News
Pressemitteilung
Protests against Unilever continue
ROBIN WOOD-Action during Unilever's General Assembly in London
ROBIN WOOD activists continued their protests against tropical rainforest destruction for palm oil in London today. They deployed a banner in front of the shareholders assembly building, the “Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre”, in London with the message „Unilever-Unscrupulous Destruction of Rainforest and Community for Palm Oil“. The activists additionally distributed information to the shareholders of Unilever PLC and demanded that they not absolve the board of directors of their ethical responsibilities concerning company purchases.
ROBIN WOOD-activists already successfully placed banner with their demands in front of the shareholders assembly of Unilever N.V. in Rotterdam as well as in front of the German headquarter in Hamburg yesterday. „We won't let them off the hook. Every shareholder shall know in what kind of dirty buisness he or she is involved“, says Peter Gerhardt, ROBIN WOOD's rainforest campaigner.
The Dutch-British company Unilever is the largest purchaser of palm oil worldwide, most coming from plantations in Indonesia. This cheap fat is an ingredient in products from Unilever brands such as Rama, Langnese and Knorr. Approximately 9.4 million hectares of land have already been transformed into palm oil plantations in Indonesia and this area is increased every year by approximately 600,000 hectares. The palm oil boom has drastic consequences due to the destruction of tropical rainforests which are irreplaceable for biodiversity and the worldwide climate. Additionally, land grab for giant monocultural plantations threatens the livelihoods of millions of people.
„We want to put a stop to the palm oil boom. Unilever is the largest purchaser of palm oil worldwide and therefore a key player“, says Gerhardt. „For this reason we demanded in an open letter to CEO Paul Polman that Unilever require its suppliers to immediately cease expansion of their palm oil plantations. Otherwise the company will remain complicit in environmental destruction, climate change, and human rights violations.”
Contact:
Peter Gerhardt, Campaigner, tel. +49 1577 782 88 25, tropenwald(at)robinwood.de
Ute Bertrand, Press Office, tel. +49 40 380892 22, Ute.Bertrand(at)robinwood.de
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Diese Pressemitteilung auf deutsch:
Proteste gegen Unilever gehen weiter - ROBIN WOOD-Aktion bei Unilever-Hauptversammlung in London
See also press release 11.5.2010:
Unilever Profits from the Destruction of Rainforest and Community for Palm Oil - ROBIN WOOD-Protest during Unilever's General Assembly in Rotterdam
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Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYRcdOY-Fq8
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(Photo: ROBIN WOOD)
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