the globe and polluted the water, agricultural land and air of many communities. It is co-owner (with Glencore and BHP) of the huge open-pit coal mine Cerrejon, in Colombia, where pollution and dust from the mine has caused contamination on a massive scale. In Brazil, it is facing strong opposition from local communities over its plan to expand a large tailings dam, the collapse of which would have horrific consequences. In the state of Chile, residents of El Melón are amongst those fighting its attacks on their land and water sources. See: London Mining Network. Also: EJAtlas company page.

BHP Group PLC

Nova South, 160 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5LB

Source: https://www.bhp.com/contact-us/

BHP is one of the world’s largest mining companies, with 30 operations in 13 countries. It is among the top 25 fossil fuel producers worldwide. It is the joint owner of the Cerrejon coal mine (see Anglo American), and was responsible for the massive Samarco dam collapse in 2015, which spilt 45 million cubic metres of mining waste into the Rio Doce and its tributaries. BHP’s proposed copper mine in Tonto National Forest in the US would destroy 3,000 hectares of public land, harm endangered species, and threaten massive water loss and contamination. See: London Mining Network; EJAtlas.

Rio Tinto

6 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4AD

Source: https://www.riotinto.com/en/footer/contact

Rio Tinto is a huge multinational metals and mining corporation. It is a world leader in the production of aluminium, iron ore, copper, uranium, coal, and diamonds. According to the Carbon Majors Database it was responsible for 0.75% of the world’s carbon emissions between 1988 and 2015. Its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine under development in Mongolia uses vast quantities of water in a desert region and poses a threat to pastoralist communities. In the USA, hundreds of premature deaths are blamed on air pollution from the Bingham Canyon mine: the single largest open pit mining operation and the deepest excavation of its kind in the world. See: London Mining Network; EJAtlas.

Vedanta Resources

30 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, W1J 6EX

Source: https://www.vedantaresources.com/pages/reachus.aspx

Global diversified metals and mining company whose main products are copper, zinc, aluminium, lead and iron ore. Vedanta’s plans for an open-pit bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa, India, threatens the Dongria Kondh community, who have resisted with a ten year struggle. In Zambia, thousands of victims of pollution from a copper mining subsidiary of Vedanta have been seeking justice for over 15 years.

See also: Foil Vedanta website.

Owners: Majority owner is Chair and CEO Anil Agarwal. Around a third of Vedanta shares were formerly traded on the London Stock Exhange until 2018, when Agarwal bought them back and delisted the company.

ArcelorMittal Limited

7th Floor, Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6DA

Source: https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/site-services/contact-us

The world’s largest steel producer, also has iron ore and coal ore mining operations. Facing criminal charges and court cases over polluting activities in South Africa, Italy, Bosnia and Ukraine. Chairman and CEO is the billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.

Owners: the Mittal family owns 40% of the shares. Other shares are publicly traded, with many held by the usual global investment funds.

Nornickel

The St Botolph Building 138, Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7AR

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04614811

https://www.nornickel.com/upload/iblock/592/event_28.12.15_49_prekrashhenie_engl.pdf

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

“[The Russian city of] Norilsk is one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world and Norilsk Nickel [now renamed Nornickel], a big mining and the metallurgical complex, is to blame for that […] The citizens experience noxious gases emitted from the mining and industrial activities, while even more extreme conditions of pollution are experienced daily by the workers in the mining and metallurgical complex. The pollution consists of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, phenol, and chlorine that have contaminated both air and water and therefore had an negative impact on local lakes and the fragile tundra ecosystem.” From: Environmental Justice Atlas.

Barrick Gold

1st Floor, 2 Savoy Court, Strand, London, WC2R 0EZ

Source: https://www.barrick.com/contact-us/default.aspx

Barrick Gold is the second largest gold mining company in the world. It has faced allegations of rape, murder, forced evictions, and other violent abuse. Its polluting history includes a massive one million liters of cyanide solution spilled into five rivers in Argentina, and subsequent cyanide spills shortly afterwards because of a failure to put in place improvements. Acacia Mining, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, also has a history of violent abuses and was recently fined for pollution at a Tanzanian mine.

See also: Protest Barrick website; EJAtlas page.

Ownership: PLC (New York listing), largely owned by the big global investment funds.

Vale

Vale Europe Ltd: Suite 1, 3rd Floor 11-12 St. James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4LB

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00137114

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Brazilian mining giant Vale is the world’s largest producer of iron ore and nickel. It also produces manganese, ferroalloys, copper, bauxite, potash, kaolin, and cobalt, and operates nine hydroelectricity plants. Vale has had two catastrophic dam failures in Brazil: the first was in Mariana, in 2015, when 19 people were killed, whole villages were buried and thousands of people left homeless. In 2019, at least 65 people were killed when the tailings dam at Brumadinho collapsed.

See also: Environmental Justice Atlas company page.

Ownership: PLC listed on Sao Paulo, New York and other exchanges, largely owned by the big global investment funds.

Antofagasta

Cleveland House 33 King Street, St James’s, London, SW1Y 6RJ

Source: https://www.antofagasta.co.uk/contact/

Operates the Los Pelambres copper mine in north central Chile, which stores its tailings waste in the largest tailings dam in Latin America. It is located above the small town of Caimanes where residents are struggling with water shortages as a result of the dam built upstream. The company has been charged with numerous violations of its environmental permits and is responsible for many toxic spills in the Coquimbo region, including one where 13,000 litres of copper concentrate were dumped directly into the Choapa River.

See also: London Mining Network.

Fresnillo

Investor Relations office: 2nd Floor, 21 Upper Brook Street, London, W1K 7PY

Source: http://www.fresnilloplc.com/contacts/corporate-offices/

Largest silver ore producer in the world. The company operates eight silver and gold mines in Mexico, six of which have documented cases of serious violence or environmental impacts associated with them. For example, La Parreña, where the company is accused of contaminating a river by dumping toxic waste (copper sulphate) into the Milpillas stream which provides water for 1,900 hectares of agricultural production.

See also: War On Want.

Hochschild Mining

17 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PH

Source: http://www.hochschildmining.com/en/site_services/contact_us

Several local communities oppose mining exploration near the Inmaculada gold and silver mine in Ayacucho department in southern Peru, owned and managed by Hochschild Mining. Locals have demanded the withdrawal of the company whose operations threaten to contaminate the waters of the Huancute, Patarí and other rivers.

See also: War on Want.

Condor Gold PLC

22a St James’s Square, London, SW1H 4JH

Source: http://www.condorgold.com/contact

Condor Gold is a gold exploration company that operates mining projects in Nicaragua. Residents near the La India mine in Leon have challenged the company for failing to adequately consult them and for damaging community water wells during its exploration activities. In 2016, around 500 local residents protested against Condor Gold for allegedly attempting to evict them from their properties.

See: War on Want.

GCM Resources

3 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8YZ

Source: http://www.gcmplc.com/shareholders/contacts

London-based company behind the Phulbari open-pit coal mining project in Bangladesh. Formerly known as Asia Energy. The Phulbari mine would lead to the displacement of 230,000 people and massive environmental pollution. It is currently halted as a result of strong and sustained resistance by local people, with international solidarity in London and elsewhere,in the face of murderous repression.But GCM is still trying to restart the project.

See also: phulbarisolidarity.

1.6 Earth-killing infrastructure: engineering and construction

The energy and mining companies – including fossil fuels, nuclear and dams – do not act alone. They rely on major infrastructure support, including from the engineers who develop and support drillheads, pipelines, or nuclear reactors; and the construction companies who build their dams and power stations.

This section lists just some of the most prominent engineering and construction companies. It includes some global behemoths, and the top UK building firms that work on energy infrastructure and other big polluting projects such as motorway building. We also include a sub-section on cement production.

1.6.1 Energy conglomerates

We’re using this category for some big companies that have fingers in many pies: they could be listed in several sections.

Koch Industries

Koch Supply and Trading: 4^th Floor, 20 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7JE

Source: https://www.ksandt.com/

The Koch family’s industrial empire includes oil refineries, chemical plants, fertilisers, paper mills, cattle ranches, commodities trading, investment funds … It might be quicker to list earth-wrecking activities they’re not involved in. They employ 130,000 people, just over half of those in the US but with a presence in 60 countries.

Owners: Koch family members. Koch Industries, with its many subsidiaries, is one of the world’s biggest privately owned companies. Charles Koch, and his brother David until his death in August 2019, have vigorously promoted their interests with large scale funding of an array of right-wing politicians and, above all, think tanks. Main agenda points have been climate change denial and opposition to environmental regulation or development of alternatives to fossil fuels, as well as union-busting and general free marketeering.

Noble Group

Office 6.01 Nova North, 11 Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5BY
Source: https://www.noblegroupholdings.com/contact-us/

Noble Group is a Hong Kong-based commodities conglomerate. Subsidiaries include metals mining and trading, liquefied natural gas, shipping, oil rig contracting, and more. It was delisted from the Singapore stock exchange in 2018 after a major fraud scandal, with investigations ongoing, and has since restructured.

1.6.2 International engineering and construction giants

Siemens

Siemens Mobility Limited: 7^th Floor, Euston House, 24 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 1AD

The Crystal (Siemens offices and exhibition centre): 1 Siemens Brothers Way, Royal Docks, London, E16 1GB

Source: https://new.siemens.com/uk/en/company/about/siemens-uk-locations.html https://thecrystal.org

Giant German conglomerate best known for industrial electrical engineering and consumer electronics. Siemens is providing signalling for the Carmichael mine: Indian mining company Adani’s plan for the biggest coalmine in Australian history.

(NB: UK head office is in Frimley, Surrey.)

Bechtel Corporation

11 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6RN

Source: https://www.bechtel.com/about-us/offices/

The USA’s biggest building company, largely focusing on major energy and infrastructure schemes across the globe. Its business units include “Mining and Metals”, “Oil, Gas & Chemicals”, and “Nuclear, Security and Environmental”. It’s hard to know where to start with a list ofBechtel scandals and devastating projects: from massive war profiteering with a $680 million Iraq war contract, through sub-par Nuclear waste facilities, to pushing up water prices in Bolivia. Alongside the daily business of building dams, coal mines, motorways, pipelines, liquefied natural gas plants, nuclear power plants, chemical weapons stores, etc. Bechtel is highly connected in US politics, with a record of executives serving as cabinet ministers.

See also: wikipedia page with many more links.

Ownership: remains controlled by the Bechtel family. Chairman and CEO Brendan Bechtel is fifth generation of the family in charge.

Vinci

VINCI Concessions UK: 1 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 2DN

Morgan VINCI Ltd: 77 Newman Street, London, W1T 3EW

Eurovia UK (transport construction subsidiary): 26 Store Street Fitzrovia Lane, London, WC1E 7BT

Taylor Woodrow (UK construction subsidiary): 286 Euston Road, Euston Tower Level 33, London, NW1A 3DP

Source: https://www.vinci.com/vinci.nsf/en/locations/pages/region_greater_london.htm

Massive French construction multinational, with numerous brands and subsidiaries, involved in a long list of devastating projects. It makes its biggest profits running much of the French toll-paying motorway system. Planned developer of the Notre Dame des Landes airport in western France, which was scrapped in 2019 after an epic campaign of resistance including the long-running ZAD land occupation. Accused of using forced labour in Qatar, bulldozing migrant camps in Calais, and engaging in corruption and massive environmental destruction in Russia’s Khimki Forest motorway scheme. See Corporate Watch company profile (from 2017). Recently, its subsidiary Spiecapag is involved in the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Australia, which is being vigorously resisted.

Owners: French PLC. Its biggest owners include BlackRock and the government of Qatar, amongst many other global investment funds.

1.6.3 UK big builders

Balfour Beatty

5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU
Source: www.balfourbeatty.com/contacts/

Balfour Beatty Investments: 350 Euston Road, Regent’s Place, London, NW1 3AX

Source: http://www.balfourbeattyinvestments.com/company/about.aspx

Major British building company focusing on big infrastructure. Heavily involved in road building, and one of the main contractors in the UK’s white elephant HS2 rail scheme. Infamous for its record of trade union blacklisting. Also responsible for dams in Asia and Africa – was involved in early plans for Turkey’s Ilisu dam, but later pulled out after large scale protests.

Kier Group

33 Foley Street, London, W1W 7TL

Source: https://www.kier.co.uk/contact/our-locations/?area=london&id=3545

Major UK construction company. Works on energy infrastructure – including nuclear – and road building, as well as house building. Another of the big UK builders involved in the infamous union-busting blacklist.

Sir Robert McAlpine

4th Floor, 63 St Mary’s Axe, London, EC3A 8AA

Source: https://www.srm.com/office-locations/london/

Major UK construction and civil engineering firm which works on oil and gas, nuclear, dams, chemical and mining sectors as well as other high-profile building schemes. It was the main building company responsible for setting up the “Consulting Association” union-busting blacklist scheme.

Morgan Sindell

Kent House, 14-17 Market Place, London, W1W 8AJ

Source: https://www.morgansindall.com/contact-us/

Major British construction and engineering firm. Its infrastructure division works on nuclear and defence infrastructure, including at the Faslane nuclear submarine base. It also has a sideline in prison building.

Amey UK

10 Furnival Street, London, EC4A 1AB

Source: http://tpt.amey.co.uk/contact-us/

Sixth in the list of UK construction companies, Amey is also well known for engineering services and “facilities” management to the energy industry, road maintenance, airports, and more. It also maintains 61 British prisons, and has gone further into the profitable “justice” business with its GEOAmey prisoner transporting joint venture. Also known for cutting down thousands of trees in Sheffield as part of its PFI deal with the council.

Owner: bought by Spanish building company Ferrovial.

1.6.4 Cement producers

Cement is a massively destructive product: according to the Chatham House think tank, it is responsible for 8% of CO2 emissions. Concrete production is also linked to extensive soil erosion, water pollution and flooding.

None of the major cement producers are based in London. The biggest of all are based in China and serve that country’s massive construction industry. The UK’s cement needs are served by multinationals which largely have centres outside the capital: LafargeHolcim’s UK plant is in Leicester; Heidelberg’s building subsidiary Hanson is based in Maidenhead; and the Mexican giant Cemex has a UK HQ in Rugby. Below we list offices for a subsidiary of one other major cement producers.

CRH (Tarmac)

Tarmac: Level 4, 40 Strand, London, WC2N 5RW

Source: http://tarmac.com/location-finder//find-a-site?location=London

CRH is the 7th largest cement multinational. It is an Irish registered company, listed on the London Stock exchange. In the UK, it is best known as the owner of Tarmac. CRH has been involved in several alleged corruption controversies in Ireland and Poland.

1.7 Agribusiness

Corporate agriculture has become infamous for its negative effect on the planet and the climate. The list for this sector is thinner – London is not a hub for agribusiness companies in the same way as hydrocarbons or mining. UK agribusiness tends to be regionally based: e.g., Bernard Matthews’ famous Norfolk poultry farming, or fishing fleets in coastal ports. A major exception, listed below, is the giant of ABF.

The biggest global agricorps are US companies (particularly for soya and meat), with East Asia cornering the palm oil and sea food industries. The world’s largest chemical fertiliser giant – also Europe’s biggest buyer of natural gas – Yara, is a Norwegian company with no London base (see Corporate Watch profile). We’ve also included in this section major global food companies that are key customers of the big agribusiness corps, and in some cases also run their own agro-industry supply chains.

ABF (Associated British Foods)

Weston Centre 10 Grosvenor Street London, W1K 4QY
Source: www.abf.co.uk/m/contact-us

British consumer and agribusiness conglomerate. It owns household brands including Ovaltine, Ryvita, Twinings tea, and many more. Agribusiness division AB Agri is involved in animal feed, biofuels, and other products in the UK and China. Its AB Sugar division is one of the world’s biggest sugar empires, including Silver Spoon (which buys almost all UK sugar beet), Ilovo Sugar in southern Africa, Azucarera in Spain, AB Sugar China, and other companies. According to the World Wildlife Fund: “The cultivation and processing of sugar produce environmental impacts through the loss of natural habitats, intensive use of water, heavy use of agro-chemicals, discharge and runoff of polluted effluent and air pollution.” On top of all that, ABF also owns the infamous Primark clothing chain, renowned for miserable labour conditions and the death of over 1,000 people in the Rana Plaza factory collapse.

Owners: 55% owned by Wittington Investments, other shares publicly traded.

Cargill

3rd Floor, 77 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4AY
Source: www.cargill.co.uk/en/london-location

The largest privately held company in the world, Cargill is regarded as one of two companies most closely linked to Brazilian deforestation for its soya destined for the livestock industry. Besides Amazon destruction, it is also involved in UK mega factory farms, is one of the world’s biggest traders in palm oil, and is tied to rainforest destruction in South East Asia, deforestation in West Africa and child slavery. Cargill has more than 60 subsidiaries.

Owners: The Cargill-Macmillan family, one of the wealthiest in the US, reportedly own over 85% of the company.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)

ADM Investor Services International Limited: Millennium Bridge House, 2 Lambeth Hill, London, EC4V 3TT
Source: www.admisi.com/contact

ADM is a major US food processing company dealing in Amazon soya, palm oil and biofuels, among other commodities. Prior to joining ADM, the company’s CEO Juan R Luciano spent 25 years at Dow Chemical. He also sits on the board of directors of pharma giant Eli Lilly and palm oil plunderers Wilmar International. ADM have various joint ventures and a history of cooperation with Wilmar. NB: the London office belongs to ADMSI, an investment brokerage subsidiary.

Owners: listed company, owned by big investment funds including Vanguard, as well as State Farm Investment Management Corp.

Louis Dreyfus Trading

The Crane Building, 22 Lavington Street, London, SE1 0NK
Source: https://www.ldc.com/global/en/about-us/locations1/

An enormous agribusiness covering all parts of the supply chain, involved in Amazon soya. A subsidiary of the Dutch-based Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC).

Owners: billionaire Margarita Louis-Dreyfus whose family trust Akira now owns over 95% of the holding company.

Olam International

New Zealand House, 80 Haymarket London, SW1Y 4TE

Source: https://www.olamgroup.com/contactus.html

Singapore-based company and major producer of cash crops, particularly palm oil. Olam is engaged in massive deforestation and has been accused of serious human rights abuses. Allegations include razing an area of pristine forest in Gabon the size of Washington DC for its rubber plantations and driving land grabs and evictions in Laos.

Owners: Olam’s largest shareholders are Temasek Holdings and Mitsubishi Corporation – Singaporean sovereign wealth fund and Japanese bank.

Unilever plc
Unilever House, 100 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DY
Source: https://www.unilever.com/contact/unilever-registered-offices/

Massive Dutch-British consumer goods company which owns numerous household food and cosmetics brands, and has a long record of environmental scandals. Major users of palm oil, connected to rainforest clearances in South East Asia and West Africa, as well as to child labour. Also identified by Break Free from Plastic as one of the world’s top ten plastics users.

Tata Group
18 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7HS
Source: www.tata.com/contact-us#

Massive Indian multinational conglomerate with over 700,000 employees. It could feature in a number of sections: various divisions own coal mines, power plants, steel mills, hotel chains, one of the word’s biggest IT companies, Jaguar Landrover cars, and a massive list of household consumer products. Tata Global Beverages, which includes the Tetley tea brand, is one of the world’s biggest tea and coffee plantation owners. Tata’s iron works, chemical plants, and plantations have been connected to land grabs, police shootings, pollution incidents, workers’ disputes, and more.

See also: Wikipedia, Environmental Justice Atlas.

Owners: Tata family. The majority of shares are owned by the Tata Sons holding company, which in turn is owned by family trusts. The family business goes back to the 1860s, when it was involved in the opium trade. Some Tata subsidiaries have a minority of shares traded in the open market.

Burger King

4th Floor, 2 Fouberts Place, W1F 7PA
Source: www.burgerking.co.uk/privacy

Huge global meat user. A major customer of Cargill. In a 2016 report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, BK scored a zero for failing to make any notable progress round the issue of deforestation. The company has since pledged to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain – by 2030!

Owners: the parent company is a Canadian holding company called Restaurant Brands International (RBI), 32% of which is owned by Brazilian private equity fund 3G Capital; another major shareholder is Morgan Stanley (see the banks section in Part 2.)

(NB: many of the same points could be made about McDonalds as Burger King. The only reason we don’t include them is because the London office is outside our map area in East Finchley.)

1.8 Plastics and other chemical polluters

Like agribusiness, the chemicals industry does not have the same presence in London as hydrocarbons or mining. Only two of the global top ten plastics producers have offices in the city. Dow DuPont, the world’s biggest chemical company and number one plastics producer, notorious for the Bhopal disaster, is about to set up its UK and Ireland base in a “state-of-the-art business park” in Stockport. The second biggest UK-based company, Linde, has its HQ in Guildford, Surrey.

BASF

BASF Metals Limited: 21st Floor, Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AY
Source: https://www.basf.com/gb/en/who-we-are/BASF-in-the-United-Kingdom/BASF-Metals-Limited–BML-.html

BASF is the world’s second largest chemicals company (after the merged Dow Dupont). It is among the biggest manufacturers of plastics and of pesticides and also has a biotech arm, BASF Plant Science. (NB: The London office belongs to its Metals division.)

Ineos

Ineos HQ: 38 Hans Cres, London, SW1X 0LZ
Source: www.ineos.com/contact/

Ineos oil and gas: Anchor House, 15-19 Britten St, London, SW3 3TY, UK
Source: www.ineos.com/businesses/ineos-oil–gas…/

Ineos is the UK’s biggest chemical company, and the world’s fifth biggest. It operates through dozens of subsidiary companies. The Petroineos joint venture with China’s state oil company CNPC is Europe’s biggest oil refiner. Its flagship base is Grangemouth, which is “home to Scotland’s only crude oil refinery and produces the bulk of fuels used in Scotland.” Ineos’ “Dragon Ship” LNG tankers ferry US shale gas to the site. Ineosalso has its own oil and gas exploration arm, well known for its attempts to start fracking in the UK, which has bought up the majority of shale gas exploration licenses here.

See also: detailed company profile from Spinwatch / Powerbase; new Corporate Watch profile on Ineos’ billionaire owner Jim Ratcliffe.

Owner: billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, listed as Britain’s richest person by the Sunday Times Rich List 2018, founded the company and still owns 60%. Ineos is one of the UK’s biggest privately held companies (as opposed to listed PLCs).

Lyondellbasell

4th Floor, One Vine Street, London, W1J 0AH

Source: https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/london-office/contact-us/

Major chemical multinational, registered in the Netherlands but with a London HQ. It is a plastic specialist, the world’s third biggest plastics producer. It describes itself as the leading US and European producer of polypropyenes – one of the plastics widely used in packaging responsible for massive environmental pollution.

Owners: PLC, listed on New York SE.

Coca-Cola

1A Wimpole St, London, W1G 0EA
Source: https://www.coca-cola.co.uk/about-us/contact-us

We include Coca Cola here as the world’s number one plastic consumer products polluter, according to Break Free From Plastic. There are plenty of other environmental and human scandals linked to the company, from groundwater depletion in India to support for Apartheid South Africa or the Israeli far-right.

NB: Pepsico’s UK office is in Berkshire.

2. Secondary planet-killers

2.1 Banks

The City of London is one of the world’s main finance hubs, second only to New York. It is particularly important as a trading and money laundering centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA, in bankers’ jargon), and for oil and other “commodities”. Three of the world’s major investment banks have their headquarters here: HSBC, Barclays, and RBS. And all of the other big global banks have London offices.

Banks play an essential part in ecocidal capitalism, channelling the money that companies need to develop new projects. Their key roles include:

• Lending money directly to companies – in big cases, these may be multi-million dollar “syndicated loans” involving “syndicates” of numerous banks.
• Arranging for other investors to put their money into companies through bonds and shares.
• Trading these bonds and shares.
• Helping companies arrange takeovers, buy-outs, property sales, and other corporate deals.

This section lists: first, the state-owned Chinese “Big Four” banks; then, the top 10 global investment banks, as well as other notable multinational investment banks. All of them, without a single exception, are involved in funding the fossil fuel drillers, coal diggers, forest clearers, river foulers, and other earth-wreckers – including the companies listed in Part 1, and many more.

The Chinese state-owned banks have been largely focused on financing China’s rapid industrial growth – including the country’s massive coal industry, which accounts for much of the worldwide production of the dirtiest of fuels. Increasingly, they are also becoming involved in deals across the globe. They are leading players in the industrial exploitation of Africa and other regions where China is increasingly replacing the “West” as main neo-colonial power.

But, for now, the US, European and Japanese multinationals are still the biggest of all fossil fuel funders. According to research by the Rainforest Action Network, Banktrack, and other partners, the world’s top 33 private sector banks have pumped $1.9 trillion into financing fossil fuels since 2016. And London is where many of these deals are done.

Key sources and further reading:

• Banktrack: website has a big list of hundreds of banks worldwide, with profile pages identifying their “dodgy deals”.
• Standard & Poors’ list of world’s 100 biggest banks (by total assets)
• ADV Ratings list of top (privately-owned) investment banks 2019 (by investment banking revenue)
• Banking on Climate Change report (April 2019) from Rainforest Action Network (RAN), Banktrack and other partners
• Updated Guardian / RAN list of climate change funders (October 2019)

2.1.1 China’s Big Four

ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China)

ICBC (London), City Branch: 81 King William Street, London, EC4N 7BG
Chinatown Branch: 81-85 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DX

Source: https://www.icbc.com.cn/ICBC/EN/PersonalFinance/CrossborderFinancialServices/OverseasFinancialService/ICBCLondon/

By one metric, the biggest bank in the world, holding assets of over $4 trillion, mostly thanks to its key role in China’s huge economy. It is the third largest funder of global coal mining. Involved in funding the massive Gilgel Gibe III dam in Ethiopia, “Africa’s most destructive dam”. Rapidly expanding its reach beyond China, ICBC now lends to coal mining projects in Turkey, Vietnam and Kenya, and even to pipeline projects in North America, including the highly contested Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

Owners: 75% owned by Chinese government via Ministry of Finance and Central Huijin Investment company. 25% of shares are traded publicly on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

China Construction Bank

111 Old Broad Street,London, EC2N 1AP

Source: http://www.uk.ccb.com/london/en/index.html

One of the world’s biggest banks and the biggest financer of coal mining. Active in deals across Asia, Africa and beyond, including many environmentally destructive infrastructure projects.

Owners: majority owned by Chinese government (including through state-owned Central Huijin Investment company). Shares listed on Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

Agricultural Bank of China

7/F, 1 Bartholomew Lane, London, EC2N 2AX

Source: http://www.uk.abchina.com/en/contact_us/

One of the world’s biggest banks and the fourth biggest funder of global coal mining.

Owners: largely owned by Chinese government (including 40% through state-owned Central Huijin Investment company). Shares listed on Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

Bank of China

2 Lothbury, London, EC2R 7DB

Chinatown branch: 107 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DA

Source: https://www.bankofchina.com/uk/aboutus/ab3/201110/t20111003_1578162.html

One of the world’s biggest banks and the second biggest funder of global coal mining.

Owners: majority owned by Chinese government (including 64% through state-owned Central Huijin Investment company). Shares listed on Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

2.1.2 Top 20 multinational investment banks

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

Ropemaker Place, 25 Ropemaker Street, London, EC2Y 9AN

Source: https://www.bk.mufg.jp/global/globalnetwork/emea/london.html

One of the world’s biggest banks and the biggest in Japan, with $2.8 trillion dollars of assets to its name. Seventh in RAN’s list of “top investors in climate change” list, and sixth biggest funder of coal power plants.

JPMorgan Chase

25 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5JP

Source: https://www.jpmorgan.com/country/US/EN/jpmorgan/disclosures/uk_entities_jul2012

The world’s biggest funder of fossil fuels and the biggest of all the US-based banks. According to the Rainforest Action Network list, in the last three years it has lent $196 billion to the fossil fuels industries. It is the leading financier of Arctic oil and gas exploration, deepwater drilling projects, and the second biggest funder of fracking worldwide. Besides lending money and arranging deals as an investment bank, JP Morgan is also a major fund manager and shareholder, managing $2.1 trillion.

HSBC

8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HQ

Source: https://www.hsbc.com/who-we-are/contact-us?countryid=GB&tab=Offices

The biggest UK-based bank and a top ten investment bank. Also one of UK’s biggest investment fund managers. Thirteenth in RAN’s list of massive global fossil fuel funders. Frack Off names it as one of the fracking “bad guys” for lending £63 million to Dart Energy, of whom it has been a shareholder, and providing banking services to Cuadrilla. HSBC invested $7 billion in coal between 2005 and 2014, and continues as the biggest UK coal financer since 2015. It is accused by Greenpeace of funding massive deforestation of the Indonesian rainforest for palm oil production. In other news, HSBC has been repeatedly caught involved in large scale money-laundering schemes: to name one example, it was fined $1.9 billion (or “about five weeks’ profits”) by US authorities in 2012 for laundering blood money for the Mexican drug cartels. As has been pointed out, this business line could be traced right back to the bank’s historical links with the 19^th century British opium trade.

Citigroup

Citigroup Centre, 33 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5LB

Source: https://www.citigroup.com/citi/about/countries-and-jurisdictions/united-kingdom.html

Citi is one of the world’s top ten investment banks, and is third in the RAN “top investors in climate change” list. Besides oil and gas investment, it is the main non-Chinese funder of the global coal industry. It is a funder of the Dakota Access and other pipeline projects. It lends money and underwrites bonds for numerous companies on this map, including the likes of RWE, Saudi Aramco, or Vale.

Goldman Sachs

Plumtree Court, 25 Shoe Lane, London, EC4A 4AU

Christchurch Court, 10-15 Newgate Street, London, EC1A 7HD

Source: https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/locations.html

The “giant vampire squid”: extremely powerful investment bank known for the global politicians who have been on its payroll, its role in the 2008 “sub-prime” crash, and a multitude of further scandals. One of biggest ten global investment banks. Provided $59 billion to the fossil fuel industry in 2016-2018, putting it twelfth on RAN’s list. Significantly linked to Amazon deforestation through its investments in beef producers JBS and Marfrig.

Bank of America

Financial Centre, 2 King Edward Street, London, EC1A 1HQ

Source: https://www.bofaml.com/content/boaml/en_us/contactus.html

Another massive US multinational, one of the biggest ten global investment banks. Also a major fund manager with $1.13 trillion Assets Under Management. Comes fourth in the RAN overall fossil fuel funders list, and third on fracking and deepwater exploration. Provided half a billion dollars in credit to Minerva foods, implicated in severe Amazon desforestation. Has funded Adani, RWE, Wilmar, and many more earth wreckers.

Wells Fargo

33 King William Street London, EC4R 9AT

Source: https://wellsfargocapitalfinance.com/uk/contact/

Another massive US multinational, one of the top ten global investment banks. The world’s biggest investor in fracking, and second overall (after JP Morgan) in RAN’s list of banks financing the fossil fuel industry.

Morgan Stanley

25 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf London, E14 4QA

Source: https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices/europe-middle-east-africa/united-kingdom

One of biggest ten global investment banks, and number 11 in the RAN list of top fossil fuels funders. One of the top investors in ultra deepwater oil and gas companies. Also a top global fund manager with $1.6 trillion assets under management.

Barclays

5 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf London, E14 4BB

Source: https://www.investmentbank.barclays.com/contact-us/gb.html

Second biggest UK-based bank, and the number one European investor in fossil fuels. One of the biggest ten global investment banks. Investor in UK fracker Third Energy, which is 97% owned by Barclays Natural Resource Investments, a private equity arm of the bank. Financed Olam, responsible for deforesting approximately 20,000 hectares of forest inside its Gabonese oil palm plantations since March 2012.

Credit Suisse

1 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4QJ

Source: https://www.credit-suisse.com/us/en/investment-banking/contact-us.html

Major Swiss bank, one of the top ten global investment banks. Also a major global fund manager with $1.43 trillion. Provided $57 billion of investment into fossil fuels in 2016-2018. Linked to financing Halcyon Agri, whose operations have been described as the “the most devastating new forest clearance for industrial agriculture in the Congo basin.”

Deutsche Bank

1 Great Winchester Street, London, EC2N 2DB

Source: https://www.db.com/unitedkingdom/

Germany’s biggest bank, and one of the biggest ten global investment banks. Also a major fund manager managing $1.36 trillion. The second largest financier of Arctic oil and gas. Invested $14 billion dollars in fossil fuels globally in 2018. Implicated in deforestation in Brazil through its $11 million shareholding in JBS. One of the funders of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Involved in multiple money-laundering, tax evasion and fraud scandals: its $10 billion Russian mafia money laundry, for which it was fined by US authorities in 2017, is just one of the best known cases to come to light. Longstanding financial backer of Donald Trump. One of the main banks responsible for the CDO bubble that initiated the 2008 financial crash. Going further back, Deutsche was a major profiteer from the Third Reich, including its “aryanisation” and slave labour programmes, and helped fund the construction of Auschwitz.

Royal Bank of Canada

RBC Europe Limited: Thames Court Office, One Queenhithe, London, EC4V 3DQ

and: Riverbank House, 2 Swan Lane, London, EC4R 3BF

Source: https://www.rbccm.com/en/offices/europe.page

Canada’s biggest bank, and one of biggest ten global investment banks. RBC is the biggest funder of the Canadian tar sands exploitation. Also funds contested pipelines in Canada and the US, as well as illegal settlement activity in the Palestinian occupied territories.

UBS

5 Broadgate, London, EC2M 2QS

Source: https://www.ubs.com/uk/en/wealth-management/about-us.html

The biggest Swiss bank, one of biggest ten global investment banks. Also the world’s third largest investment manager with $3.2 trillion of assets managed. Provided the fossil fuel companies with some $25 billion in 2016-18.

BNP Paribas

10 Harewood Avenue, London, NW1 6AA

Source: https://www.bnpparibas.co.uk/en/contact/bnp-paribas-securities-services/

The biggest French bank and the world’s 9th largest bank by total assets. Provided $51 billion fossil fuels funding in 2016-18. Also a major investment manager with $1.21 trillion AUM.

Toronto Dominion

60 Threadneedle Street London, EC2R 8AP

Source: http://www.tdsecurities.com/tds/content/AU_WorldwideOffices?language=en_CA&language=en_CA

Canadian multinational investment bank. It is number 8 in RAN’s list of fossil fuel funders, and in particular is a major funder of tar sands – the second biggest after RBC, with $13.7 billion investment in 2016-18.

Scotiabank

6th Floor, 201 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3NS

Source: https://www.scotiabank.com/global/en/country/united-kingdom.html

Multinational which has been described as Canada’s most ‘international bank’ due to its overseas acquisitions. Though not one of the world’s very top banks, it punches well above its weight in terms of earth-wrecking: coming number nine in RAN’s list of fossil fuel industry funders.

Owners: PLC.

Mizuho

Mizuho House, 30 Old Bailey, London, EC4M 7AU

Source: https://www.mizuhobank.com/uk/about/index.html

Major Japanese multinational investment bank, which comes number ten in the RAN ratings for banks funding fossil fuels.

Société Générale

1 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14 4SG

Source: https://www.societegenerale.co.uk/en/one-bank-street/

French multinational investment bank. The world’s second biggest funder of Liquefied Natural Gas (after JP Morgan Chase).

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)

250 Bishopsgate, Spitalfields, London, EC2M 4AA

Source: https://www.investors.rbs.com/multimedia-library/image-library/our-buildings.aspx

Third biggest UK bank, which operates under a number of brands including also NatWest and Ulster Bank. Back in 2007 it openly marketed itself as the “oil and gas bank”, and was a major funder of climate change. More recently, RBS has sought to win a “greener” reputation and claims to have now ended funding for Arctic drilling or new coal plants. Beyond the Arctic, though, RBS still funds fossil fuels, stating that “oil and gas will continue to play an important role in the overall global energy mix”.

NB: most investment banking operations are now branded as “NatWest markets”.

Ownership: bailed out by the UK government after the 2008 crash which became the main owner. The government has been selling its shares in batches, but is still currently the main owner with over 60%.

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/01/23/rbs-sell-london-hq-cost-cutting-drive-continues/

Standard Chartered

1 Basinghall Avenue, London, EC2V 5DD

Source: https://www.sc.com/uk/contact-us/

London-based international investment bank: though based in the UK, it only works on deals outside the country. Invested $15 billion in fossil fuels 2016-18.

2.1.3 Multilateral development banks

The “multilaterals” are financial institutions backed by the power and wealth of several states – as opposed to national banks owned by just one government. Their usual role is financing major infrastructure and development schemes. The best known is the World Bank, which lends money and arranges finance largely for “less developed” countries. These deals come with big strings attached – related to fostering free market capitalism, so “opening” new markets for global investors.

Besides the World Bank, there is a second tier of regional development banks which are big fish in their smaller ponds. London is home to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is a major actor pushing for privatisation and destructive infrastructure schemes, particularly in Eastern Europe.

The World Bank

Millbank Tower, 12th Floor, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP

Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/unitedkingdom

Based in Washington, this is the UK country office. Despite official statements, the WB continues to fund fossil fuel infrastructure.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

One Exchange Square, London, EC2A 2JN

Source: https://www.ebrd.com/corporate-information/london-headquarters.html

(NB: will move to new HQ in Canary Wharf in 2022)

Headquartered in London, the EBRD was set up in 1991 by an alliance of governments and institutions with a specific aim: the rapid large-scale privatisation of Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet bloc. This achieved, it became a major infrastructure financier, still mainly focusing on the less-developed east. In the last five years the bank has presented itself as leading transition to the “green economy”, with over 40% of its investments dedicated to this. In one of these “green” schemes, the EBRD has become the main funder pushing an enormous programme of hydropower dam-building across the Balkans. As resistance grows, this is set to become a major battle for the European ecological future.

See also: Bankwatch.

European Investment Bank (EIB)

125 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AR

Source: https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/contact/offices/ue/united-kingdom.htm

The lending arm of the EU, its shareholders are the member states. It has been a major funder of energy infrastructure projects such as the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. Now says it will end fossil fuel funding by 2022, to focus on a $1 trillion climate “transition” programme. This is will include conversion of coal plants to new fuels such as biomass. The HQ is in Luxembourg.

2.1.4 Smaller specialist banks

The banks above are some of the world’s biggest. Of course there are many others, involved in millions of earth-wrecking deals, and hundreds have locations in London. In this section we just name a few examples that have received attention for their work financing oil, mining and other primary planet-killing sectors.

Halkbank

Floor 1, 48 Dover Street, London, W1S 4FF

Source: https://www.halkbank.com.tr/en/International-Banking/92/foreign-branches

Halkbank is a Turkish state-owned bank, the seventh largest bank in Turkey. It is one of the three main banks financing the immensely destructive Ilisu dam project, which threatens to flood the ancient city of Hasnkeyf, displacing tens of thousands of mainly Kurdish people, and divert key water supplies to Iraq and Syria.

Garanti Bank / BBVA

BBVA UK: 44th floor, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AA

Source: https://www.bbvauk.com/meta/branches-and-atm/

BBVA is one of Spain’s biggest banks, which also has a major presence in Latin America. It also owns 49.85% of Turkey’s Garanti Bank, the country’s second largest privately owned bank. This is one of three main banks financing the immensely destructive Ilisu dam project, which threatens to flood the ancient city of Hasnkeyf, displacing tens of thousands of mainly Kurdish people, and divert key water supplies to Iraq and Syria.

Unicredit

Moor House, 120 London, Wall, London, EC2Y 5ET

Source: https://www.unicreditgroup.eu/en/worldwide/our-worldwide-presence/europe/united-kingdom/unicredit-bank-ag—branch.html

Unicredit is an Italian corporate and investment bank active across Europe. It has been identified by Bankwatch as one of the two main commercial banks (alongside the multilateral EBRD) financing devastating Balkan rivers dam projects.

Erste Group

24th Floor, 110 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AY

Source: https://register.fca.org.uk/ShPo_FirmDetailsPage?id=001b000000MfFC8AAN; https://www.erstegroup.com/content/dam/at/eh/www_erstegroup_com/en/Corporates/london-branch-privacy-notice.pdf

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Austrian bank active in central and eastern Europe. It has been identified by Bankwatch as one of the two main commercial banks (alongside the multilateral EBRD) financing devastating Balkan rivers dam projects.

Macquarie Group

Ropemaker Place, 28 Ropemaker Street, London, EC2Y 9HD

Source: https://www.macquarie.com/uk/about/office-locations

Australian bank, the country’s largest investment bank. Specialises in infrastructure finance and is known for financing metals, bulk commodities (coal, iron ore, industrial minerals and uranium) and upstream oil and gas. Perhaps most notorious in the UK as the owner of Thames Water, which it saddled with an extra £2 billion of debt before selling on. Thames Water was fined £20 million for raw sewage dumps at six different sites in 2012-14 during Macquarie’s tenure.

RFC Ambrian

Octagon Point, 5 Cheapside, London, EC2V 6AA

Source: https://www.rfcambrian.com/index.php/contact/

Boutique energy bank which describes itself as the “global leading independent adviser and investor in the natural resources market, with a particular emphasis on metals and mining, oil & gas sectors and emerging technologies.”

Simmons Energy

13th Floor, 88 Wood Street, London, EC2V 7DA

Source: http://www.simmonspsc.com/2col.aspx?id=5284

Boutique oil and gas investment bank and energy securities trader with offices in Houston, London and Aberdeen. In 2018 it arranged deals involving Halliburton, Noble Energy, and many smaller oil and gas companies, as well as raising debt for an unnamed “private frac company”. Subsidiary of investment bank Piper Sandler.

Owners: a division of Piper Sandler.

Lambert Energy Advisory

4th Floor, 17 Hill Street, London, W1J 5LJ

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03838151

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Small investment bank which works on oil and gas deals. Described in the financial press as a “publicity shy London boutique” – it doesn’t have a website. The financial media present CEO Richard Lambert as a svengali figure making major behind-the-scenes deals – for example, arranging a £10 billion share deal between BP and Rosneft. He has particular Russian connections, having cut his teeth in the great Russian privatisation sell-offs of the 1990s.

Natrium Capital

10 Bloomsbury Way, London, WC1A 2SL

Source: https://www.natriumcapital.com/contact/location/

Boutique investment advisor, specialised in arranging M&A deals for chemicals and biotech companies.

The Valence Group

1st Floor, New Fetter Place, 8-10 New Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1AZ

Source: http://www.valencegroup.com/contact/

Boutique investment bank focusing on chemicals companies.

2.2 Investment funds

2.2.1 Top 20 Institutional Investors

Much of the world’s finance capital is controlled by “institutional investors”: fund management companies which manage the assets of pension funds, savings funds, insurance companies, and wealthy families and individuals. They funnel capital to companies by buying shares, also called “equity”. They also lend money, largely by buying bonds and other “debt securities” issued by companies.

The world’s top investment funds each control massive amounts of capital. They own shares and bonds of basically every major publicly listed company (PLC) in the world – as well as many unlisted ones. For this reason, in this section we don’t note particular companies the funds have invested in: you can safely assume they will have shares in many, or even all, of the listed companies named in Part 1.

In this section we list the top 20 global funds by “assets under management” – the amount of capital they control. (Except for those that are also major banks, and so already named in section 2.1 above.) All of these big funds have London offices.

See also: ADV Ratings list of investment managers by AUM.

BlackRock

12 Throgmorton Avenue, Drapers Gardens, London, EC2N 2DL

Source: https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/about-us/contacts-locations

The world’s biggest investment manager, managing over $6.5 trillion dollars worth of assets, with shares in pretty much every major listed company in the world. This makes BlackRock a massively powerful institution that influences every aspect of global capitalism. Based in the US, it is “the world’s biggest backer of fossil fuel companies”, according to the blackrocksbigproblem campaign.

Vanguard Group

25 Walbrook, London, EC4N 8AF

Source: https://www.institutional.vanguard.co.uk/portal/site/institutional/uk/en/contact-us

The second biggest global investor after BlackRock, managing $5.6 trillion. Largely an “index” investor that allocates funds to every major company on the world’s exchanges – including, of course, many of the biggest polluters.

State Street

20 Churchill Pl, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HJ

Source: https://www.ssga.com/global/en/about-us/who-we-are/overview.html

US bank and one of the world’s biggest investment managers, with $2.8 trillion assets managed.

Fidelity

4 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 5AB

Source: https://www.fidelityrecruitment.com/uk-ireland/our-locations/working-fidelity-uk

Major US-based global investment manager, with $2.7 trillion assets.

Allianz (and Pimco)

Pimco: 11 Baker Street, London, W1U 3AH

Source: https://www.pimco.co.uk/en-gb/account/registration

Allianz is a giant German insurance and financial services company, which also now owns Pimco – a massive global investment fund specialising in bonds. Pimco alone controls $1.8 trillion Assets Under Management, the bulk of the $2.4 trillion Allianz manages overall.

Capital Group

40 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7GG

Source: https://www.capitalgroup.com/about-us/office-locations.html#

US fund manager overseeing $1.86 trillion.

Bank of New York Mellon

160 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4LA

Source: https://www.bnymellon.com/emea/en/contact.jsp

US bank and fund manager overseeing $1.84 trillion.

Amundi (Credit Agricole)

41 Lothbury, London, EC2R 7HF

Source: https://www.amundi.co.uk/professional/About-Amundi/Amundi-London-Branch

French fund manager, part of the group of Credit Agricole bank. Has $1.6 trillion Assets Under Management.

AXA

AXA UK PLC: 5 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AD

Source: https://www.axa.co.uk/about/addresses/

French insurance giant and fund manager. Manages $1.6 trillion.

Prudential

Grand Buildings, 1-3 Strand, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5HR

Source: https://www.prudential.com/links/about/worldwide-locations/uk

US fund manager – not to be confused with the UK’s Prudential PLC (which is also in the list, below). Manages $1.5 trillion.

Legal & General Investment Management

LGIM: One Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5AA

Source: https://www.lgim.com/uk/en/contact/

UK insurance company and fund manager. The biggest UK-based investor. Manages $1.32 trillion.

Northern Trust

50 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5NT

Source: https://locations.northerntrust.com/gb/london/50-bank-street

US fund manager overseeing $1.16 trillion.

Other UK-based funds in global top 50:

Prudential PLC

1 Angel Court, London, EC2R 7AG

Source: https://www.prudentialplc.com/contacts/prudential-plc

UK insurer and fund manager (NB: don’t confuse with the bigger Prudential from the US). Manages $856 billion.

Insight Investment

160 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4LA

Source: https://www.insightinvestment.com/uk/

UK-based fund manager with $844 billion assets under management.

Standard Life Aberdeen

30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), EC3A 8BF

Source: https://www.standardlifeaberdeen.com/who-we-are/global-locations

Source: https://www.aberdeenstandardcapital.com/en/about-us/our-offices

UK fund manager, has $676 billion assets under management.

Aviva

St Helen’s, 1 Undershaft, London, EC3P 3DQ
Source: https://www.aviva.com/about-us/registered-address/

UK investment manager with $612 billion assets under management.

NB: these other top fund managers are listed above in section 2.1 on investment banks:

UBS Group

JP Morgan

Morgan Stanley

Credit Suisse

Deutsche Bank

BNP Paribas

Bank of America

HSBC

2.2.2 Sovereign Wealth Funds

These are investment funds owned by national governments, rather than the big pools of privately owned capital in the section above. In the past, national public-sector pension schemes accumulated major reserves of investment capital. Many of these are now privatised, and the term Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) is mainly used for funds accumulated by commodity-exporting nations from their foreign currency income.

These SWFs have boomed in the last couple of decades, reflecting a global wealth shift away from the consumer economies of the “developed world”, now sunk in debt, to exporting nations such as China and the Gulf oil states. These states accumulate more foreign currency from commodity sales than they invest or distribute at home. The difference builds up into SWFs, which are then invested overseas to buy up companies, property, and other resources. For example, in London, the very visible sign of this is the takeover of the city’s skyline by glass towers like the Shard – just one item in the Qatari SWF’s property portfolio.

While the global investment funds above spread their assets over thousands of companies, the SWFs are often more focused – buying big chunks of particular companies, or massive infrastructure and real estate schemes.

See: SWF Institute website list of funds by AUM

NB: not in the list: not all the big SWFs have London offices. The second biggest, China Investment Corporation (CIC), with $940 billlion, does not. The third biggest, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), closed its London office in 2015.

Norges Bank / Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (aka “Oil Fund”)

Norges Bank IM: Queensberry House, 3 Old Burlington Street, London, W1S 3AE

Source: https://www.nbim.no/en/organisation/our-offices/london-office/

Norway’s massive oil reserve fund, administered by the state-owned Norges Bank Investment Management. The biggest SWF with just under $1.1 trillion in assets under management (AUM). It acts much like the big investment funds above – similar to BlackRock or Vanguard, it owns shares in almost all the world’s big listed companies. Although, with Norway’s social democratic record, Norges Bank’s investments have long been a contentious issue: and campaigns over the years have succeeded in getting it to divest from many arms manufacturers, coal miners, gold miners, and others. It still invests in many of the companies on this map, however.

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)

Wren House, 15 Carter Lane, London, EC4V 5EY

Source: https://kia.gov.kw/contact-us/

Controls $592 billion of assets. Its London division, called Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), makes investments across Europe and beyond. This, in turn, has a subsidiary infrastructure fund called Wren House (after its HQ). Wren House’s portfolio includes Britain’s biggest port operator ABP, London City Airport, and North Sea Midstream Partners, which controls a “major chunk of North Sea energy infrastructure” in Scotland.

Temasek Holdings

23 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QY

Source: https://www.temasek.com.sg/en/contact-us

Singaporean SWF with $375 billion to spend. It has its European base in London. Temasek’s portfolio includes worldwide investments in oil and other energy companies, agribusiness and life sciences, industrials and transport, real estate, and more.

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)

Qatari Diar: 16 Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 4QF

Source: http://www.qataridiar.com/english/pages/contact-us.aspx

QIA is a major investor in many of the companies on our primary list. It is one of the biggest investors in mining giant Glencore, oil supermajor Total, French motorways and infrastructure giant Vinci, and many more. It also has large holdings in a number of global banks, notably Barclays. QIA plays a particularly important role for us as a major property owner in London. It owns 20% of Heathrow Airport, and a majority stake in the Canary Wharf Development Company – London’s biggest landlord, which owns the effectively privatised financial district. Some of its property is held through a subsidiary called Qatari Diar, a real estate investment fund which has bought further swathes of London from the Shard to the former Olympic Village.

2.2.3 Private Equity

Most investment capital is used by the big funds to buy shares in listed companies (“PLCs”), which are publicly traded on stock exchanges. Private equity firms, on the other hand, specialise in buying shares in companies through private deals. This can mean, for example, investing “venture capital” in start-up or smaller companies, or “buy-outs” to take over established firms. These funds are often secretive, with much less published information than for the giant fund managers above.

Private equity firms are typically smaller than the massive general investment funds – though the biggest ones will still control many billions of dollars. Here are the top five globally, plus a few other major ones (ranking from Private Equity International, based on capital raised over last 5 years.) See also 2.4.3 below for smaller specialist funds.

London is one of the world centres of the Private Equity industry. The big US firms all have offices in London, and are joined by many locally run funds which often focus on Europe, or “emerging” markets including Africa and the Midde East. While the big banks and general investors typically work from glass skyscrapers in the City and Canary Wharf, the private equity houses go for more discrete townhouses, often in Mayfair.

Blackstone Group

40 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 5AL

Source: https://www.blackstone.com/the-firm/our-offices

The world’s biggest private equity fund, according to PEI international. Headquartered in New York, it owns numerous well and less known companies and hotel chains. (NB: don’t confuse with BlackRock.) CEO Schwarzman is a major backer and adviser of President Trump. Its real estate division is infamous for its role in evictions and gentrification of cities, and has been targeted by resistance from Athens to Barcelona. Its Brazilian firms have been identified as “significantly responsible for the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest”.

Carlyle Group

1 St James’s Market, London, SW1Y 4AH

Source: https://www.carlyle.com/contact-us/worldwide-offices

US-based. World’s second biggest PE fund, according to PEI international rankings. Perhaps best known for its links to the Bush and Bin Laden families. It is one of the owners of Neptune Oil, a fast-growing oil company active in the North Sea, Africa and South-East Asia.

KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts)

Stirling Square, 7 Carlton Gardens, London, SW1Y 5AD
Source: https://www.kkr.com/our-firm/locations

US private equity fund, the world’s third biggest according to PEI international rankings. Infamous for its “asset-stripping” company buyouts in the 1980s and 90s. Its investment focuses include oil and gas companies and related infrastructure and real estate. Recently announced a major investment in the British Columbia Coastal GasLink pipeline which is being vigorously resisted by Wetʼsuwetʼen first nations people.

CVC Capital Partners

111 Strand, London, WC2R 0AG

Source: https://www.cvc.com/offices

The biggest UK-based PE fund, and the world’s fourth biggest, according to PEI international rankings. Its many investments across Europe, Asia and Americas include the UK’s biggest oil pipeline, and North sea oil company Neptune.

Warburg Pincus

Almack House, 28 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QW

Source: https://www.warburgpincus.com/london/

US based. World’s fifth biggest PE fund, according to PEI international rankings.

Bain Capital

Devonshire House, Mayfair Place, London, W1J 8AJ

Source: https://www.baincapital.com/locations

Founded by former US vice-president Mitt Romney (with other partners), known for its political links and for buying out and asset-stripping companies. World’s sixth biggest PE fund, according to PEI international rankings.

Oaktree Capital Management

Verde, 10 Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5DH

Source: https://www.oaktreecapital.com/contact-us

Major global private equity and investment fund, controls over $100 billion of capital. It is notorious as the world’s biggest “distressed debt” or “vulture” fund – buying up the assets of crisis-hit countries and companies, then chasing them for repayment. It was a major profiteer from the European debt crisis, and recently involved in court cases to chase the debt of Puerto Rico. It also runs a $2 billion energy fund investing in oil tankers and more.

3i Group PLC

16 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5JD

Source: https://www.3i.com/site-tools/contacts/

One of the few private equity firms whose shares are traded publicly as a PLC. 3i is London based and is a member of the FTSE 100. Its investment focuses include energy and infrastructure.

2.2.4 Hedge Funds

“Hedge fund” is the label often given to more specialised or “alternative” investment funds. The term is pretty loose nowadays, and includes funds with a range of different strategies. Some main types include: “quant” funds which use computer algorithms to gamble on commodity prices or derivatives; “equity funds” which both buy and “short” shares, betting that the share price will fall; and “debt funds” which specialise in buying up or betting on the debts of companies and governments.

One group with particular notoriety are the “vulture funds” or “distressed debt” investors. These buy up the debts of countries hit by crisis and poverty on the cheap,, then do all they can to make a profit – for example, by chasing countries through the courts to seize their assets.

Although usually much smaller than the big “mainstream” investment funds, hedge funds can play an important role at the frontiers of capitalism. They often lead in creating new products and markets – finding ways to monetise and trade ever more of the world’s resources for profit. For example, as the climate crisis escalates, hedge funds find ways to profit by gambling on future oil and other commodity prices, carbon trading schemes, or even on “weather derivatives” and “catastrophe bonds”.

London is one of the main global centres for the hedge fund industry. Like the private equity funds, many tend to be clustered around Mayfair and the West End. In this section we list some of the biggest general hedge funds, where these all work on energy and other earth-wrecking sectors amongst other areas.

A list of hedge funds by Assets Under Management

A list of hedge funds with London operations

A “top 50” ranking

Man Group PLC

Riverbank House, 2 Swan Lane, London, EC4R 3AD

Source: https://www.man.com/contact

The world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund, and the biggest based in the UK. Its multiple funds gamble on pretty much anything from “natural catastrophe bonds” to real estate. It sponsors the Man Booker literature prize and an Oxford University research centre.

Brevan Howard

55 Baker Street, London, W1U 8EW
Source: https://www.brevanhoward.com/

One of Europe’s biggest hedge funds. It makes short term bets on commodities such as oil and metals prices, as well as currencies and more. Officially registered in Jersey and Cayman Islands tax havens. Sponsors financial analysis centre at Imperial College London.

Monarch Alternative Capital

1st Floor, 50-52 Welbeck Street, London, W1G 9HL

Source: http://www.monarchlp.com/contact/

US-based vulture fund which specialises in buying and chasing “distressed debt”. Involved in court case to chase debts from crisis-hit Puerto Rico. Another string to its bow is investing in coal: “In February 2017, it became the principal shareholder in Arch Coal, the second largest supplier of coal to power companies in the U.S. Arch Coal has been accused by United Mine Workers of America of conspiring with Peabody Energy in a scheme to default on $1.3 billion in retiree pension and healthcare obligations.”

Autonomy Capital

110 Bishopsgate, Floor 34, London, EC2N 4AY UK

Source: https://www.autonomycapital.com/contact/

US based hedge fund that is reportedly a big gambler on European carbon emissions. It is also known as a vulture fund speculating on debts of “emerging countries”. Involved in court case to chase debts from crisis-hit Puerto Rico.

Point72

8 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4JU

Source: https://www.point72.com/contact-us/

Global hedge fund of US billionaire Steven Cohen. Point72 is the successor to Cohen’s previous business SAC Capital Advisors, which closed down after being hit by a $1.8 billion fine for insider trading. It includes a fund specialising in energy investments.

Winton Capital

Grove House, 27 Hammersmith Grove, London, W6 0NE

Source: https://www.winton.com/contact-us

One of the biggest London-based hedge funds, a “quant fund” which uses maths-heavy data analysis and computer algorithms to speculate on commodities across the world. The associated David and Claudia Harding Foundation has given £100 million to Cambridge University.

Lansdowne Partners

15 Davies Street, London, W1K 3AG

Source: https://www.lansdownepartners.com/contact-us/

“One of London’s oldest and most secretive hedge funds”, according to the Financial Times. It is perhaps best known for betting on the collapse of Northern Rock during the financial crash, and also has an energy fund speculating on oil and other commodity prices. Current press statements say it is betting against oil and on renewables – but it will follow wherever the money leads.

Elliott Advisors

116 Park Street, London, W1K 6AF

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02989338

Source: https://register.fca.org.uk/ShPo_FirmDetailsPage?id=001b000000MfUxEAAV

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Infamous as a “vulture fund” which buys up and chases “distressed debt”. In particular, Elliott played a major role in suing the Argentinian and Peruvian governments for bond payments during the Latin American debt crisis. Other recent investments include buying football club AC Milan. Owned by Republican-backing US billionaire Paul Singer; the London office is run by his son Gordon. It also owns Waterstones, currently in dispute with its workers over the living wage.

See also: Corporate Watch investigation into Elliot and Waterstones.

GAM

8 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7GB

Source: https://www.gam.com/en/our-company/about-us

Swiss hedge fund mainly involved in gambling on bond markets, also has funds investing in energy companies.

Sculptor Capital

40 Argyll Street, 2nd Floor, London, W1F 7EB
Source: https://www.sculptor.com/about-sculptor/offices/london

Formerly called Och-Ziff, Sculptor is a global hedge fund founded by US billionaire Daniel Och. It is notorious for a 2016 corruption scandal where Och and his fund were accused by the US courts of paying over $100 million in bribesto secure natural resources deals in Libya, Nigeria, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2.2.5 Smaller earth-wrecking specialist investors

This section lists smaller investment companies – including private equity, hedge funds, traders, and other “boutiques” – which specialise in energy, mining, and other primary earth-wrecking sectors.

Kerogen Capital

6th Floor, 50 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5JH

Source: http://www.kerogencap.com/contact-us/

Private equity investor specialising in oil and gas companies, with bases in Hong Kong and London. Major investor in North Sea oil companies, and in Energean, the UK-Greek-Israeli company drilling wells and building pipelines in the Eastern Mediterranean.

EIG Global Energy Partners

20 St. James’s Street, 7th Floor, London, SW1A 1ES

Source: https://www.eigpartners.com/locations/london-uk

Specialist fund investing in oil and gas, pipelines, and “alternative energy”. Has $32 billion invested in 355 portfolio companies including a Brazil-Bolivia gas pipeline, coal and oilsands in Canada, biomass in Spain, and numerous oil drillers from Alaska to Africa.

NB: EIG also has a joint-venture subsidiary fund called Harbour Energy, jointly owned with Hong Kong’s Noble Group. This is based at the same address.

Red Kite Capital

1 Bartholomew Lane, London, EC2N 2AX

Source: https://www.rkminefinance.com/#contactSection

Specialised metal and mining investment fund run by former Conservative party treasurer, and evangelical Christian, Lord Michael Farmer – called “Mr Copper” for his exalted position in the copper trading business. Its RK Mine Finance fund has lent money to numerous metals and mining companies. Also in the business is Farmer’s son George, who has headed the UK branch of US rightwing propaganda organisation Turning Point.

Orion Resource Partners

33 Welbeck St, London, W1G 8EX

Source: https://www.orionresourcepartners.com/orion-mine-finance

Specialist metals and mining investment fund. Was previously part of Red Kite, spun off under its chief Oskar Lewinowski. Has invested in numerous mining companies including Dalradian.

See also: Corporate Watch investigation into Dalradian.

Riverstone

3 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4JU
Source: https://www.riverstonellc.com/#!contact/london-office

Private equity firm focused on energy companies, with nearly $39 billion of investments in companies worldwide. Investments include coal, oil drilling, biofuels, and much more. Invests in UK fracking firm Cuadrilla.

First Reserve

7th Floor, 25 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EX

Source: https://www.firstreserve.com/contact

US-based global private equity firm focused purely on energy companies. Its portfolio includes numerous oil and gas ventures worldwide.

Northlander Commodities

Shearwater House, 21 The Green, Richmond, London TW9 1PX

Source: http://www.northlander-advisors.com/

A “UK fund with strong ties to the US”, specialised in energy trading. Reported to have “made as much as $125 million” by speculating on global heating through trading carbon emission credits.

Andurand Capital Management

100 Brompton Road, London, SW3 1ER

Source: http://www.andurandcapital.com/contact.html

London-based oil and energy trading hedge fund run by Pierre Andurand.

Appian Capital

5th Floor, 45 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5JG

Source: https://appiancapitaladvisory.com/contact/

London-based private equity fund which invests solely in metals and mining.

Global Natural Resources Investments (GNRI)

4^th Floor, 14 Curzon Street, London, W1J 5HN

Source: https://gnri.com/

Private equity firm with offices in London and Doha, invests in oil, gas and mining. Was a former unit of Barclays Bank bought out by its managers in 2015.

Arkesden Partners

7 Birchin Lane, London, EC3V 9BW

Source: https://www.arkesden.com/contact

Investment advisory and private equity firm working on oil, mining and other energy deals.

Helios Investment Partners

2nd floor, 12 Charles II Street, London, SW1Y 4QU

Source: https://www.heliosinvestment.com/our-investments/private-equity#list

London-based private equity firm set up to deal in Africa, including investments in African oil companies.

Commodities Traders

Mandara Energy

6 Broad Street Place, London, EC2M 7JH

Source: http://www.mandaracapital.com/#subpage-3

Specialist energy derivatives trader – i.e., makes bets for clients on oil and other energy prices. Bases in London, New York and Singapore.

OTC Europe LLP

5th floor, 10 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1AF

Source: http://www.otcgh.com/portfolio-of-companies/otc-europe/

Trading firm “specializing in over-the-counter energy physical and financial futures and options, including crude oil, gas oil, fuel, freight, and middle distillates”.

BB Energy

BB House, 12-14 Ansdell Street, London, W8 5BN

Source: http://www.bbenergy.com/contact/

Describes itself as “one of the world’s leading independent energy trading companies” and “one of the most active gasoil, gasoline, bitumen and fuel oil traders in the Mediterranean.”

NB other important companies not in London:

Bridgewater Associates, Renaissance Technologies, are the world’s two largest hedge funds by assets managed, neither have London offices. Nor does EnCap, a major oil and gas private equity fund.

2.3 Insurance companies

The insurance industry is a crucial cog in the earth-wrecking machine. Ecocide is a risky venture. Mines or wells fail to produce, ships sink. “Accidents” are a regular occurrence – involving not just loss of capital, but potentially multi-million dollar lawsuits and compensation payouts to the families of those maimed and killed. Governments may come under enough political pressure that they are forced to tighten regulations or even end exploitative contracts.

These risks are all just part of doing business. But one or two major incidents could sink an earth-wrecking company – if it wasn’t for the insurance industry. Insurers “pool risk”: collect premiums from all their customers to create large funds, which then pay out to those who get unlucky.

What this means is that major earth-wrecking schemes – e.g., a new oil well or coal mine – can’t even get started unless the operator has an insurance contract in place. And this creates a very significant point of “leverage” for those trying to resist.

For example, resistance to coal has pushed many big insurers to make statements about withdrawing from coal insurance. Looking at the small print, these statements are often pretty weak: e.g., Axa’s much heralded statement only talks about phasing out insurance to very big coal miners by 2040. Even so, this pressure is pushing up coal insurance premiums, so making it more and more expensive for miners to start new schemes. That is: campaigning against insurance companies is already stopping at least some new coal mines being dug.

London is one of the world’s great insurance marketplaces, arguably the birthplace of the modern commercial insurance system. Lloyds of London began as a coffee house meeting place where ship owners would hook up with rich “names” who would underwrite their colonial trading ventures. London’s insurance scene is still based around the current home of Lloyds, in the east of the City.

For more on coal insurance see: Unfriend Coal website from Greenpeace and others.

Allianz

60 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0HR

Source: https://www.agcs.allianz.com/global-offices/united-kingdom.html

Mega German-based insurance and financial services conglomerate: its fund management subsidiary Pimco features separately on this map. It is one of the world’s largest insurance businesses overall, and works with companies in all sectors including the onshore and offshore oil and gas industry.

American International Group (AIG)

The AIG Building, 58 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4AB

Source: https://www.aig.co.uk/contact-aig-uk

Massive US-based global insurance giant, infamously bailed out by the US government in the 2008 crash. It is the largest industrial insurer in the US, providing cover for the majority of big US industrial corporations, amongst many others. Its UK Energy division provides mining insurance, oil rig insurance, chemical and pharmaceutical insurance, and more. In January 2020, AIG confirmed that it will continue to insure coal, with CEO Brian Duperreault saying coal is “being taken out of the ground because people need it”.

Axa UK PLC

5 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AD

Source: https://www.axa.co.uk/about/addresses/

Major French-based multinational insurance firm. Provides insurance to onshore and offshore energy companies, including major oil companies. In November 2019 Axa announced that it would stop insuring companies which produce more than 20 million tonnes of coal per year … but only by 2030 for European companies, and 2040 for the rest.

Lloyds of London

1 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7HA

Source: https://www.lloyds.com/contact-us

Lloyds is not an insurance company itself, but rather an insurance marketplace. It is made up of numerous members, who come together in 90 plus “syndicates” to offer insurance cover. Lloyds’ historical roots are in marine insurance, and the shipping and energy industries are still important parts of the business. Lloyds says it does not have uniform underwriting policies because of its syndicate structure. According to “Unfriend Coal”, this means Lloyds is becoming the last place in Europe where coal miners can insure new mines.

Aon PLC

The Aon Centre, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3V 4AN

Source: https://www.aon.com/unitedkingdom/contact-us.jsp

London-based insurance brokerage. Its energy and mining division works with all parts of the oil and gas industry, as well as mining companies, on products from oil rig insurance to “political risk”.

Beazley PLC

Plantation Place South, 60 Great Tower Street, London, EC3R 5AD

Source: https://www.beazley.com/contact_us.html

Specialist group of London insurers, a participant in the Lloyds insurance marketplace. Its energy division claims it insures over 30% of the world’s top 200 upstream and midstream oil and gas companies. Another of its specialisms is “political risk” insurance.

Chubb Ltd

The Chubb Building, 100 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3A 3BP

Source: https://www.chubb.com/uk-en/contact-us/locations.aspx

Chubb is a Swiss-headquartered global insurer which claims to be “the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer”, and a “leading supplier” to the energy industry. It provides cover to downstream/onshore and upstream/offshore fossil fuels companies.

Lockton

The St Botolph Building, 138 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7AG

Source: https://www.lockton.com/offices/uk

US insurance broker, one of the world’s biggest. It insures companies across the oil and gas supply chain. It claims to work with over 20 major midstream companies, in-process liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, and offshore Gulf of Mexico facilities.

Owners: still controlled by the founding Lockton family.

RFIB Group

12th Floor, 30 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8BF

Source: https://rfib.com/contact-us/

London-based specialist insurer. The energy division has offices in London, Bermuda, Dubai and Singapore. It claims to have “a portfolio of clients ranging from State owned energy companies through to independents” and “expert knowledge of exploration and development phases of oil and gas”.

Miller Insurance

70 Mark Lane , London, EC3R 7NQ

Source: https://www.miller-insurance.com/Contact/London

Miller works with companies in the upstream, midstream and downstream phases of fossil fuel production, in the renewable energy sector, and on major energy infrastructure construction projects.

QBE Insurance

Plantation Place, 30 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 3BD

Source: https://qbeeurope.com/contact-us/

QBE says it has been supporting companies in the oil and gas sector for more than 30 years, including many of the world’s largest international and national oil companies, drilling contractors and service companies.

2.4 Other finance sector institutions

2.4.1 Auditors: the Big 4 accountancy firms

Company law requires companies’ financial accounts to be audited, checked by accountants who are certified and regulated by official bodies. The UK Register of Auditors shows 5649 firms listed. But only four really matter.

The “Big Four” are: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC). In the UK, they audited the accounts of every single FTSE 100 company in 2019, and 227 of the FTSE 250 (the 250 next biggest UK listed companies). In the US, their dominance is not quite so complete: they audited just over 50% of the biggest 3000 companies in 2018. As well as being by far the biggest accountancy firms in the world, the Big 4 also branch out into a range of other “consultancy” services to the business world.

There is endless debate about the need to regulate the accountancy market “cartel”, without much happening. The auditors have an incentive to sign off accounts without asking any awkward questions, in order to win not just more auditing contracts but other lucrative consultancy work.

All the Big 4 firms have been the subject of multiple scandals, collusion allegations, fraud and money-laundering inquiries, etc., which sometimes lead to prosecutions and fines. These are far too numerous to list here: web search and you’ll find plenty.

Technically, the Big 4 are not in fact companies, but “professional services networks” involving multiple local partners. This further inoculates them from legal come-back by scattering liability amongst the partner firms.

Deloitte

Main office: 1-3 New Street Square, London, EC4A 3HQ

Also: Hill House, 1 Little New Street, London, EC4A 3TR;

Buckley Building, 49 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0EB;

Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/footerlinks/office-locator.html

KPMG

Main office: 15 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5GL

Source: https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/about/offices.html

PricewaterhouseCooper (PWC)

Main office: 1 Embankment Place, London, WC2N 6RH

Other office: 7 More London, Riverside, London, SE1 2RT

Source: https://www.pwc.co.uk/who-we-are/regional-sites/london/offices.html

Ernst & Young (EY)

Main office: 1 More Place, London, SE1 2AF

Also: 25 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5EY;

Tower Bridge Court, 226 Tower Bridge Road, London, SE1 2UP;

6 More London Place, London, SE1 2DA

154-164 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2DQ;

15 Adam Street, London, WC2N 6AH;

55-57 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3QA

Source: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/locations/united-kingdom

2.4.2 The Rating Agencies

As well as selling shares or borrowing from banks, big companies raise finance by issuing bonds. Bonds are basically “IOUs”, debts written on bits of paper (or nowadays, electronic data) which can be sold and traded between investors, paying interest to whoever holds them.

The interest rates that companies (or governments, or anyone else) have to pay depends on their credit ratings. The more a company is seen as high-risk (i.e., likely to go bust and not pay its debts), the higher interest it has to pay.

Who sets the credit ratings for companies, governments, and other major institutions? Worldwide, there are just three main “ratings agencies” whose ratings are followed by investors. These are Moodys, Standard & Poors, and Fitch.

As with the Big 4 accountants, there is ongoing debate about “cartelling” and collusion in the ratings industry. A fundamental flaw in the system is that the rating agencies are basically paid on commission by the same companies and banks they analyse. Calls for reform were particularly strong following the 2008 crash, when the three agencies were criticised for giving good ratings to the banks’ “securitised” sub-prime mortgage bonds (and others) that then blew up. Needless to say, nothing much has changed since then.

The rating agencies have real power to shape markets. For example, cutting a rating below “investment grade” automatically triggers sell-off by many big investment funds. For a country’s debt (“sovereign” bonds), this can trigger a national economic crisis. And for a big oil or coal infrastructure scheme that needs to raise debt finance, having a good rating could be almost as important as getting insurance in place.

The three main global rating agencies are all US-based. All have London offices, which are often the main bases for their analysts working on Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

S&P
The Mcgraw-Hill Building, 20 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5LH
Source: https://www.spglobal.com/en/contact-us/office-locations

Moodys

1Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5FA

Source: www.moodys.com/Pages/contactus.aspx

Owners: PLC. The biggest shareholder is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 13.07% (Warren Buffet’s investment fund), after that the usual big funds such as Vanguard, BlackRock, State St.

Fitch Ratings
30 North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5GN

Source: www.fitchratings.com/site/about/contact

Owners: Hearst Corporation.

2.4.3 Exchanges

Back in the day, financial exchanges were big rooms full of shouty men in bowler hats or braces waving bits of paper. Nowadays they are more likely to be computerised “virtual” marketplaces where artificial intelligence algorithms are pushing out the coke-heads.

Still, for now most of the big exchanges do have physical locations, and many of these are still in the City. The London, Stock Exchange (LSE) is the best known, trading shares in UK publicly listed companies (PLCs). But London is also home to other specialist exchanges, including some of the world’s biggest marketplaces for trading “commodities” such as oil and metals, as well as the new world of carbon emissions trading.

London Stock Exchange (LSE)

10 Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7LS

Source: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/global/contact-us/contact-us.html

London Metal Exchange (LME)

10 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1AJ

Source: https://www.lme.com/en-GB/About/Contact-us/Offices

The LME is the world’s largest market for trading futures and options contracts concerning base and other metals, including non-ferrous, steel, cobalt and precious metals. The LME’s “responsible sourcing rules” do not require companies to take into account environmental and climate risks in their supply chains.

ICE Futures Europe

5th Floor, Milton Gate, 60 Chiswell Street, London, EC1Y 4SA

Source: https://www.intercontinentalexchange.com/about/offices

The main European exchange for trading futures, option, and other standard derivatives contracts. Products traded here include commodities and energy derivatives, such as futures and options contracts on oil, gas, coal, and “soft” agricultural commodities. ICE Futures Europe says it is “home to 50% of the world’s crude and refined oil futures trading”. It is also now the “world’s leading market for emissions trading”. It trades futures contracts for EU carbon allowances and Kyoto protocol “certified emissions reductions” (CERs). (The previous European Climate Exchange (ECX) was bought out by ICE and merged into the main exchange.)

Owners: formerly LIFFE (London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange), it is now the European part of the international derivatives market owned by Intercontinental Exchanges (ICE), based in the US.

London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)

1-2 Royal Exchange Buildings, Royal Exchange, London, EC3V 3LF.

Source: http://www.lbma.org.uk/contact

Members of the LBMA, mostly international banks and bullion dealers and refiners, trade futures contracts on precious metals in over-the-counter (rather than exchange) deals.

London Clearing House (LCH)

Aldgate House, Aldgate High Street, London, EC3N 1EA, UK

Source: https://www.lch.com/contact-us

A key back office part of the financial markets infrastructure, a clearing house organises the actual payment and exchange of securities after deals are made on the various exchanges, as well as for more bespoke “over the counter” (OTC) deals. LCH is one of the biggest in the global markets.

CTX (Carbon Trade Exchange)

2nd Floor, Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, W1J 6BD

Source: https://ctxglobal.com/

UK and Australia based company which runs an electronic exchange for trading voluntary carbon offset credits.

2.5 Law firms

Capitalism can’t function without lawyers to draw up contracts, defend property rights – and give “rule of law” cover to the repression of those who challenge it. Brutal earth-wrecking corporations, in particular, have well-paid lawyers on call to justify their land grabs and defend them when “accidents” or human rights violations come to light. The firms in this list are just a few of the most notorious specialists in this area of corporate law.

Note: law firms are generally limited partnerships owned by the senior lawyers who work for them.

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher

Telephone House, 2-4 Temple Avenue, London, EC4Y 0HB

Source: https://www.gibsondunn.com/office/london/

Multinational US firm that prides itself on its work with the oil and gas industries. Its ‘environmental tort’ department specialises in defending companies against mass action claims for breaches of environmental laws. On its website, Gibson Dunn boasts a long list of examples, including representing a major food company: “in a series of toxic tort lawsuits involving thousands of Latin American workers claiming personal injuries from exposure to a chemical used on banana farms“. Another of its “success” stories is helping Chevron overturn a ruling in favour of 48 Ecuadorean plaintiffs who had sued the company over pollution from the Lago Agrio oil field.

Dentons

1 Fleet Place, London, EC4M 7RA
Source: www.dentons.com/en/global-presence/united-kingdom/london

Described as the largest law firm in the world thanks to the 10,000 lawyers it employs globally. Dentons advised on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, which were eventually scrapped after intense opposition by indigenous people in Turtle Island (Canada). Dentons also defends corporations against class action suits, including those of an “aboriginal“ and “environmental“ nature. Indeed, the company has its very own specialist (anti) aboriginal law department. Clients include BASF, the government of India, and Centrica.

Latham & Watkins

99 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3XF
Source: https://www.lw.com/offices/london

US law firm whose clients include Shell, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron. Its record includes representing Shell in two sets of group actions brought by thousands of residents of the Bille and Ogale communities for extensive oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

Baker Botts (UK) LLP

41 Lothbury, London, EC2R 7HF

Source: https://www.bakerbotts.com/offices/london

Major US firm with a UK branch. Prides itself in its work with the energy sector, including oil & gas, hydro power, LNG and unconventional fossil fuels. Clients includeBP, Gazprom, Petrogas and Qatar Petroleum.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

65 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1HT

Source: https://www.freshfields.com/en-gb/contacts/contact-us/europe/london-office/

Multinational corporate law firm headquartered in London. Established in 1743, Freshfields is the world’s oldest international law firm. It advises multinationals, including oil and gas firms, dealing with litigation on environmental and human rights grounds. Although it likes to keep details of the clients in specific cases a secret, other sources reveal that the company has successfully defended Europe’s biggest CO2 emitter, RWE, against a claim by a Peruvian mountain guide for the company’s contribution to the effects of climate change on his community.

White & Case LLP

5 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1DW

Source: www.whitecase.com/locations/emea/london

US corporate law firm with offices in London. Clients include Energean, Saudi Aramco, Eni and Total.

Allen & Overy

One Bishops Square, London, E1 6AD

Source: www.allenovery.com/en-gb/global/global_coverage/europe/united-kingdom

Major international corporate law firm whose clients include oil and gas companies. Worked on the Trans Adriatic gas Pipeline (‘TAP’) and the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan & India gas pipeline (TAPI).

Linklaters

1 Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8HQ

Source: https://www.linklaters.com/en/locations/united-kingdom

Multinational corporate law firm. Clients include ExxonMobil, Eni, BP, Total, Gazprom, and Rosneft. Has advised Rosneft on oil concessions in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Pinsent Masons

30 Crown Place, Earl Street, London, EC2A 4ES

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com/locations/europe/united-kingdom/london?pageNumber=1

Major international law firm specialising in work with the energy sector, among others. Has reportedly offered its services to companies seeking anti-fracking protest injunctions. Clients include BP, Shell and Total.

Norton Rose Fulbright

3 More London, Riverside, London, SE1 2AQ

Source: www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-gb/locations/london

Another huge international law firm, with a specialism in defending multinationals against so-called “toxic tort” cases. These include “mass disaster and catastrophic events”, such as class action lawsuits by communities affected by groundwater contamination, and workers subjected to chemical exposure. Clients include BP, Exxon Mobil and Shell.

Clifford Chance

10 Upper Bank Street, London, E14 5JJ

Source: https://www.cliffordchance.com/people_and_places/offices/london.html

Another corporate law firm, whose long list of clients include Shell, Total, Engie, Equinor, Kuwait National Petroleum, Soco International, Sinopec, SOCAR, Trans Adriatic Pipeline, Offshore Drilling Holding S.A., Nord Stream and Chrysaor.

Slaughter and May

1 Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8YY

Source: https://www.slaughterandmay.com/where-we-work/offices/london//#officelocation

Major corporate law firm which has worked extensively with oil, gas and mining companies. Clients include INEOS, Shell, Repsol and Premier Oil.

2.6 Military and security

The military industrial complex is one of the most polluting industries on earth. The U.S. Department of Defense is responsible for more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined. It has littered its former war zones with toxic cocktails of depleted uranium, oil, jet fuel, pesticides, defoliants like Agent Orange, lead, and other contaminants. War itself is also a major CO2 emitter: in 2005, the UK military was responsible for approximately 5 million tonnes of CO2, which was then roughly equivalent to the total emissions of Senegal. In the same year, the estimate for the US military was 60 million tonnes.

But aside from its own direct earth-wrecking, the military plays a further central role in planetary capitalist devastation. It is the enforcement arm of the system, called out to use terror and lethal force wherever profits need defending from people resisting the corporations. And wherever there are new markets to be “opened” through colonisation and regime change.

Still drawing on its imperial history, London is one of the main global centres of the war industry. It is home to some of the world’s largest arms manufacturers and dealers. And it is a key hub for mercenary contractors – the Private Military and Security Companies, or PMSCs – which often have close ties to the British armed forces and the local officer class.

For arms companies see: Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) list

Unsurprisingly the mercenary industry is pretty secretive. Here we just name a few better-known examples of bigger and more public-facing companies. Here are some recent reports on the UK industry with more information:

War on Want: Mercenaries Unleashed (2016)

Action on Armed Violence: Britain’s private military and security industry examined (December 2018)

2.6.1. Arms manufacturers

BAE Systems

4th Floor, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0TA

Source: https://www.baesystems.com/en/cybersecurity/careers/our-locations/uk-and-europe/london

The world’s fourth largest arms company. Combat aircraft, warships, tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, missiles, small arms ammunition, cyber & intelligence, and nuclear missile submarines. 14% of BAE’s total sales are to Saudi Arabia, 42% to the US.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

Owners: PLC. Owned by major investment funds.

Boeing

Boeing Defence UK: 25 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EX

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/01290439

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

The second largest arms company in the world. Produces the Apache attack helicopter, which has been used in military operations in countries including Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

Owners: US PLC.

Northrop Grumman

Clareville House, Oxendon Street, London, SW1Y 4EL

Source: https://www.northropgrumman.com/careers/job-search-united-kingdom/

The fifth-largest arms company in the world. Northrop Grumman manufactures combat aircraft such as the ground-attack A-10 and the B-2 Spirit “stealth” bomber. It also produces a wide range of military drones.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

Owners: US PLC.

Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica)

8-10 Great George St, London, SW1P 3AE

Source: https://www.uk.leonardocompany.com/en/contact-us

Products include military helicopters, fighter aircraft, drones, missiles, radar and targetting systems, naval guns, artillery and armoured combat vehicles.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

Owners: Italian PLC, listed on Milan stock exchange.

Rolls Royce

Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9FX

Source: https://www.rolls-royce.com/contact-us/rolls-royce-headquarters.aspx

Produces military aircraft engines, naval engines and cores for nuclear submarines.

See also: CAAT page.

Owners: UK listed PLC.

Airbus Group (EADS)

Airbus Defence and Space UK: Floor 2, Wellington House, 125-30 Strand, London, WC2R 0AP

Source: https://www.airbus.com/contact-us.html

2nd largest arms company in Europe. Its products include fighter jets, artillery systems, missiles (via MBDA) and helicopters.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

Owners: Paris listed PLC.

Thales

Quadrant House, 4 Thomas More Square, Thomas More Street, London, E1W 1YW

Source: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/countries/europe/united-kingdom/about-thales-uk/our-uk-locations

Military products comprise 49% of its 2012 sales. Its arms sectors can be summarised as electronics, military vehicles, missiles, and small arms/ammunition.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

Owners: Paris listed PLC.

General Dynamics

21 Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2DY

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/01911653

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Sixth-largest arms company in the world, with four main divisions: aerospace, combat systems, IS&T (information systems and technology) and marine systems.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

Owners: US listed PLC.

L3 Technologies

23 King Street, London, SW1Y 6QY

Source: https://www.l3t.com/locations

World’s 10th largest arms producer, with 84% of its activity being in the military sector.

See also: Campaign Against Arms Trade page.

2.6.2 PSMCs (Mercenaries and security firms)

“The 2003 Iraq War saw the most significant use of PMSCs to date. While exact figures are difficult to come by, it is said that during the 1991 Gulf War the ratio of troops to contractors was approximately ten to one, in 2007 during the Iraq War, the ratio was roughly one to one …”

G4S

5th Floor, Southside, 105 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QT
Source: www.g4s.com/en-gb/site-tools/contact-us

(NB: G4S shares this building with offices of the NHS. Its head office is near Crawley.)

The second largest private security company in the world, G4S does everything from transporting cash to running private prisons. Just one part of the business is running mercenaries in war-torn countries, particularly in the Middle East and East Africa. The British government has employed G4S mercenaries in Afghanistan and Yemen, and G4S operates a subsidiary in Sudan. Oil and mining companies are other regular clients. According to War on Want: “G4S, whose clients include Royal Dutch Shell and AngloGold Ashanti, is known to be targeting the natural resources sector.”

See also: 2018 Corporate Watch company profile.

Aegis

2 London Bridge, London, SE1 9RA

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04541965

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Aegis Defence Services is a mercenary firm involved with the NGO, aerospace, and government and diplomatic sectors, as well as the oil, gas and mining industries. According to War on Want (from 2016): “Aegis Defence Services boasts that the company’s ‘largest area of business is Iraq’, and that it ‘has been operating in support of the oil and gas sector for over two years’”. Some scandals include footage emerging of soldiers apparently firing at civilians in Iraq, and the use of former child soldiers from Sierra Leone.

Control Risks

Cottons Centre, Cottons Lane, London, SE1 2QG

Source: https://www.controlrisks.com/contact-us/office-search/london

Control Risks describes itself as an “international professional services and consulting firm” – others have described it as a mercenary outfit. It has worked securing company oil assets in Iraq, and has also played an active role in Libya.

Corps Security

Market House, 85 Cowcross St, London, EC1M 6PF

Source: https://www.corpssecurity.co.uk/contact/office-locations/

Formerly known as the Corps of Commissionaires, Corps Security is a British security company that officially reports to Queen Elizabeth II, with a team of about 3,000 security personnel and a dozen offices throughout the U.K. It specialises in “corporate security” – including event protection, electronic surveillance, and consulting.

Serco

4th Floor, 100 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5JL

Source: https://www.serco.com/about/office-locations

Serco is a UK-based outsourcing firm that does basically anything governments want to outsource, from locking up migrants to cleaning offices. Security is one of the most lucrative parts of the business. According to the defence section of its website, “We currently service 70+ military contracts with the Military of Defence (MoD).We operate in Maritime, Aviation, Space &Security and Nuclear & Complex Infrastructure.”

See also: Corporate Watch 2018 profile

Mitie

The Shard, Level 12, 32 London Bridge Street, Southwark, London, SE1 9SG

Cottons Centre, Cottons Lane, London, SE1 2QG

Source: https://www.mitie.com/contact-us/ ; https://www.mitie.com/locations/

Mitie is another general government outsourcer, with security one particularly profitable strand of its business. It is the UK’s biggest profiteer from running immigration detention centres, and the country’s second biggest security company after G4S, with a leading place in providing security guards to aviation and transport companies.

See also: Corporate Watch profile 2018.

Hakluyt

34 Upper Brook Street, London, W1K 7QS

Source: https://www.hakluytandco.com/

Private intelligence company known for hiring ex-MI6 spooks. Said to be highly discrete, but hit headlines back in 2001 when an undercover agent was exposed who had “penetrated environmental groups targeting Shell and BP”. Partners include the former boss of GCHQ, and it has an “international advisory board” of big names from business and politics, chaired by a former CEO of Unilever.

2.7 Government

One line of political propaganda presents state and markets as antagonists: corporations and speculators are tearing up the world in their rampant greed, and only strong government can hold them back. (Or, in the right-wing mirror version, government holds back the great progressive force of the free market.)

In fact, the state is ecocidal capitalism’s intimate partner. Government plays a number of roles that are all essential to the machine. Here are some, with a few examples of UK government units:

• Military: sending in gunboats or mercenaries to “open” new markets for corporations and investors (Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces, Foreign Office, Intelligence Services).

• Law-enforcement: maintaining a stable property system where companies’ ownership rights are respected (Police, judiciary, security services).
• Financial: funding infrastructure that isn’t profitable enough for the private sector, bailing out banks and companies when they screw up, etc. (Treasury, Bank of England, other departments through public spending and procurement).
• Deal-making: negotiating and acting as a representative for businesses to foreign states, etc. (Foreign Office, Department of International Trade, Department for International Development, ..)
• Regulatory: providing rules and supervision for markets, adjudicating disputes between companies, etc. (Treasury, Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority, Department for Business, ..)
• Ideological: providing a national education system and other measures to ensure citizens learn how to be good worker-consumers (Department of Education, Department of Culture, ..).

See: our book on Capitalism for more on all this.

There are numerous government locations in central London. We haven’t included them on the map because they are already well known, and easy to find.

Wikipedia list of central government departments with addresses

Metropolitan Police stations and City of London Police stations

3. Ideology industry

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.” Ursula Le Guin

The people killing the earth are the powerful: political and business leaders armed with the economic might of trillion dollar investment funds and the lethal force of police and armies.

But they can’t do it without widespread consent. They need the active participation of millions of accomplices: managers, bureaucrats, engineers, mercenaries, cops, and many others, who run the earth-wrecking machine and crush resistance. And they need at least passive acceptance from billions more of us: whether we also dream of getting a piece of the action, or we just can’t see any way out.

But capitalism isn’t natural or inevitable. It’s just a peculiarly destructive social system made by some human beings over the last few hundred years. To keep going it needs to keep us believing, to continually “manufacture” our consent.

The ideology industry is what we’re calling the organisations and networks dedicated to this. Their job is both creative and critical. On the one hand: keep pumping us with beliefs, values and desires that fuel the consumption and growth machine. On the other: undermine any alternative visions.

The ideology they weave goes very deep, with multiple layers. Some key ones:

• Domination: core beliefs separating humans from “nature” and asserting our power over the natural world – and, hand in hand, the separation and domination of some humans over others. This ideological strand goes back maybe some 5,000 years to the origins of “civilisation” and the first states.
• Capitalism: humans are “economic agents” driven by greed or self-interest; private property and markets are natural and sacred; happiness is consumer goods and financial status; economic growth is the number one political imperative. These ideas have been fighting their way to power over a few hundred years.
• Green capitalism: now the ecological devastation caused by capitalism becomes obvious, the ideology industry needs to go into overdrive spinning new stories. It’s not enough just to keep pushing consumer products and the growth fantasy. They also need to reassure us the status quo can solve ecological crises with technofixes and transition fuels – just keep calm and carry on.

The ideology industry feeds us these ideas again and again. Some of its main channels are:

• Education system: even in infant school we can start learning about government authority, private property, business success. Higher education trains the machine’s managers, and the teachers who pass on its values to the next generation.
• Media and culture industries: TV, movies, drivetime radio, newspapers, social media pump out a million more variants on the same messages, repackaged and repeated with the latest issues, consumer trends or celebrity gossip.
• Politics: parliamentary politics is a theatre where our “leaders” identify and bicker over the issues of the day – Brexit, Megxit, immigrant hordes … so long as it isn’t capitalism killing the planet. Politicians and media work together in a symbiotic clinch, feeding each other stories and attention.

The companies and investors listed in Parts 1 and 2 influence us through all of these channels. They feed them with ideas and stories they want to promote. They also influence what ideas and stories get trashed, buried, or just ignored.

• Business feeds the education system with sponsorships and endowments, employment partnerships, academy chains, etc.
• Business feeds media and culture industries with advertising, investment, press releases and “off the record” sources, targeted PR operations.
• Business feeds the politicians with lobbying and donations, and by setting up think tanks that develop ideas and agendas.
• Business also feeds all of these through more informal social networking. Company bosses, financiers, politicians, media moguls, movie producers, editors and commentators, top academics or think tank pundits, etc., all mingle together at conferences, board meetings, dinners, charity events, villa holidays, members’ clubs, old school reunions, and so on.

The organisations identified in the next sections are just some of the most visible players in this web. We start with two of the main channels used to spread ideology: London-based (higher) education institutions; and the more powerful or more right wing media organisations. Then we look at some organisations that help companies influence these: PR firms, lobby groups, and think tanks, as well as more specialist greenwashing initiatives.

3.1 Universities

London’s university quarter sits at the centre of the map, midway between the financial hub of the City and the seat of government in Whitehall. From the start the University of London has been a key player in the development of modern capitalism and its ideology. Its first institution, University College, was set up in the 1820s with the support of London businessmen and an agenda of promoting the liberal and free market ideas of the new capitalist ruling class – as against the aristocratic old regime represented by Oxford and Cambridge.

Throughout this history, London University has been financed and directed by local and global capital. Businesses shape its development through grants and partnerships, or by sponsoring specific chairs, scholarships, and whole research units focusing on their subjects of interest. Specialist units promoting greenwashing and green capitalism are just one new twist on this.

Imperial College

Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ

Source: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/visit/campuses/south-kensington/

Imperial College is London’s prestige university institution specialising in science and engineering. Imperial is making some serious contributions to greenwashing including dedicated research units promoting “Clean fossil and bioenergy” and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies. The latter works closely with the oil industry and the Global CCS Institute thinktank, which is linked to direct from Imperial’s website.

UCL (University College London)

Main address: Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT

ISR, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment: 22 Gordon St, Bloomsbury, London WC1H 0QB

UCL campus map: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/maps

The UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, funded by major earth killers including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Tata Steel, HSBC and KPMG is a major source of greenwashing. BHP Billiton’s contribution of at least $5 million caused particular controversy.

LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science)

LSE main address: Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE

GRI: Floor 11, Pethick-Lawrence House (Formerly Tower 3), Clement’s Inn, London WC2A 2AZ

Campus map: https://www.lse.ac.uk/lse-information/Campus-Map

Its main green capitalism initiative is the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, which works on areas such as carbon pricing, transition economics and “green Growth”. Sponsors include dam-builder Statkraft. (This is the twin of the science-focused Grantham Institute at Imperial College; both are funded by investment fund manager Jeremy Grantham). LSE’s other corporate “global partners” are major banks, investment funds, and Big 4 accountancy firms.

Kings College

Main address: Strand, London WC2R 2LS

Source: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/

Its Thomas Young Centre – an alliance with UCL, Imperial and Queen Mary’s Colleges – is an engineering research centre working on computer simulations in collaboration with companies including BP and Rio Tinto. The £6 million Rio Tinto partnership studies rock fragmentation techniques to develop “the mine of the future”.

SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies)

Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square London WC1H 0XG

Source: https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/contacts/

Houses the Brunei Art Gallery, endowed by the Sultan of Brunei, one of the planet’s biggest oil profiteers.

3.2 Media

3.2.1 Social media platforms

Google

1-13 St Giles High St, London, WC2H 8AG

6 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG

Belgrave House, 76 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9TQ

Source: https://about.google/intl/en-GB/locations/?region=europe

(NB: due to relocate to new Kings Cross “lowscraper” campus in next few years.)

They know everything about you and soon they will own the world.

Facebook

1 Rathbone Square, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 1FB

https://www.facebook.com/facebooklondon/

Data-harvesting giants.

3.2.2 TV and radio

BBC

Broadcasting House: Portland Place, London W1A 1AA

The official broadcaster of the UK mainstream. BBC bosses have said they will no longer give climate change deniers the prominence they once did, but the corporation continues to uncritically report the activities and impact of the companies on this map through much of its news coverage.

ITV

2 Waterhouse Square, 138 – 142 Holborn, London EC1N 2AE

Source: https://www.itvstudios.com/contact

Free to view TV network. One of the very few major UK media companies that is owned by a publicly traded company, ITV PLC.

Sky Media

10th Floor Nova South, 160 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5LB

Source: www.skymedia.co.uk/contact/

The UK’s largest pay TV broadcaster. Owned by Comcast, mega US TV corporation, which is largely owned by the Roberts Family.

3.2.3 Newspapers (and news websites)

News UK

1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

Source: www.news.co.uk/contact-us/

The “baby shard” building next to London Bridge station houses the UK division of Rupert Murdoch’s global News Corp media empire, including the offices of The Sun and The Times. Murdoch’s Fox Corporation TV network are notorious climate change deniers.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT)

Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT

Source: https://www.dmgt.com/about-us/locations-and-contacts

HQ of the Daily Mail and Metro papers and their online outlets. The Metro, a free tabloid, is now regarded as the UK’s most widely read paper. The parent company DMGT is listed on the London Stock Exchange, but a majority stake is retained by hereditary owner and chairman Lord Rothermere. The Mail particularly gives space to the rants and fantasies of climate change deniers.

Daily Express

One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/about-us/amp#contact-us

Right wing migrant-bashing and climate change-denying rag. Trinity Mirror group bought the Express from longtine owner Richard Desmond in 2018, without changing the paper’s winning formula.

Evening Standard

ESI Media: 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT

Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/service/contact-evening-standard-7185764.html

London free newspaper edited by former chancellor George Osborne. It is majority owned by Russian oligarch’s son and socialite Evgeny Lebedev, whose family made their fortune from investments and natural gas, among other things. A minority share is owned by DMGT (see above), and it has offices in the Daily Mail building.

The Telegraph

111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT
Source: corporate.telegraph.co.uk/contact-us/

The Torygraph. Owned by the Barclay Brothers. Has been regularly criticised for featuring climate deniers in its pages.

The Spectator

22 Old Queen St, Westminster, London SW1H 9HP
Source: www.spectator.co.uk/about/

Conservative mag once edited by Boris Johnson. Another publication owned by the Barclay Brothers, who also own the Telegraph. Has been accused of providing “a ready platform for proponents of climate change denial”.

3.3 Trade associations and Lobby groups

Free market capitalist ideology often stresses competition. But capitalism also relies on companies working together to defend their common interests. The companies in our map have created numerous alliances and associations to do this. One main role of these trade associations is coordinating messaging and PR campaigns across the industry. Another is acting as industry representatives to lobby politicians.

GENERAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS

Confederation of British Industry

Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6HN
Source: www.cbi.org.uk/help/contact-us/

The biggest lobbyists for business in Britain, calling itself “the voice for business”. The CBI has 190,000 company members and employs “100+ economic and policy specialists, the largest policy unit outside Whitehall”. It also organises hundreds of networking events across the country each year.

Institute of Directors

116 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5ED
Source: www.iod.com/about/contact-us

A 30,000+ membership organisation for company bosses established in 1903. The IoD provides training and advice to its members, and organises networking opportunities. It has published reports sponsored by Cuadrilla.

TheCityUk

Fitzwilliam House, 10 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8BF
Source: www.thecityuk.com/contact/

Campaigning body for London (and other UK) banks and investment funds – “Britain’s most powerful financial lobby group”. Its chair is also chairman of HSBC. Seeks to influence policy at national and international levels. Also holds many networking events.

ENERGY SECTOR

Energy UK

1st Floor, 26 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1DS

Source: https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/contact-us.html

A trade association for over 100 suppliers, generators and “stakeholders” across the UK energy industry. Members include Drax, RWE, Shell and many other companies on our map.

Energy Institute

61 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 7AR

Source: https://www.energyinst.org/contact

Formed by the merger of the Institute of Petroleum and Institute of Energy in 2003, the Energy Institute is a membership association for around 20,000 engineers and other professionals representing 200 companies working in the fossil fuel and renewable energy industries.

Energy Networks Association

4 More London, Riverside, London, SE1 2AU

Source: http://www.energynetworks.org/info/find-us/contact-us.html

Formed in 2003, the Energy Networks Association represents the UK and Ireland’s transmission and distribution network operators in gas and electricity. Its members include the National Grid and Scottish Power.

AGRICULTURE

National Farmers’ Union (NFU)

18 Smith Square, Westminster, London, SW1P 3HZ

Source: https://www.nfuonline.com/about-us/our-offices/external-affairs-westminster/

British Meat Processors Association

17 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0DP

Source: https://britishmeatindustry.org/about/contact-us/

CHEMICAL

Chemical Industries Association (CIA)

Kings Buildings, Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JJ

Source: https://www.cia.org.uk/

The CIA represents UK chemicals and pharmaceutical companies at a national and international level, including manufacturers and importers/exporters.

NUCLEAR

Nuclear Industry Association

5^th Floor, Tower House, 10 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA

Source: https://www.niauk.org/contact/

The NIA is the trade association for the UK’s civil nuclear industry, representing over 260 companies across the supply chain. The chief executive, Tom Greatrex, is an advocate for expanding the UK nuclear industry through a new and cheaper investment mechanism.

World Nuclear Association (WNA)

Tower House, 10 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA

Source: https://www.world-nuclear.org/

Based in the same building as the UK’s Nuclear Industry Association, the WNA is an international organisation, with over 170 members, promoting nuclear power and the companies that provide it.

FOSSIL FUEL

The Geological Society

Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BG
Source: www.geolsoc.org.uk/about

Huge membership organisation of geologists, and promoters of fossil fuels. Specialist divisions such as the Petroleum Group, Mineral Deposits Studies Group, and Engineering Group help unsustainable development go ahead with the rubber stamp of a respected body of scientists.

Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain

3rd Floor, Welby House, 96 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1DW
Source: www.pesgb.org.uk/contact/

Membership organisation for scientists working in the oil and gas industry. The organisation convenes networking opportunities and lectures.

UK Petroleum Industry Association Limited (UKPIA)

37-39 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6AA

Source: https://www.ukpia.com/site-tools/contact-us/

The UKPIA represents and advises the UK downstream oil sector: the eight oil refining and marketing companies that operate the six major oil refineries in the UK. These include fossil fuel giants BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Total.

Oil and Gas UK (OGUK)

6th Floor East, Portland House, Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5BH

Source: https://oilandgasuk.co.uk/about-us/contactus

While the UKPIA represents the UK downstream oil sector, OGUK represents the offshore (or upstream) oil and gas industry. Its membership comprises around 400 organisations, from fossil fuel giants like Shell and BP to auditors such as Deloitte, and other companies supporting the fossil fuel economy.

Society of International Gas Tankers and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO)

42 New Broad Street, London, EC2M 1JD

Source: https://www.sigtto.org/contact/

Has over 170 members representing the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. Along with shipping and logistics companies, its members include fossil fuel giants BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Total.

World Coal Association (WCA)

5th Floor Heddon House, 149-151 Regent Street, London, W1B 4JD

Source: https://www.ctc-n.org/network/network-members/world-coal-association (not available on WCA website)

Lobbying and membership association for the global coal industry. Purports to address environmental concerns by advocating for “high efficiency, low emission” (HELE) coal and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Its members include Glencore and other mining giants.

MINING

International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM)

35/38 Portman Square, London, W1H 6LR

Source: https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/footer/contact-us

The ICMM supports extractivist capitalism and pays lip service to environmental concerns. It has a membership of 27 international mining and minerals giants, including BHP, Glencore, Lonmin, RioTinto and others high up on our map.

RENEWABLE, ALTERNATIVE AND TECHNOFIX

Renewable Energy Association (REA)

80 Strand, London, WC2R 0DT

Source: https://www.r-e-a.net/about-us/contact-us/

Represents companies across the renewable energy industry including the biogas, biomass and hydropower industries – and massive carbon emitters such as Drax and RWE. Its members directory has useful information on the different companies active in the sector.

|

Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA)

Sustainable Bankside II, 25 Lavington Street, London, SE1 ONZ

Source: http://adbioresources.org/contact

The ADBA was established in 2009 to lobby for the removal of barriers to the anaerobic digestion and biogas industry in the UK, and soon widened its remit to include all emergent biofuels. It has over 400 members from across the industry.

Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA)

6th Floor, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0DX

Source: http://www.ccsassociation.org/about-us/contact-us/

Promotes the use of techno-fix Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies. Its members include BP, Shell, Total, Wood and other companies on our map.

Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Institute

Evergreen House North, Grafton Place, London, NW1 2DX

Source: https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/contact/

The Global CCS Institute describes itself as the world’s leading international thinktank whose aim is to promote techno-fix Carbon Capture and Storage (CCUS). Members including BP, BHP, Exxon Mobil, Shell and other massive emitters.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE TRADING

Climate Markets and Investment Association (CMIA)

100 New Bridge Street, London, EC4V 6JA

Source: https://www.cmia.net/contact/

The CMIA’s mission is to shift private and public investment towards markets that meet the long-term, gradualist objectives of the Paris Agreement, inadequate to tackling climate change. It has Active Private Sector Observer (APSO) status over some of the largest and most influential global climate funds, usually funded by governments to finance “climate mitigation and adaptation activities” in emerging markets.

London Energy Brokers’ Association (LEBA)

Warnford Court, 29 Throgmorton Street, London, EC2N 2AT

Source: https://www.leba.org.uk/contact/

LEBA represents broking firms active in the energy industry, and provides support to the industry generally in the areas of regulation and legislation.

3.5 Think tanks

“Think tanks” or “policy institutes” are idea incubators – organisations set up to develop and promote ideas and policies in the service of a particular agenda. They tend to work more behind the scenes: seeking to influence politicians and get stories in the news, but without becoming the story themselves. They promote world views from social democracy to far-right crankery – but given that most are funded by corporations and rich investors, the majority are pushing versions of environmentally-destructive free market capitalism.

Though there are prominent examples going back to the 19^th century and before, the big think tank boom started from the 1950s, spreading from the US. Joe Overton, an employee of one right-wing US think tank in the 1990s, came up with a classic model of their work. The point is that politicians rarely set the agenda themselves – they just choose policies which they think will win votes, within a range of options acceptable to mainstream public opinion. It is the think tanks’ job to shift this “Overton window” of what is politically acceptable, so setting the stage on which politics takes place.

Chatham House (aka Royal Institute of International Affairs)

10 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4LE

Source: https://www.chathamhouse.org/about/contact

Venerable British institution dating back to 1920. Calls itself “independent”, meaning the middle ground of the establishment elite – two of its three presidents are former Conservative PM John Major, and former Labour treasurer Alastair Darling. Famous for off-the-record briefings held under unattributable “Chatham House Rules”. Hosts more than 300 events a year. Promotes green capitalism and business-led “transition” through its Energy, Environment and Resources research programme, including events starring earth-wrecking company bosses and greenwashing academics. Some of its biggest funding comes from oil majors: Chevron and Shell each gave over £250,000 last year; and ExxonMobil, BP, Glencore over £100,000 apiece.

Institute of Economic Affairs

2 Lord North Street (entrance on Great Peter Street), London, SW1P 3LB
Source: iea.org.uk/contact-us/

A highly influential, hardcore free market think tank that has spent decades attempting to undermine consensus on climate change. One of a number of think tanks set up by Anthony Fisher, Old Etonian battery chicken farm millionaire and right-wing think tank impressario par excellence. Receives funding from corporations including BP.

Adam Smith Institute

23 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3DJ
Source: www.adamsmith.org/

Another major neoliberal (self-proclaimed) think tank co-founded by Anthony Fisher. Its policy proposals have been taken up by governments since Thatcher. It has also railed against renewables and greenbelts. Reveals very little about its funding.

Centre for Policy Studies

57 Tufton Street, London, SW1P 3QL
Source: www.cps.org.uk/about/contact-us/

Pro-free market, Tory-supporting think tank co-founded by Margaret Thatcher. Climate change sceptics and vocal advocates of fracking.

Global Warming Policy Foundation

55 Tufton Street, London, SW1P 3QL
Source: www.thegwpf.org/contact-2/

Climate change denial lobby group founded by former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson. The GWPF actively fights against efforts to mitigate climate change, as well as advocating for the fracking industry, pushing back against recycling, and claiming that ‘polar bears are thriving’. One of the GWPF’s leading advisers was exposed in an undercover sting for offering to write an academic paper casting doubt on climate change on behalf of an oil company, and promoting C02 as a ‘benefit, not a pollutant’.

NB: one of a number of right-wing thinktanks which share the same building owned by defence industry businessman Richard Smith. See report on 55 Tufton Street by DesmogUK.

European Foundation

55 Tufton Street, London, SW1P 3QL
europeanfoundation.org/about/

Eurosceptics and climate change deniers, strongly oppose action against climate change and consider it a ‘bandwagon’. Now appears to be primarily the mouthpiece of its founder (Sir) Bill Cash, Tory MP for Stone.

NB: one of a number of right-wing thinktanks which share the same building owned by defence industry businessman Richard Smith. See report on 55 Tufton Street by DesmogUK.

Civitas

First Floor, 55 Tufton Street, London, SW1P 3QL
Source: www.civitas.org.uk/contact-us/

Centre-right, pro-business think tank that has promoted nuclear, coal and fracking. Civitas also produce educational materials, including fact sheets on ‘family and marriage’ aimed at PSHE lessons, which it claims are used in hundreds of UK secondary schools. The organisation also runs supplementary schools for young children. Director David Green built his career at the IEA before moving to Civitas. Civitas has received funding from Murdoch’s News International group.

NB: one of a number of right-wing thinktanks which share the same building owned by defence industry businessman Richard Smith. See report on 55 Tufton Street by DesmogUK.

Policy Exchange

8-10 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AE
Source: policyexchange.org.uk/contact-us/

Influential conservative think tank whose ideas have been implemented by successive governments. Advocate market ‘solutions’ and technofixes to climate change, including nuclear.

Initiative for Free Trade

10 Buckingham Street, London, WC2N 6DF

Source: www.ifreetrade.org/contact

Trade-focused think tank founded by Tory MEP Daniel Hannan. True believers in trickle down theory. They claim to have “extensive networks within governments” and aim to “reach out to businesses and interest groups around the world, particularly in developing countries.”
Various former heads of state sit on the advisory board. Collaborates with right-wing US think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute, funded by arch-climate change deniers the Koch brothers.

Spiked Magazine

Wework Aldgate Tower, 2 Leman Street, London, E1 8FA

Source: https://www.spiked-online.com/

Climate change deniers & Greta Thunberg trolls. Once “Living Marxism”, before moving with the zeitgeist to dump trotskyism and become plain pro-establishment provocateurs. Have received significant sums of cash from alt-right-backing billionaires the Koch brothers.

3.5 PR firms

PR firms are trained experts in shaping our ideas and desires. Edward Bernays, the “father of public relations” who helped invent many of today’s PR techniques, frankly described his work as: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses”. Companies, governments, and trade associations hire Bernays’ successors for specialist advice on how to push their agendas and sales. And they bring them in for emergency help to trash or bury negative stories.

See also: Spinwatch, following the UK lobbying and PR worlds since 2005.

Edelman UK

Southside, 105 Victoria St, London, SW1E 6QT

Source: https://www.edelman.co.uk/contact

UK branch of the most profitable PR company in the world. Big promoters of fracking, Edelman has also worked with TransCanada on the Keystone XL pipeline and organisations resisting action on climate change. It was at the centre of controversy in 2014-15 arising from this business line, and lost executives and significant clients as a result. In 2015, Edelman said it was abandoning all work for coal companies, climate change denial lobbyists and front groups. But it still does plenty for oil companies. Other clients include the European Gas Forum, Shell and Unilever.

See also: Corporate Watch profile (2012).

Lexington Communications

The Connection, 198 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7BD

Source: http://lexcomm.co.uk/about

PR, lobbying, and ‘political intelligence’ firm. Has provided PR for the fracking industry, companies producing GM crops, and pro-biotech front groups.

See also: Spinwatch profile (March 2018).

Omnicom Group

Bankside 3, 90-100 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SW

Source: https://www.omnicomgroup.com/contact-us/

Holding company and enormous global PR conglomerate. Owns a list of PR fims including: Ketchum, Kreab, GPLUS, Portland, Fleishman Hillard.

Newgate communications

Sky Light City Tower, 50 Basinghall Street, London, EC2V 5DE

Source: https://www.newgatecomms.com/contact-us

PR firm for energy companies, described by Spinwatch as a “longstanding fracking industry lobbyist”.

See also: Spinwatch company page.

St Brides Partners

51 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1JP

Source: http://www.stbridespartners.co.uk/home/

PR Agency that has promoted fracking and oil companies. Has faced protests from anti-fracking campaigners in wedding dresses.

Vigo Communications

Sackville House, 40 Piccadilly, London, W1J 0DR

Source: http://vigocomms.com/contact-us/

Public relations for oil and gas exploration and production, oil field services, mining and fracking, as well as other sectors.

Weber Shandwick

2 Waterhouse Square, 140 Holborn, London, EC1N 2AE

Source: http://webershandwick.co.uk/talk-to-us/

Professional greenwashers who have worked to rebrand McDonalds and provided PR to fracking companies Rathlin Energy and Tamboran Resources. Had close ties to the last Labour government, and sought work from the dictatorship of Bahrain.

See also: Spinwatch profile.

WPP PLC

Sea Containers House, 18 Upper Ground, London, SE1 9GL

Source: https://www.wpp.com/contacts

WPP has been described as the world’s biggest advertising & PR company. Clients include Shell.

Hanover communications

70 Grays Inn Rd, London, WC1X 8BT

Source: https://www.hanovercomms.com/about-us/hanover-london/

Specialises in public relations for major pharmaceuticals. Other clients include Tata Steel, Shell, Microsoft and Goldman Sachs. Have worked for fracking companies Cuadrilla resources and Tamboran. Numerous directors kicked off their careers in the Tory party.

Portland Communications

85 Strand, London, WC2R 0DW

Source: https://portland-communications.com/offices/london/

Established by former Blair adviser Tim Allan, Portland also employs former top Labour spin doctor and warmonger Alistair Campbell. Portland provided PR to the Heathrow third runway campaign. Other clients include the governments of Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, and Kazakhstan. Portland is one of the many PR companies owned by Omicom.

New Century Media

Dacre House, 19 Dacre Street, London, SW1H 0DJ

Source: http://www.newcenturymedia.co.uk/contact-us/

Advisors to heads of state and CEOs, this PR firm has prided itself on helping ‘manage domestic and internationally (sic.) issues, including … activism and protest’. New Century Media donated a third of its profits to the Conservative party ahead of the 2010 UK general election and has been described in the media as ‘pro-Russia lobbyists’. Corporate clients include BP & British Airways.

Teneo

6 More London Place, London SE1 2DA

Source: https://www.teneo.com/office-region/europe/

Global PR and “strategic” consultancy firm with an advisory board of US and UK politicians and other high-flyers: e.g., William Hague, Amber Rudd, Senator George Mitchell. Clients have included Dow Chemicals, BHP, and various oil companies. It has a Middle East presence with an office in Dubai, and in 2019 was hired to run the PR campaign for Saudi Arabia’s planned megacity of Neom.

Owners: PE firm CVC Capital Partners has majority share.

Public Relations and Communications Association

82 Great Suffolk Street, London, SE1 0BE

Source: https://www.prca.org.uk/contact-us

The PRCA is the world’s largest PR professional body, representing well over 30,000 practitioners.

Chartered Institute of Public Relations

4th Floor, 85 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 4TQ

Source: https://www.cipr.co.uk/

The CIPR delivers training programmes for PR professionals and organises annual ‘Excellence Awards’ for successful public relations campaigns.

3.6 Greenwashing services

With the rise of environmental concern and regulation, polluting companies need to keep up compliance and a clean image. This creates new business niches for third parties who operate specialist PR schemes to help them do this. This section lists just a few examples of such greenwash entrepreneurs.

The Climate Group

2^nd Floor, Riverside Building, County Hall, Belvedere Rd, London, SE1 7PB

Source: https://www.theclimategroup.org/contact-us

An “international non-profit” that promotes greenwashing initiatives it calls “business actions”: e.g., its RE100 list of leading companies who “commit to using 100% renewable fuels” – by 2050. The corporates in this scheme turn out to include many names on our list. For example, banks and investment managers like AEG, Allianz, Citi, Goldman Sachs, or HSBC (to name just a few) who are amongst the world’s biggest funders of fossil fuels, plus world-class polluters like Tata and Unilever.

Environmental Defense Fund

1st Floor, Bank Chambers, 6 Borough High Street, London, SE1 9QQ

Source: https://www.edf.org/offices/europe

US charity with big business and government connections. Works on “partnership” schemes in which corporates help “solve” environmental problems and so present themselves as sustainability heroes: e.g., sending a project team to work with McDonalds and reduce its plastic waste. Has promoted the gas industry as a “transition fuel” away from coal.

Natural Capital Partners

167 Fleet St, Holborn, London, EC4A 2EA

Source: https://www.naturalcapitalpartners.com/contact-us

Carbon offsetting fixer. Helps polluting companies get “CarbonNeutral® certification” and hooks them up with emission offset schemes – e.g, planting trees, or “renewable energy certificates (RECs)” – so they can meet their sustainability targets.

Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI)

Suite 1, 3rd Floor 11-12 St. James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4LB

Source: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC415130

NB: Registered address. This is a current official company address; but it is not confirmed that it is an operational site rather than just a “letterbox”.

Greenwash initiative set up by the world’s biggest oil and gas companies – both the nationals such as Saudi Aramco and the private sector supermajors. It includes both a lobbying policy wing and a $1+ billion fund to invest in “innovative startups to lower the carbon footprints of the energy and industrial sectors”. One of its main objectives is to “jumpstart” the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) industry.

See also: DesmogUK website.

B Team

40 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3UD

Source: https://bteam.org/contact

Corporate spin initiative co-founded by Richard Branson. It brings together “leaders” from the likes of Allianz, Dow Chemicals, Engie, Tata and the World Wildlife Fund to push the message that business can lead the way to “a just transition to net-zero emissions by 2050”.

The post The Wreckers of the Earth: London company directory appeared first on Corporate Watch.

The target is a plant producing ammonia and urea fertilisers run by Yara International, one of the world’s biggest fertiliser companies. It is situated in Brunsbüttel, northern Germany.

In this investigation, Corporate Watch takes an in-depth look at Yara to find out who’s running it, who’s profiting from it and what its plans are for the future.

Key Points

• Yara is a Norwegian chemical company that is one of the world’s largest producers of synthetic fertilisers. Synthetic fertilisers are a major contributor to climate change. They also impact soil biology and are contributing to soil degradation around the world.
• Yara is Europe’s biggest industrial buyer of natural gas and actively lobbies for fracking.
• Yara invests millions in shaping the international agricultural agenda, and is currently targeting Africa, Brazil and India.
• Yara is largely owned by the Norwegian government, which has over 40% of its shares.
• Yara has recently been involved in one of Norway’s biggest corruption scandals, when the company was caught paying millions in bribes to Indian and Libyan officials.
• Land workers resisting industrial agriculture promote agroecology as an alternative to synthetic fertilisers.

Do you have information about Yara you’d like to share with us, or is there anything else you’d like us to look into? Click here to get in touch.

Contents

• Synthetic Fertilisers and Climate Change
• Yara: The Basics
• A Brief History of Yara
• Yara’s Global Impact
• Yara’s Political Influence and Greenwashing
• Future Strategy
• Yara in Africa
• Yara Directors and Board Members
• Shareholders
• Following the Money
• Yara’s Vulnerabilities
• Beyond Synthetic Fertilisers: Agroecology and Food Sovereignty

Synthetic Fertilisers and Climate Change

Synthetic fertilisers are artificially made plant nutrition made up of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium or other ingredients, alone or in combination. It is estimated that between 44% and 57% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from agriculture and the major role played by industrial agriculture in causing the climate crisis is increasingly recognised.

Yara and the synthetic fertiliser industry contribute to climate change in various ways, including:

Destroying the world’s largest carbon sink – the soil. Synthetic fertilisers impact the soil in many ways. Soils around the world have lost, on average, at least 1–2 percentage points of organic matter in the top 30 cm since chemical fertilisers began to be used. This amounts to some 150,000–205,000 million tonnes of organic matter, which has resulted in 220,000–330,000 million tonnes of CO2 emitted into the air. That is 30 per cent of the excess CO2 in the atmosphere.

Destroying the ozone layer. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that for every 100kg of nitrogen fertiliser applied to the soil, 1kg ends up in the atmosphere as nitrous oxide (N2O) gas. This is 300 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, and is the world’s most significant ozone-depleting substance.

Huge energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The main input used to produce nitrogen fertilizer is natural gas, in massive amounts. Agricultural companies’ desire for cheap gas to make fertiliser has led them to push for fracking around the world, adding another layer of environmental damage.

Driving intensive farming. Last but not least, fertilisers have enabled intensive, industrial animal farming on its current massive scale, which would not be possible without artificial fertilisers. The climate change impacts of livestock farming are well documented.

As a leading fertiliser producer, Yara is at the forefront of all this. It makes a great deal of the work it is doing to tackle climate change, presenting itself as a solution to the crisis. It says it is reducing the impact of its fertiliser production by cutting out some of the most harmful emissions such as nitrous oxide. But overall it is making more fertilisers, which means more emissions. Yara’s latest annual report says it produced 16.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018, up from 9.8 million tonnes in 2013.

More fertilisers mean more energy. Yara is Europe’s biggest industrial buyer of natural gas. In 2018, Yara’s total energy consumption in production was 301 million gigajoules, with more than 85% of this energy used in ammonia production.

Yara has also been accused of being a key advocate of fracking. In a 2015 report, The Exxons of Agriculture, environmental NGO GRAIN wrote:

“People associate Shell, not Yara, with fracking. But it is Yara that coordinates the corporate lobby for shale gas development in Europe, and it is Yara and other fertiliser companies that suck up most of the natural gas produced by the fracking boom in the US.”

Further environmental harm

There are other consequences of Yara’s work. When surplus nitrates are washed into groundwater, rivers and tap water, this risks an increase in certain types of cancer, and the eutrophication of rivers, killing fish and depositing green algae on coasts.

Scientists who worked on a European nitrogen assessment believe that the environmental cost of excess nitrogen is between €70 billion and €320 billion a year, through impacts to ecosystems, water and air quality and human health. (Source: Mark A Sutton et al (eds), The European Nitrogen Assessment: Sources, Effects and Policy Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, 2011.)

In Western Australia, a Senate Inquiry has warned that Yara’s plants on the Burrup Peninsula are damaging 40,000-year-old rock art. Scientists believe the resulting emissions are increasing atmospheric acidity that is dissolving the rocks.

Impacts on the soil

Jason McKenny, author of ‘Artificial fertility: The Environmental Costs of Industrial Fertiliser’ describes the cascade of adverse effects that synthetic fertilisers have on the soil:

“Fertiliser application begins the destruction of soil biodiversity by diminishing the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and amplifying the role of everything that feeds on nitrogen. These feeders then speed up the decomposition of organic matter and humus. As organic matter decreases, the physical structure of soil changes. With less pore space and loss of their sponge-like qualities, soils are less efficient at retaining moisture and air. More irrigation is needed. Water leaches through soils, draining away nutrients that no linger have an effective substrate on which to cling. With less available oxygen the growth of soil microbiology slows, and the intricate ecosystem of biological exchanges breaks down. Acidity rises and further breaks down organic matter. As soil microbes decrease in volume and diversity, they are less able to physically hold soils together in groups called aggregates. Water begins to erode these soils away. Less topsoil means less volume and biodiversity to buffer against these changes. More soils wash away. Meanwhile, these events have a cumulative effect of reducing the amount of nutrients available to plants. Industrial farmers address these observed deficiencies by adding more fertiliser. Such a scenario is known as a negative feedback loop; a more blunt comparison is substance abuse.”

Yara: the basics

Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. Its largest business is the production of nitrogen fertilisers, the world’s most common fertiliser. Yara also produces nitrates, ammonia, urea and other nitrogen-based chemicals.

Yara makes its fertiliser from natural gas – lots of it. As of 2017, Yara was Europe’s biggest industrial buyer of natural gas. Then, according to the company’s website:

“In several transformation steps, natural gas, essentially methane, is upgraded by combination with nitrogen from the air to form nitrogen fertilizer.”

The combination of methane and nitrogen creates either ammonium nitrate or urea, which are then mixed with other ingredients to make the finished fertiliser. Two other big ingredients are potash and phosphates. Yara is the world’s second largest buyer of potash, as well as mining some itself. It is the world’s third largest buyer of phosphates.

As well as making fertiliser, Yara sells ammonia it produces to other industries, such as textiles, cars, healthcare and cosmetics. Yara says it trades “about one-third of the world’s ammonia with plants across the world”.

In 2018, Yara produced 21.8 million tonnes of fertiliser and another 8.3 million tonnes of ammonia.

Yara operates across six continents with almost 17,000 employees. It has more than 25 plants and mines. It has production plants in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Libya, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago. Click here for a full overview of Yara’s global operations on the company website.

The fertiliser it makes is then distributed around the world, with 200 “terminals” playing a “crucial” role storing or transporting products. Yara fertiliser is sold to farmers through third party outlets or 9,000 “retail outlet customers that are fully Yara branded and promote our crop nutrition solutions”.

Yara has also manufactured the world’s first electric container ship to help transport its goods.

You can find a list of Yara sellers on the relevant country page of the company’s website.

A brief history of Yara

The company was established in 1905 as Norsk Hydro – the world’s first producer of mineral nitrogen fertilisers, using cheap hydropower for its industrial activities. The company then started opening factories in Norway producing NPK fertilisers (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium).

A piece of history you won’t find on the Yara website is the company’s collaboration with the Nazis. In the second world war, after Norway was occupied, Norsk Hydro greatly profited from supplying aluminium to the Nazi regime, to be used in the Lüftwaffe’s aircraft.

In the 1960s, Norsk Hydro began to expand internationally, starting in Qatar. The company was soon working across Asia, the Middle East and North America. The ‘60s also saw Hydro getting involved in oil exploration in the North Sea. The business model was one of rapid acquisition as Hydro took over major fertiliser companies in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. By the end of the 1990s, Hydro was also established in Brazil and South Africa.

In 2004, the fertiliser part of Hydro’s business split off, taking the name Yara International. Its shares were listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and Yara is now active all over the world, operating in 60 countries on six continents and selling its products to more than 160 countries.

Yara’s global impact

Yara has been a major player in the growth of industrial agriculture, which has displaced traditional ecological knowledge. This has pushed millions of farmers into debt and poverty, radically reduced food sovereignty, destroyed soils and polluted waters, and significantly contributed to global warming and climate change.

Corruption scandal

One of the most extreme controversies in recent years was Yara’s bribery scandal, which led to one of the highest profile corruption cases in Norwegian history. The case involved the use of bribes directed at highly placed public servants in Libya and India from 2004 to 2009. Investigators also uncovered bribes paid to a Russian supplier. More than NOK 70 million ($7.7 million) changed hands between Yara and various officials to enable the company to start joint ventures in the countries. Yara acknowledged corruption and was fined NOK 295 million ($32.7 million).

In 2015, four top Yara executives, including former CEO Thorleif Enger and chief legal officer Ken Wallace, were convicted for bribery and given prison sentences. In 2016 the verdict for Enger and others were overturned on appeal but Wallace’s verdict was upheld.

Worker deaths

Yara is still trying to recover from hitting the headlines this winter when a man died and another was injured at their at the fertilizer production site in Montoir-de-Bretagne, France. Over the last five years, workers also lost their lives in Brazil, Costa Rica, Norway and Mexico (Source: Yara Annual Reports).

‘Cartel’ Price Hikes

Farmers are angry about the corporate dominance of fertiliser production and the associated price hikes. John Coughlan of the Irish Farmers Association says: “substantial and unwarranted price hikes clearly demonstrate that the internal EU fertiliser market is dysfunctional, with Irish and EU farmers being forced to pay the highest fertiliser prices in the world”.

Cultivating Power: Yara’s Political Influence and Greenwashing

When you click on the Yara website, you see smiling pictures of small farmers and healthy fields of wheat. But the real impact of Yara’s products on the climate and on communities across the planet is a much uglier story.

Yara is actively trying to frame itself as the “Crop Nutrition Company of the Future”. One that is “protecting the earth’s resources, food and environment”. Yara builds this brand and reputation partially through participating in a wide range of international alliances and development projects. It positions itself as an advisor to governments around the world, especially in the Global South, and actively tries to shape their agricultural policy decisions.

A snapshot of Yara’s EU Lobbying

According to Lobbyfacts, using information provided by Yara for the EU Transparency Register, in 2018 Yara spent at least €400,000 on lobbying the EU. A look at the historical data shows that altogether Yara has spent somewhere up to €11,849,995 on lobbying the EU since 2010.(i)

Yara lists four lobbying groups it works with. The figures relate to how much each organisation has spent on lobbying, not the amount Yara has paid them.

• Fertilizers Europe: up to €899,000 spent in 2018, 8 lobbyists registered, 20 meetings with the Commission.
• International Fertilizer Organisation: not registered on the database.
• Friends of Europe: up to €3,765,491 spent, 29 lobbyists, 30 meetings with the Commission.
• CEFIC (Association of the European Chemicals Industry): up to €12 million spent, 76 lobbyists and 81 meetings with the Commission.

The total lobby spending declared by Yara and these lobbying groups amounts to over €16 million a year, with a total of 113 lobbyists working for them and a total number of 131 meetings with the Commission.(iii)

This network helps Yara to repeat its messages through powerful channels. For instance, Fertilizers Europe holds the current presidency of the Agri-Food Chain Coalition, a lobbying coalition gathering together most of the agribusiness industries (fertilisers, pesticides, machinery, seeds, big farmers, commodity traders, food multinationals, supermarkets, etc.).

CEFIC, the lobby group for the European chemical industry, is a keen advocate of fracking in Europe and of importing fracked gas from the US. During the failed EU-US talks in 2013-2016 on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal, one of CEFIC’s key demands was to open the European market to US imports of shale gas. The European fertilizer industry has also been a major proponent of fracked gas in Europe.

Experts, Advisory Groups and Hired Guns

Yara sits in the EU’s Gas Coordination Group, on behalf of IFIEC Europe. This influential advisory group looks at the security of supply and provides its members with privileged access to upcoming plans for new infrastructure and other Commission proposals.

Fertilizer Europe, which Yara is a member of, is itself a member of a long list of expert groups, among them the influential Expert Group on Climate Change Policy and the High Level Expert Group on Energy-Intensive Industries.

Another way to increase influence in Brussels is to pay lobby consultancies to secure access to decision-makers and increase the outreach of your messages, and consultancy Logos Public Affairs lists Yara as a client.

Media power

A growing marketing strategy in the Brussels bubble is to sponsor media and pay for promoted content. Euractiv is a Europe-wide TV network which focuses on EU policy news. Yara sponsors a politics programme called “the Brief powered by Yara”, which carries sponsor messages promoting Yara’s ‘solutions’ for air pollution, for which ammonia emissions from the fertilizers industry are a huge problem. Euractiv also features promoted content by Yara.

Yara also exerts influence over agricultural journalism to promote synthetic fertilisers. For example, until 2016 it sponsored a Journalism Award in partnership with the Guild of Agricultural Journalists. It also created the IFAJ-Yara Award for Reporting on Sustainable World Agriculture, run by the The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists, a network of more than 5,000 people.

Future strategy

Yara’s last five years were all about expanding its network of plants and distribution centres. In the next five years the company hopes to cash in on all that investment. Who for? Shareholders of course! Yara’s annual report makes clear generating “satisfactory returns for shareholders” is a “top priority”.

Shareholders haven’t done badly from the company recently – its accounts show Yara has paid out almost $2 billion to them in the last five years. But payouts have been declining in line with profits (just $240 million was paid out in 2018, compared to $517 million in the bumper year of 2016).

How to give the Norwegian state and its fellow shareholders the returns they expect? Grow and make more profit: “improving margins [i.e. profits] and growth are the two only ways of creating shareholder value”, according to the company’s annual report. Yara says it intends to pay out at least 40 per cent of its profits it makes over the next five years to shareholders.

In a presentation to investors at London’s Tate Modern Museum in July, company bigwigs outlined Yara’s plans. Chief among them is selling more of its expensive fertiliser brands.

Specifically, the company outlined plans to sell over 100 million units of its YaraVita fertiliser by 2025, compared to 40 million in 2018. Unlike most other fertilisers, YaraVita – produced in Yara’s Sumare plant in Brazil and Pocklington plant in the UK – is designed to be sprayed directly onto leaves, “developed to target the leaf or fruit, to work fast and to effectively overcome crop deficiencies”. According to Yara it will be particularly good for farmers growing “commodity crops” to be traded.

Yara also plans to bolster its work with food companies – essentially to get access to these companies’ farmers or other suppliers. It hopes to grow “crop solution” sales through food companies from 300,000 tonnes to two million tonnes by 2025.

But Yara’s main priority may be expanding in India. It bought the major Babrala Urea plant from Tata Chemicals in 2018. Yara has big plans for the country, which it told investors was “an area that represents a big untapped potential for our solutions, especially the YaraVita range of products.”

The company also looked forward to deregulation of the Indian fertiliser market, noting “the market growth potential for premium products would increase significantly” if that were to happen.

Yara’s major shareholder will no doubt help ease Yara’s way. When Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi was re-elected in May this year, his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg⁩ sent him her “warmest congratulations” and looked forward to “further developing our cooperation in our many fields of common interest”.

Yara in Africa: Neocolonialsm and the ‘fight against hunger’

Longer-term, Yara is looking to Africa. Yara boss Svein Tore Holsether said in 2017:

“Africa is going to be our largest market at some point. I am just looking at the fundamentals — land availability, climate, water — tick all the boxes on that. I do believe the fundamentals are in place.”

Yara has stimulated fertiliser sales across the continent through skilfully wrapping itself in a humanitarian mantle. It created the Yara Foundation in 2005 to “support the fight against hunger in Africa”. In 2016, the first of three annual African Green Revolution Conferences took place in Oslo. The conferences built momentum for a more structured partnership, whereby there is now an annual African Green Revolution Forum co-sponsored by Yara, as well as agencies such as UKAID and companies like Syngenta.

Yara is also part of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, which is a “co-operation framework” that launched at the 2012 G8 Summit in the US. It aims to “accelerate responsible investment in African agriculture and lift 50 million people out of poverty by 2022”. The alliance brings together African governments, private sector companies and donor partners, including the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.

The approach of all of these initiatives is to move people away from subsistence and smallholder agriculture into capitalist production growing for commodity markets. One through which farmers become dependent on commercial inputs such as synthetic fertilisers, patented hybrid and genetically modified seeds, herbicides and pesticides. The monocultural models reduce farmer resilience and biodiversity and put power in the hands of food corporations.

Earlier this decade, Yara pioneered the concept of “African Agricultural Growth Corridors,” a framework for the development of infrastructure to support intensive agriculture across Africa, especially Mozambique and Tanzania. The corridors were criticised as ways to allow corporations to grab land away from small farmers, ushering in intensive monoculture and synthetic fertiliser use.

Beyond fertiliser sales, Yara has an increasing number of production plants across Africa and it is planning to build a gas-fired fertiliser plant in Mozambique, in partnership with Shell and GL Africa Energy.

While Modi is Yara’s current favourite despot, it has form with others. In 2005, Yara created the African Green Revolution Yara Prize and gave it, along with NOK 1 million, to Ethiopia’s President Meles Zenawi. This was the year after Zenawi’s security forces had detained over 4,000 opponents to the regime, with frequent evidence of detention, torture and harassment. Three months later Yara was awarded NOK 12.5 million in Ethiopian contracts.

Mining Impacts

Yara’s impact will continue to be felt elsewhere. In Quebec, Canada, for example, the Arnaud Mine is a $750 million phosphate mine approved in 2015. The project is majority-owned by Investment Quebec, the province’s industrial development arm. Yara will receive the phosphate shipped to them in Norway. At more than 1km wide, the Arnaud Mine is the largest open pit mine in Quebec. In its report to the Environment Minister, BAPE (Le Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement) warned that over its 23 years of operation, the mine would emit an estimated 2,000 to 4,00 tonnes of contaminants that would flow downhill into the nearby Baie des Sept-Îles. Campaigners resisting the project said they were targeted with intimidation.

Who’s in charge?

Yara’s management team runs the company on a day-to-day basis. It is overseen by a board of directors, with shareholders voting on overall strategy and directors’ appointments at Annual General Meetings. No single shareholder has a majority stake in the company, but the Norwegian state is by far the biggest, controlling over 40% of the company’s shares.

Norwegian capitalism features a close-knit network of major corporations which are largely owned by the government, and work closely with it. This is plain to see in both Yara’s management team and its board. Executives and directors move between a handful of state-backed companies such as Norsk Hydro (Yara’s former parent company), Sapa, Equinor (formally Statoil), Statkraft, Vy group, and DNB bank.

You can find information on Yara’s directors and board members in the appendix.

Executive pay

Yara published a detailed table of the pay-outs to their bosses in their Annual Report. Topping the charts is CEO Svein Tore Holsether who took home more than $1.6 million in salary and benefits in 2018. Yara Vice President in Brazil, Lair Hanzen accrued a whopping $1.2 million in a country with one of the world’s highest levels of income inequality. Brazilian newspaper Estado estimates that a worker on the bottom end of the pay scale is likely to earn $77.40 per month. Landworkers are even more precarious and may earn even less.

Shareholders

Yara is a ‘listed’ company (PLC) – its shares are bought and sold openly on the Oslo stock exchange. But it has one particularly big owner: the Norwegian state. Currently, the government directly owns 36% of Yara, and its pension fund manager owns another 6%. The finances section below describes other investment in Yara that is facilitated by the Norwegian state. All this gives the government significant power over how the company is run.

Being the largest shareholder, the Norwegian State is intimately connected to Yara and its impact in the world. The Norwegian National Statement at the 2018 UN Climate Conference talks about increasing ambitions on climate change and the creation of a “low emission society”. At the same time, Norway props up and profits from one of the biggest fertiliser companies in the world.

The country made headlines earlier this year when Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), a state-owned investment fund worth approximately a trillion dollars, announced it would be divesting from oil and gas exploration. The GPFG said the decision was motivated by a desire to protect the Norwegian economy by reducing exposure to oil price falls, rather than climate concerns. The fund also remained invested in major fossil fuel companies that have an involvement in renewable energy.

Yara’s other shareholders include important Norwegian financial institutions, but also the usual range of international investment funds who own shares in pretty much all the world’s major corporations. None of these holds more than a few per cent. Overall, 56% of Yara is owned by Norwegian capital; 17.5% by investors based in the US; 11.5% in the UK; 11.8% in the rest of the EU.

Here are the top 20 shareholders, as of July 2019.

(NB: many of these shares are held through third party banks, called “nominee accounts”, which disguises the true ownership. However, thanks to Norwegian transparency rules, Yara also publishes a list of its top twenty “real owners”, and this is the list we use here.)

1. Government of Norway. 36.2%.
2. Folketrygdfondet. 5.9%. This is the institution that manages the Norwegian government’s pension fund. It is run by an independent board of directors, but ultimately owned by the Ministry of Finance. It is Norway’s biggest investor, owning around 5% of the whole Oslo stock exchange.
3. Capital Group. 2.5%. Massive US-based global investment fund manager. HQ in Los Angeles, has offices all around the world including in many European countries.
4. Vanguard Group. 1.7%. The world’s second biggest investment manager (after BlackRock, below). HQ in Pennsylvania, US, with operations worldwide including in Europe.
5. DNB (Den Norske Bank). 1.3%. DNB is the biggest financial corporation in Norway, which includes a major investment bank and a fund management arm. Like Yara, it is listed on the Oslo stock exchange but with a major shareholding from the Norwegian government. There are close ties between DNB and other big Norwegian corporations, as well as with the government. For example, at least two of Yara’s board members are former DNB employees.
6. Fidelity. 1.2%. Another of the world’s top ten investment fund managers. HQ in Boston, USA
7. Nordea. 1.1%. Nordea calls itself “the largest financial services group in the Nordic region”, formed by the merger of several big banks from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It’s active across Scandinavia and the Baltic, with HQ in Helsinki, Finland.
8. Storebrand. 1%. Norway’s biggest private sector asset manager, invests for pension funds and insurance companies. HQ in Lysaker, Norway
9. Ruffer LLP. 0.8%. A relatively small UK based investment fund manager – it manages assets of around £20 billion for rich individuals as well as institutions and charities. It is a limited partnership set up by stockbroker, “philanthropist”, and “committed evangelical Christian” Jonathan Ruffer along with his friend the 14th Earl of Ferrers. The HQ is in London, with offices in Edinburgh, Paris, Hong Kong and Guernsey.
10. Franklin Templeton. 0.8%. Another big US investment fund manager. HQ in Fort Lauderdale, United States, and offices worldwide.
11. BlackRock. 0.8%. The biggest of all the massive global investment managers. Headquarters in San Francisco, United States. Offices in 30 countries worldwide.
12. Polaris Capital Management. 0.7%. US fund manager with an international focus, a lot smaller than the likes of BlackRock. Boston, United States.
13. KLP (Kommunal Landspensjonskasse). 0.6%. Norwegian public sector pension fund, which traditionally manages pensions for local government employees and health institutions. It is owned by its customer organisations. Has some record of “ethical” positions such as early divestment from tobacco companies. Based in Oslo, Norway.
14. ODIN Fund Management. 0.5%. One of Norway’s top ten local fund managers. The fund’s relationship with the Norse all-father god is not entirely clear, and we have not been able to confirm that investment decisions are based on throwing rune stones or observing the flight of ravens. HQ in Oslo, Norway.
15. T. Rowe Price. 0.5%. Another US institutional investor. Its shares in Yara are held by the International (UK) division based in London, United Kingdom.
16. Northern Trust. 0.5%. US bank and investment manager based in Chicago, United States
17. Alfred Berg. 0.5%. Nordic fund manager active in Norway, Sweden and Finland. A subsidiary of big French bank BNP Paribas. HQ in Oslo, Norway.
18. Handelsbanken. 0.5%. Asset management division of one of Sweden’s main high street and investment banks. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.
19. Pareto Asset Management. 0.4%. Nordic fund manager with HQ in Oslo, Norway, and officers in Stockholm and Frankfurt.
20. Florida State Board of Administration. 0.4%. Public sector institution that manages the Florida state employees’ pension fund, and other state government funds. Based in Tallahassee, United States.

Following the money

In total, Yara sold $13 billion worth of products in 2018, the last year for which figures are available. It sells more of its products in Brazil than any other country. South America as a whole is the biggest regional market, closely followed by Europe, as this table from Yara’s latest annual report shows:

After all its costs were taken off – including $7.5 billion spent on raw materials and energy – Yara made a profit of $159 million.

This is down on previous years – it peaked at over $1 billion in 2014. Yara CEO Svein Tore Holsether has declared recent figures unsatisfactory. In the most recent annual report, he blames them on increases in natural gas prices (Yara’s main cost), and also notes the company has been on a spending spree of late, buying plants in Brazil and India to expand their operations there, with the latter a particular target for growth.

Despite recent disappointing profits, Yara remains in a very strong financial situation. Its accounts show it is not particularly indebted, even after borrowing an extra $1 billion over the last two years to fund its expansion in Brazil and India. In total it now owes almost $4 billion to lenders but boasts assets of $16.7 billion and equity of $8.7 billion.

Of this debt, the majority – $2.9 billion – is in the form of bonds it has issued to financial markets (the identities of the ‘bondholders’ are not public). Yara bonds are rated as “investment grade” – although only just – by the Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s rating agencies.

The rest is bank loans or overdraft facilities. Yara has a $1.1 billion line of credit it can draw on when needed with 13 major international banks, including Barclays, Natwest, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and nine others (full list here). In a novel step, the amount of interest Yara has to pay the banks is linked to its progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Whether this has any significant impact on Yara’s contribution to climate change remains to be seen.

Other lenders Yara owes money to are connected to the Norwegian state – Yara’s biggest shareholder. Yara has a $75 million loan from the Nordic Investment Bank, which Norway is a leading member of, and a $244 million line of credit guaranteed by the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency, part of Norway’s Ministry of Trade.

Yara’s vulnerabilities

It is easy for campaigners to look at companies like Yara as untouchable because of the sheer scale of their operations and their market dominance. However, Yara has a number of vulnerabilities, especially in a changing fertiliser market.

Production downtime

A major risk factor for Yara is production downtime. This could be from planned development work, or more commonly, accidents and unexpected issues which stall production. Unplanned downtime can scare investors and wobble the share price. With such expensive operations, even a daily delay can result in lost millions. Free the Soil’s action to shut down the fertiliser factory will no doubt economically impact the company if it is successful.

Production plants are also threatened by worker organising and community resistance, as well as by volatile political environments.

Shaky supply chains

Yara is dependent on the supply of several raw materials to make fertiliser and its other products. One of these is natural gas, which has very fluctuating price dynamics because of its difficulty to source. With global resistance to fracking and unconventional gas, the industry experiences many practical and regulatory setbacks that impact its supply chain. Other raw materials like phosphates are increasingly rare and often found in challenging geopolitical locations.

Legal risks

As shown in the recent corruption case, legal challenges can pose serious economic threats to the company. Arrests of directors caused huge instability in the company and it has taken them several years to recover. Likewise, ongoing court cases can cost the company and damage its reputation, affecting the share price. Yara is currently being dragged through the courts for two different cases in Brazil, stating in its latest annual report that it has set aside $1.5 million for the costs.

Beyond Synthetic Fertilisers: Agroecology and Food Sovereignty

Synthetic fertilisers have only been in existence since the second world war. Traditional agriculture has been feeding communities for thousands of years before that.

Before synthetic fertilisers, agriculture sustained fertility through the natural cycling of nutrients, composts and manures, using cover crops and leguminous plants in rotation, and all kinds of traditional soil care practices. New advances in soil biology are also showing us further how to tend to the soil food web and work with plants and microorganisms to enable plants to access the nutrients they need.

Do we need synthetic fertilisers to feed people? Land workers resisting industrial agriculture say that we don’t. Instead, they promote agroecology – an approach that puts ecology at the heart of agriculture. This encompasses local knowledge systems and supports grassroots, community-led initiatives. It also recognises the complex political and social issues embroiled in making a respectable living from working on the land.

Practices within agroecology support biodiversity, increase environmental resilience, prioritise soil health and fertility, and put the farmer first.

In times of climate unpredictability we need food systems that are able to withstand changes, and are based on local farming practices and local solutions. This requires a complete transition away from the current thinking in industrial agriculture, according to which “one size fits all”, and one model of agriculture can be applied anywhere in the world.

Agroecology goes hand in hand with food sovereignty, a term initially coined by La Via Campesina, an international peasant’s union who felt their voices were missing in the food security discourse of the UN in the 1990s. Food sovereignty seeks to emphasise that local people should have control over their food systems. It places huge importance on bringing decision-making power back to people on the ground and reducing the gap between producers and consumers.

In calling for recognition of who produces food, food sovereignty and agroecology put points on the agenda which are missing from the top-down approaches of industrial agriculture. Access to land, water and basic infrastructure are necessary components to enable people to run their own food systems. Agroecology and food sovereignty support self-sufficiency and farming systems that are not solely reliant on external inputs. They avoid the dangers of relying on expensive fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to support farms – which also happen to poison the soil, the air and the people who use them.

Industrial sized farms may produce more per unit of labour because of their highly mechanized methods of production. However, there is evidence to suggest that agroecological farming is highly productive and has far greater benefits to the environment and to people than its industrial counterpart. Rather than focusing solely on one crop for the market, smaller mixed farms can grow many different varieties of crops that enrich a healthy eco-system based on balance in the garden. They can take into consideration the importance of soil fertility, allow for crop rotation and inter-cropping, and increase organic matter with compost.

NGO Grain writes that:

“Industrial farming gets all the attention (and most of the land). It accounts for more than 80% of the fossil fuel emissions and uses over 70% of the water supply used in agriculture, but it actually produces only about 30% of the world’s food”.

Alongside this, values such as dignity, respect, mental well-being and justice are interlaced into agroecology. An attitude of caring for and giving back to the land is often the backbone to farms using these farming practices.

Movements of people around the world are working to reclaim the food system from corporate control. Challenging synthetic fertiliser use and the impact of fertiliser giants like Yara is an important part of that work. In response to Yara’s huge lobbying power and greenwashing strategies, they say we don’t need synthetic nitrogen fertilizers to feed the world, and argue this assumption is misguided and destructive.

According to Andi from the Free the Soil network:

“The climate justice movement has been successful in exposing the fossil-fuel industry as climate killers. But who knows about agro-industrial companies like Yara or DuPont? They are the Shells and Exxons of agriculture, and it’s time we point that out, and shut them down! We believe that direct action is needed if we are to stop the escalating climate crisis. We need to take action into our own hands.”

More info: https://freethesoil.org

Footnotes

(i) We use the highest bracket for declared spending. All data used is from the most recent lobbying declarations in the EU Transparency Register. We also use the overall number of lobbyists declared, rather than the full-time equivalent, which is also listed in the register.

(ii) For 2010 they declared up to €100,000, for 2011 up to €150,000, for 2012 they increased this to up to €600,000. The figure in 2013 was much higher – up to €7,500,000. For 2014, 2015 and 2016 they declared up to €799,999 each year, for 2017 up to €599,999 and for 2018 up to €499,999.

(iii) The exact amount is €16,664,491. Of course groups like CEFIC lobby on more issues than fertilizers, but the data they provide makes it impossible to disaggregate spending on fertilizer issues compared to other topics. The list of meetings refers to meetings held since November 2014 with commissioners, their cabinet members or directors-general at the European Commission (from information published by the Commission). However, this number doesn’t include the myriads of informal get-togethers and formal meetings with lower-rank officials which carry a big weight on policy-making, as the European Commission does not publish info on those.

Appendices

Directors

Svein Tore Holsether is Yara’s President and Chief Executive Officer. He took over after much internal conflict and legal issues within the company when several of the directors were arrested for corruption in 2015. Before joining Yara, Svein was the director of aluminium giant Sapa. That company recently hit the headlines after it faked test results over 19 years for aluminium components sold to NASA, leading to the destruction of two space missions worth $700m (£536m). Sapa is a unit of Norsk Hydro – Yara’s former parent company, and one of the world’s largest suppliers of aluminium. Norsk agreed to pay $46m back to NASA for the failures, less than 7 per cent of the damage it caused.

Tove Anderson is the Executive Vice President of Yara. She joined in April 2018 after working her way up through the company.

Lair Hanzen is the Executive Vice President of Yara in Brazil. Multinationals have a monopoly over fertiliser production in Brazil, where the market is shared between Yara (Norway), Bunge (US), and the Mosaic company (US).

Terje Knutsen is the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing who joined Yara in 1987.

Pablo Barrera Lopez is the Executive Vice President for Supply Chain. He previously worked at The Boston Consulting Group from 2009 to 2014.

Kristine Ryssdal has been the Executive Vice President, General Counsel since 2016. She previously worked for Statoil (now rebranded as Equinor), a Norwegian oil company which is majority owned by the Norwegian government. Statoil was the subject of another major Norwegian corruption scandal, fined NOK 20 million after being found guilty of bribery to secure contracts in Iran.

Lars Røsæg is the Chief Financial Officer. He previously worked at aluminium company Sapa. Prior to this, he worked with food giant, Orkla, who is based in Norway but target markets in the Nordic and Baltic Regions, as well as Central Europe and India.

Terje M. Tollefsen heads up Corporate Strategy and Business Development. He has had several positions in the company since 2002 and was previously the Managing Director of Norsk Hydro in Indochina.

Lene Trollnes is the Executive Vice President of People and Global Functions. She also used to work for Sapa and Norsk Hydro.

Board members

Yara’s board has two types of members: seven elected by shareholders, and four employee members elected by employees. The shareholder-elected members tie Yara further into Norway’s corporate elite, coming from some of the company’s biggest corporations – including the national railway company, Scandinavia’s biggest media conglomerate, and one of Europe’s largest renewable energy generators. Two of the employee members are shop stewards in the Industri Energi trade union, a relatively small specialist trade union with 58,000 members, which is a member of the Norwegian Trade Union Confederation and various international trade union federations.

Geir Isaksen. Chairman since 2018. CEO of Vy group – the Norwegian state-owned railway company (formerly known as NSB).

Trond Berger. Vice Chair. Chief Financial Officer of Schibsted– calls itself Scandinavia’s biggest media group with various online and print outlets across Scandinavia and also in Poland, including major news sites vg.no and aftonbladet.se. He is also a board member of Arcus (Norwegian drinks company), Polaris Media (owns 30 newspapers in Norway), and several Schibsted subsidiaries. Member of the Board since 2018.

Hilde Bakken. Executive Vice President for Production, Statkraft – a major hydroelectric and renewable energy generation company which is active Europe. Member of the Board since 2014.

Håkon Reistad Fure. Also on the board of Avida Holding and Avida Finans, a bank / financial services group active in Norway and Sweden. He is one of the youngest board members, with a finance background – previously an analyst at DNB bank, a state-backed bank which is one of Yara’s major shareholders.

Kimberly Lein-Mathisen. General Manager of Microsoft Norway. US citizen settled in Norway. New board member as of 2019.

Adele Bugge Norman Pran. Professional board director who currently serves on the boards of ABG Sundal Collier (“Nordic investment banking powerhouse”), Zalaris (HR and payroll company working across Northern Europe, including in UK and Germany), B2 Holding (debt collector which works for banks and companies in 23 European countries), Mesta (Norwegian road maintenance), Protector Insurance (land insurance company active in Scandinavia and also UK). New board member as of 2019.

John Thuestad. Executive Vice President Bauxite & Alumina at Hydro. Hydro, also known as Norsk Hydro, was Yara’s former parent company before Yara was spun off in 2004. It is a major global aluminium producer, active all over the world, and also generates hydroelectric power in Norway. Apparently “John is a true heavyweight in aluminium with over 30 years in the industry.” Member of the Board since 2014.

Eva Safrine Aspvik (employee board member). Member of the Board since 2019. A Trade Union Leader at Yara Glomfjord, she is an employee representative on the Board of Yara International. Member of the Industri Energi trade union. Trained as Skilled Chemical Process operator. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eva.aspvik

Rune Brattenberg (employee board member). Head of Chemical Compliance. Member of the Board since 2012.

Geir O. Sundbø (employee board member). Trade Union Senior Shop Steward of Yara Porsgrunn. Member of the Industri Energi trade union. Also Chairman of the European Works Council (EWC) for Yara International. Trained as Skilled Chemical Process operator. Member of the Board since 2010.

The post Yara: the fertiliser giant causing climate catastrophe appeared first on Corporate Watch.

The post Apartheid in the fields: From occupied Palestine to UK Supermarkets appeared first on Corporate Watch.