Siemens Energy is making the energy transition unnecessarily difficult: Our countermotions

Regarding Agenda Item 3: To ratify the acts of the members of the Executive Board

The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany requests that the acts of the members of the Executive Board not be ratified.

Rationale:

The Executive Board impedes the energy transition unnecessarily and is not fulfilling its human rights due diligence obligation.

Siemens Gamesa: Problems jeopardize path toward a climate-neutral power supply

For years, the Executive Board has been unable to get to grips with the problems at the wind power unit Siemens Gamesa, in particular massive quality and productivity problems with some turbines. The resultant losses have even necessitated government aid in the form of guarantees running into the billions to ensure that the order backlog can be handled at all. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/siemens-energy-2/siemens-energy-is-making-the-energy-transition-unnecessarily-difficult-our-countermotions/

Questions to Volkswagen following publication of audit results

Update from 19.01.2024: Volkswagen’s answers are now also published here under the respective questions.

Dear Madam or Sir,

We, the undersigned organizations, note the publication of the ESG audit results of the SAIC Volkswagen plant undertaken by Löning- Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH. In our letter dated July 11, 2023, we expressed our extensive concerns about the credibility of an audit in the Uyghur Region.

Following the publication of the audit findings, staff from Löning posted a statement on LinkedIn, distancing themselves from the audit, claiming “no other team member from Löning participated in, supported or backed this project.” Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/questions-to-volkswagen-following-publication-of-audit-results/

Forced labour risks at Volkswagen: Audit ignores repressive environment in China

  • Credible and independent audit not possible in the Uyghur region
  • Audit seems to ignore repressive political context
  • Volkswagen must take effective and preventive measures against forced labour risks in the entire supply chain

On December 5, 2023, Volkswagen AG published the results of its long-awaited audit of the VW SAIC plant in Urumchi, the capital of the Uyghur region of Xinjiang/East Turkistan. The audit was to be carried out by the consultancy firm of the former Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights, Markus Löning (Loening- Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH), which commissioned a law firm in Shenzhen to carry out the audit. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/forced-labour-risks-at-volkswagen-audit-ignores-repressive-environment-in-china/

Open letter to Volkswagen with questions about the announced audit of the Volkswagen SAIC plant in Urumchi, China

Dear Madam or Sir,

Volkswagen has announced that it will have the Volkswagen SAIC plant in Urumchi, China, audited. According to media reports, chief executive officer Oliver Blume announced during a conference call with investors on June 21, 2023 that Volkswagen plans “a transparent, independent external audit to provide full transparency to the public”[1].

In general, we welcome that Volkswagen takes the risk of potential human rights violations at the Volkswagen SAIC plant seriously. However, there is serious evidence of forced labor in relation to Volkswagen’s supply chains. In December 2022, Sheffield Hallam University published a comprehensive report that extensively documented the widespread use of Uyghur forced labor in automotive supply chains, including Volkswagen suppliers[2]. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/open-letter-to-volkswagen-with-questions-about-the-announced-audit-of-the-volkswagen-saic-plant-in-urumchi-china/

“Inadequate response to wage theft and intolerable working conditions”: Speech by Tilman Massa

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Management Board and Supervisory Board,

My name is Tilman Massa and I am speaking on behalf of Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany. With the voting rights transferred to us, we demand much more effective measures from Delivery Hero against the climate crisis and for the protection of the environment and human rights. I have to ask you in particular about the working conditions at your subsidiary Talabat, which has repeatedly made negative headlines because of poor working conditions and unpaid wages at a subcontractor. We cannot exonerate you, Executive Board and Supervisory Board, for insufficient implementation and transparency in human rights due diligence and climate protection measures. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/delivery-hero/inadequate-response-to-wage-theft-and-intolerable-working-conditions-speech-by-tilman-massa/

Self-assessment demonstrates that Nornickel does not comply with international social and environmental standards

Statement on Nornickel’s IRMA self-assessment by a coalition of Indigenous Rights leaders and non-governmental organizations

  • According to Nornickel’s own claims, the self-assessment found significant shortcomings with respect to environmental and social standards, preventing a desirable, higher rating within the IRMA standard
  • An international coalition of Indigenous Peoples, environmental and human rights organizations urges Nornickel to publish the results of its self-assessment and to clearly identify corrective actions

Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) announced in March 2023 that the company had completed a self-assessment against the IRMA (Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) Standard. The self-assessment is an initial, necessary step to begin the assessment process under the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/human-rights-due-diligence/self-assessment-demonstrates-that-nornickel-does-not-comply-with-international-social-and-environmental-standards/

“I would not want to argue that the promise of profits was so great that I had to look away while Uyghurs were annihilated.”


Speech by Kendyl Salcito, Executive Director of NomoGaia

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Board of Management, dear Supervisory Board,

I am Kendyl Salcito, the Executive Director of NomoGaia and the co-author of the report Driving Force. This report links automotive supply chains to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where Crimes Against Humanity are underway. My comments have been translated into German by colleagues.

VW has positioned itself to lead western automakers into the EV era, investing heavily in a green future. Its business development strategy prioritizes China first, followed by Europe and North America. China has mandated a green transition, and it is already VW’s largest single market representing over a third of global sales and fully 38% of production facilities. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/i-would-not-want-to-argue-that-the-promise-of-profits-was-so-great-that-i-had-to-look-away-while-uyghurs-were-annihilated/

“If it is committed to cleaner supply chains, BASF has a commitment to these people”: Speech by Niren Tolsi


My name is Niren Tolsi, and I am a journalist from South Africa.

Since the massacre in Marikana in August 2012, which left 34 men dead, photojournalist Paul Botes and I have documented what has happened to some of the mine-workers who survived that fatal day and the forty-four families who lost loved ones at Marikana — a project we called After Marikana.

Through this project, we aimed to investigate the real cost of the Marikana massacre to families, to communities and — through this microscope of the intimate — this strange new South Africa that Marikana has ushered in by echoing the bloody massacres of our apartheid past. Weiterlesen

Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/if-it-is-committed-to-cleaner-supply-chains-basf-has-a-commitment-to-these-people-speech-by-niren-tolsi/