From countercorp-news at countercorp.org Wed Nov 5 18:40:58 2008 From: countercorp-news at countercorp.org (CounterCorp News and Events List) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 15:40:58 -0800 Subject: [CounterCorp] Festival thank-you, new date, CounterCorp @ Green Fest Message-ID: <67D2564F-EC8B-4401-BF64-9C4E8C1902FD@countercorp.org> Dear friend of CounterCorp, We're finally back in the office after taking a much-needed break following this year's Anti-Corporate Film Festival, and wanted to catch up with a couple of things before we head into the holiday season: 1) 2008 COUNTERCORP FESTIVAL We want to thank everyone who came out to the 3rd Annual CounterCorp Anti-Corporate Film Festival last month, and helped make the Festival a success. We were thrilled to host this year's Festival at the beautiful Brava Theater, and hoped you enjoyed the venue as much as we did. For those of you who couldn't make it this year, among the highlights were the "TRUE Cost of Oil" program, featuring excerpts from two films about oil giant and corporate serial killer Chevron that are still in production, and one film about Chevron in Ecuador, along with a 'dream team' discussion panel including two of the filmmakers, a lawyer for the lawsuits against Chevron being tried in two courts in San Francisco, two experts on oil exploitation, and audience members that included a group of Nigerians testifying in the lawsuits and students from Richmond, California, where Chevron's soon-to-be-expanded refinery has been slowly poisoning members of the community for years in a textbook case of environmental racism and corporate sociopathy. Another highlight was our closing night film, the California premiere of "Visioneers", starring comedian Zach Galifianakis, a narrative satire of corporate culture and its impacts on communities, society, and our personal psyches. The screening was attended by writer Brandon Drake, who spoke after the film and took questions from the audience about his debut feature, which was directed by his brother Jared. 2) NEW DATES FOR 2009 FESTIVAL After three years of holding the Anti-Corporate Film Festival in the Fall, we've decided to move it to another time of year entirely -- the Spring! This was done for a couple of reasons involving scheduling and the availability of films, as well as other events that are going on at the same time. So we are moving the 4th Annual CounterCorp Festival to May 2009, and have identified the week/end of May 14-16 as our tentative dates. So mark your calendars (in pencil), and stand by for more information as we move to confirm those dates, and the venue for the 2009 Festival ... 3) COUNTERCORP @ GREEN FEST CounterCorp has been asked by the organizers of this year's San Francisco Green Festival to open the first night of a series of film screenings leading up to the Green Fest on Sunday, Nov. 9, starting at 2:00pm. We've decided to feature four films from different years of the Anti-Corporate Film Festival. So if you missed any of these films and would like to see them, come down to the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street (between Valencia and Guerrero) in San Francisco and check 'em out! The CounterCorp program is as follows: (2:00pm) "The Forest for the Trees" -- On May 24, 1990, environmental activist Judi Bari was seriously injured when the car she was driving exploded in Oakland. Hours later, the FBI and Oakland Police arrested Bari in the hospital, claiming she had been carrying a bomb that accidentally went off. The film tells the story of Bari's fight to save the last of the ancient redwood trees, the car-bombing, and her suit against the FBI and Oakland Police for accusing her of being an ecoterrorist. Directed by Bernadine Mellis (USA, 60 minutes, 2006). Screened on the opening night of the 2006 Anti-Corporate Film Festival. (4:00pm) "Growing Awareness" -- An unvarnished look at a more sustainable alternative to the current global food system, in which a handful of giant government-subsidized "agri-businesses" control what we eat. Directed by Jade Ajani (USA, 100 minutes, 2008). Screened on opening night at 2008 Anti-Corporate Film Festival. View trailer at (6:30pm) "The World According to Monsanto" -- A Internet-based detective story that follows a trail of deception, devastation, and death left by a corporate serial killer whose weapons include bovine growth hormone, defoliants/herbicides/insecticides, dioxin, genetically-modified crops, PCBs, seed patents and other so-called ?intellectual property?. Directed by Marie-Monique Robin (France, 109 minutes, 2008). Opening night film at the 2008 Anti-Corporate Film Festival. View trailer at (8:30pm) "This Land Is Your Land" -- A startling, often hilarious exploration of the corporate takeover of American life. The filmmakers traveled across the U.S. interviewing award-winning authors, historians, media pundits, and ordinary citizens about the impact of corporate power on nearly every aspect of people?s daily lives, our social fabric, and the principles of democracy. The film celebrates small acts of resistance by everyday citizens in unique, funny and inspiring ways. "A must-see documentary" said the Atlanta Journal- Constitution. Directed by Lori Cheatle and Daisy Wright (USA, 82 minutes, 2006). Closing night film at 2007 Anti-Corporate Film Festival. This is a unique opportunity to see films that screened at past CounterCorp Festivals, so please pass the information on to your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and acquaintances, and help us get more exposure for these films and the issues they raise. We hope become a permanent part of the Green Festival film week, and a good turn-out for our films will help us make the case for that. 4) CONTRIBUTIONS TO COVER FESTIVAL COSTS Finally, we are happy to report that we raised roughly half the cost of this year's CounterCorp Festival through ticket sales, which is a decent benchmark. (Most film festivals don't break even on ticket sales, and rely on fundraising and corporate sponsorships -- we only accept the former). We still need to pay off the remaining costs, however, and would be grateful for donations to help us close the books on 2008 so that we can be ready to finance the 2009 Festival in the shorter timeframe we have as a result of the pending schedule change. So please consider making a contribution to CounterCorp either online (by selecting our name from the drop-down menu at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695) or by sending a check to our mailing address (2017 Mission Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94110). ALL DONATIONS TO COUNTERCORP ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Thanks! * * * As always, we appreciate all of your support, and couldn't do any of this without you! Hope to see you this Sunday at the Roxie, John Wilner Director CounterCorp: Putting An End to Business as Usual 4th Annual Anti-Corporate Film Festival, May 14-16 www.countercorp.org Get the latest CounterCorp event details on your computer/ iPod: webcal://icalx.com/public/CounterCorp/CounterCorp.ics Subscribe to CounterCorp's "Corporation Watch" e-mail list: For more information, visit http://www.corporationwatch.org From countercorp-news at countercorp.org Mon Nov 17 14:21:30 2008 From: countercorp-news at countercorp.org (CounterCorp News and Events List) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:21:30 -0800 Subject: [CounterCorp] Why CounterCorp does not take money from corporations References: <4ADEBB78-8B2D-46CB-8C9A-BD79EEFAC1A0@countercorp.org> Message-ID: <27E88E20-AD5E-4467-9859-832C7990BB2B@countercorp.org> [NOTE: This article comes from CounterCorp's "Corporation Watch" (www.corporationwatch.org ) newslist ...] Begin forwarded message: > Corporate Ties Bedevil Green Groups > > When environmentalists work with big business, > sometimes big money changes hands > > By Marc Gunther > > (Fortune, Nov. 14) -- Some environmentalists attack bottled water. > Not Conservation International (CI), a Virginia-based non-profit > that aims to protect the earth's biodiversity. When Fiji Water > announced a sustainability initiative last spring to help protect > forests on the remote Pacific Island of Fiji, CI's Peter Seligmann > praised the move. > > "We applaud Fiji Water for offsetting the climate impact of its > products, reducing the impact of its operations, and funding crucial > conservation efforts that support local communities and protect some > of the last remaining forests in the South Pacific," he said in a > Fiji Water press release. > > The endorsement didn't surprise anyone who understands the > relationship between Fiji Water and CI. The privately-owned bottled > water company pays Conservation International -- neither party would > say how much -- to finance the work they do together. And Stewart > Resnick, who owns Fiji Water with his wife, Lynda, sits on CI's > board, and donates to the group. > > Such cozy arrangements are increasingly common as big companies > work side-by-side with big non-governmental organizations (NGOs). > > Clorox secured the endorsement of the Sierra Club -- and the use of > its logo -- for a line of eco-friendly cleaning products called > GreenWorks that the company introduced late last year. Neither will > disclose how much cash is involved. > > When Coca-Cola last month set new targets for greenhouse gas > reductions, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) offered its praise -- > again not unexpectedly, since the beverage giant consulted with WWF > on its climate change plan and agreed to donate nearly $24 million > to the environmental group to help preserve river basins. > > All this is a dramatic turnabout from the time, not all that long > ago, when big business and the environmental movement were > frequently at loggerheads. Now they often share common goals, and > both sides say it makes sense for companies to pay groups like CI > and WWF for their expert help. > > "Judge us on what we and the companies together are able to do for > the environment," says Glenn Prickett, a senior vice president at > Conservational International. > > By that standard, they're doing good -- CI has worked with Wal-Mart > on an array of projects, including the retail giant's efforts to > promote more responsible mining of gold and silver, and has secured > commitments from the likes of Starbucks, Dell, and Marriott to > preserve tropical forests. > > Recently, for example, Starbucks made a $7.5 million multi-year > commitment to CI, which works with the company's coffee buyers and > farmers to develop standards that reward growers who adopt > environmentally-friendly methods. Starbucks benefits because more > sustainable growing practices help insure a long-term supply of > coffee. > > "This renewed partnership will help us create the mechanisms to > support farmers who are preserving forests and working with us to be > part of the climate solution," says Ben Packard, director of > environmental affairs for Starbucks. > > Critics, though, see something unseemly about these deals. Non- > profit groups taking cash from big companies are unlikely to push > such big donors very hard, they say. > > "Partnerships between environmental organizations and corporations > like Fiji Water often provide positive PR," said Patti Lynn, > campaign director for Corporate Accountability International, an > activist group that opposes bottled water, " and that can distract > from the genuine concerns that people are raising about the > practices of the bottled water industry." > > Activist groups such as Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network > generally don't take corporate money. Neither do more mainstream > organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) > and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which often work with big > companies. > > "We at NRDC can't run the risk of letting money cloud our > judgment," says spokeswoman Julia Bovey. Gwen Ruta, who oversees > corporate partnerships for EDF, said her group won't take consulting > fees from corporate partners because it wants to share any findings > from their work. > > "The idea is not just to change a single company's products or > services, but to create a new standard that transforms an industry," > she says. On its website, EDF posts a corporate donation policy that > says, among other things: "Ours is advice and advocacy that money > can't buy." > > Jeff Hollender, CEO of a company called Seventh Generation, raised > questions about the Clorox-Sierra Club partnership at a conference > sponsored by Business for Social Responsibility, a non-profit > association. > > Hollender's Vermont-based firm pioneered the field of non-toxic > cleaning products (and competes with Clorox). He's also on the board > of Greenpeace, which works closely with companies like Coca-Cola and > Unilever around cleaner refrigerants, but won't take their donations. > > "If you look at how much of some NGOs budgets come from business, I > think it's too much," Hollender says. "No one [at the Sierra Club] > will say how much money the Sierra Club is getting from Clorox. If > you are going to do it, you have to have complete transparency." > > A Sierra Club spokesman, David Willett, confirmed that the > organization has not yet disclosed financial details of the deal > with Clorox, but said it might do so in the future. > > The Sierra Club got a lot of pushback with the arrangement was > announced, and explains itself on its website: "The Green Works line > will make it easier and more affordable for Americans to buy eco- > friendly products," stated Carl Pope, the Sierra Club's executive > director. > > CI and WWF don't disclose the amount of specific donations, unless > the companies give permission. In 2007, CI raised about $9.4 million > from corporations, about 5% of its total revenues of $176.6 million. > > WWF took in about $7 million in corporate grants, about 4.3% of its > $161 million in revenues last year. Its partner-donors include Coca- > Cola, Hewlett-Packard, and Johnson & Johnson. WWF says it won't take > money from alcohol, tobacco, or firearms firms, and tries to avoid > those that engage in animal testing and nuclear power. > > "We raise money to support all of our work, and corporations are a > source," says Suzanne Apple, WWF's vice president and managing > director for business and industry. "I don't find it compromises us. > In fact, in some cases, because of relationships we've built, we're > able to push companies harder." > > Besides, as CI's Prickett says, some companies respond better to > praise than they do to criticism, just as some non-profits do better > at partnership and others specialize in activism. "For every > Conservation International that's about collaboration and > partnership, you need a Greenpeace that's about agitating and > challenging business," he says. > > But should green groups really praise bottled water? > > "When Fiji Water came along and said they had a business interest > in protecting their watershed, that was an opportunity for us," he > says. "That nation is going to find something to ship out of Fiji. > It could be logs or an industrial product. We'd much rather see it > be a clean product that is produced with renewable energy." > > _____________________ > > CORPORATION WATCH: Shining a Spotlight on Corporate Pathology > Send feedback or article suggestions to: editor at corporationwatch.org