From www.publiceye.ch:

The Public Eye Awards mark a critical counterpoint to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Organized since 2000 by Berne Declaration and Friends of the Earth (in 2009 replaced by Greenpeace), Public Eye reminds the corporate world that social and environmental misdeeds have consequences - for the affected people and territory, but also for the reputation of the offender.

Whether exploitative working conditions, environmental sins, intentional disinformation, or other disregards of corporate social responsibility: At the forefront of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in late January, the most evil offenses appear on the shortlist of the Public Eye Awards 2011. And those firms placed in the pillory will feel the heat: Our renowned naming-and-shaming awards shine an international spotlight on corporate scandals and thereby help focused NGO campaigns succeed. This year's categories are the GLOBAL award (chosen by an internal panel of experts) and the PEOPLE'S award (chosen by YOU and thousands of other online activists).

When I'm walking in the city or reading a magazine, I don't pay much attention to the advertisements I see. But they nonetheless slyly work their way into my consciousness, which is exactly what the advertisers want. I see the ads from this oil company or that financial institute and their "altruistic" projects to protect the environment or help developing countries, for example. The problem is that I am seeing only one small part of a much bigger picture.

That's one reason why I enjoy working with the folks at the Berne Declaration for their annual Public Eye Awards that take place in Davos, Switzerland, on Opening Day of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The awards remind us that corporate advertising shows us only the side of the corporation that it wants us to see, many times hiding activities that help it maximize profits, with the often unfortunate (although apparently acceptable to the corporation) side effects of human rights violations or environmental destruction.

My involvement is translating documents from German to English, and helping out with computer support during the awards ceremony. Here's the beginning of the (translated) press release:

On Opening Day of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace will present the Public Eye Awards 2010 in Davos. Screen star Julia Jentsch will moderate the WEF-critical event on January 27th, joined by keynote speakers Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics, and Jürgen Trittin, former German Environment Minister and current parliamentary leader of The Greens. Six corporations are once again nominated for the (in)famous awards, including Arcelor Mittal, Roche, the Royal Bank of Canada and the IOC. Online voting for the People's Award is possible at www.publiceye.ch, and for the first time a Greenwash Award will expose the most implausible social and eco labels.

Descriptions of all nominees are available on www.publiceye.ch, where you can also cast your vote for the People's Award until January 26. Tell your friends!

Since 2000, the Berne Declaration and ProNatura have organized the Public Eye on Davos, which takes a critical look at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, every January.

On January 24, 2007, the next installment of the Public Eye Awards will take place, on the opening day of the WEF. Not only will it shine a critical light on the sometimes unsavory activities of the multinational firms that attend the WEF, but it will also spotlight a company that "gets it" regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) and that is setting an example for others.

A friend invited me to go to a demonstration against the WTO in Geneva last week. Negotiators for a small group of countries were holding closed-door sessions, trying to save the Doha Round. Farmers and fishermen and NGOs had come from around the world to protest. Then on Monday, July 24th, the talks collapsed. The demonstration had been scheduled for the following Thursday, and in light of the new circumstances it was converted from a protest into a celebration.

The demonstrators assembled at the edge of Lake Geneva, and then marched along the lake to the WTO building. A small flotilla of boats, with banners flying, accompanied us from just off-shore. As we were approaching the building, a Dutch journalist and cameraman wanted to ask us a question. Actually, they wanted to ask my friend a question, and at first I was secretly envious. The journalist asked her, "The Doha Round of talks is also referred to as the 'development round.' Why are you happy that it failed, if the development round is good for developing countries?" As I watched my friend remain cool and calm I realized that I probably wouldn't have done the same in front of the camera, and I suddenly switched from envious to being secretly thankful that they hadn't chosen me. And it gave me an opportunity, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, to think about what I would have said.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) for 2006 comes to Davos, Switzerland once again this week. What I once viewed as just another boring get-together of businessmen and world leaders I now see as something far less benign.

When you go to the supermarket, you may be the kind of person who looks at the ingredients written on the packaging. Often you can also find the number of calories and the amount of fat in the product. But what you won't find is the amount of energy required to bring that product to the store: the cost to fly bananas to Europe; the energy needed to process and can vegetables; and the energy required to keep fish in the supermarket's frozen food section.

The Swiss publication énergie environnement, Number 14 (in French), refers to this hidden energy -- energy that is used but that we never see -- as énergie grise, which literally translates to gray energy.

The distance that an item has to be shipped is one aspect of hidden energy. The further away the food is grown, the more energy is required to transport it. Asparagus flown to Europe from California uses 12 times more energy than asparagus grown in France. Transporting by airplane uses roughly three times as much energy as transporting by ship.

Another aspect is the time of year: Is it currently the normal growing season for those vegetables you are buying, or have they been raised in greenhouses that are lit and heated? Even local greenhouses use lots of energy: Tomatoes grown in a Dutch greenhouse require three times more energy than tomatoes grown outdoors in Spain.