A few brief TNC case studies....

Hello everyone - I hope the revision is going well; not long left now!!! Now, I realise that everyone, in my class atleast, did a different TNC case study as a research class, on top of the notes we made on Wal-Mart after watching that documentary, but a few people have asked me to write about a couple of notes on some TNCs - as well as Wal-Mart I have chosen Rio Tinto (that is the one my group did) and Unilever as that one is in the booklet.... I hope this is helpful!

Unilever
--> 400 brands globally, with 35 in the UK
--> Everyday 160 million choose one of their products
--> Founded in 1930
--> Headquarters in both Rotterdam and London
--> Grown mainly by acquiring other companies
--> Has operations on every continent (apart from Anatarctia), with 264 factories and research labs worldwide

+ Committed to source all palm oil from sustainable sources by 2015
+ 50% tea sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
+ 1.6% carbon dioxide emission reductions between 2007-2008, and a 39% reduction since 1995
+ 63% reduction in water usage during production of products since 1995

- Mecury pollution
- Gas pollution in Brazil
- Testing on animals
- Use of child labour
- Workers in Dalda fired
- Buying palm oil form sources responsible for deforesting Indonesia

Rio Tinto
--> Largest mining TNC - major products are iron ore, aluminium, copper and gold
--> Operates on 6 continents with headquarters in London and Melbourne
--> 77,000 employees worldwide
--> Worth US$147 billion with a net annual income of US$15.2 billion
--> Are making the 2012 Olympic medals!!!

+ Implementing health and safety, education and sustainability in African mining projects as seen in Guinea
+ Supporting Guinea's Classifed Forest project
+ US$130 million to ensure sustainable water supply for iron ore mining in Australia, with excess water used to cultivate crops needed to feed 30,000 cattle

- Poor working conditions in Nambia and very low wages, leading to strikes both in LDCs and MDCs
- Uranium mine workers exposed to radiation levels 7 times higher than limit
- removed workers health benefits and any other benefits recieved by retired workers
- Contaimination of rivers in UK by posinous metals

Wal-Mart
- Created in 1962 and originally based in USA
- Largest non-oil based TNC
- Vast majority of production facilites in China where workers are paid less than $3 per weeks and production runs 24/7
- Employ 189,000 females in Bangladesh working in inhuman conditions
- Somthering assembled for $0.18 is retalied for atleast $14.96
- Exported $18 billion worth of goods from China to USA in 2004 alone
- Employs 2.1 million people worldwide, including 1,4 million i USA
- 9600 retail untis operating across 28 countries
- Serves 200 million customers a week
- In USA workers are unhappy with pay, hours and last of health insurance. They are facing lawsuits in 31 states across America for unfair treatment, exploitation of illegal immigrants and discrimination against women
- Fined $10.1 milloin in 2001 for water contamination in Texas