Anti-corporate groups to stop protesting Davos

Two anti-corporate campaign groups said today that they will stop staging protests at the World Economic Forum because they believe the annual meeting of political and business leaders in Switzerland is no longer relevant.
Environmental group Greenpeace Switzerland and the Berne Declaration, which campaigns for responsible business, have organised protests in the Alpine town of Davos for the past 15 years. Since 2005, they have also presented the annual Public Eye Award, meant to shame companies that disregard human rights or the environment.
Instead, the groups said they would focus their work on promoting a plan to be put to referendum in Switzerland that would require Swiss-based companies to respect human rights and the environment. Switzerland is home to several major corporations that take advantage of its low business taxes. Adrian Monck, a managing director at the World Economic Forum, said he would miss the protests. But he added that dissident voices are now heard on the event's official panels, too.

"The Forum's research, its global reach, and its ability to nudge the world's leaders has made it more relevant and more relied upon than ever," Monck said in an online post.
The final Public Eye Award is to be presented Jan 23. It will go to one of six companies for "lifetime achievements in corporate irresponsibility." Web users will be able to choose between oil firms Chevron and Gazprom, chemicals company Dow Chemical, commodities giant Glencore, investment firm Goldman Sachs and retailer Walmart.