SOMO is an independent, non-profit research and network organisation working on social, ecological and economic issues related to sustainable development. Since 1973, the organisation investigates multinational corporations and the consequences of their activities for people and the environment around the world.
News
The Netherlands: A Gateway to ‘Treaty Shopping’ for Investment Protection
09-02-2012
Many transnational companies choose the Netherlands as a base for their global trade and investment operations, at least partly because of the country’s favourable tax regime that facilitates corporate tax avoidance strategies. A new report by SOMO highlights the, until now, unexplored role that Dutch investment protection policies play in the establishment decisions of multinational corporations.
SOMO researcher Rens van Tilburg part of Think Tank for sustainable financial sector
31-01-2012
Abolish bonuses in the financial sector, get regulators to approve new financial products and include social and environmental risks in the risk assessment calculations of bank assets. These are three of the nine recommendations made by the Sustainable Finance Lab in late November to help the finance sector make a contribution to a sustainable economy. SOMO researcher Rens van Tilburg is one of 13 members of this Think Tank of Dutch researchers and was the secretary of the group in 2011.
How to best prepare for negotiations with the business world
31-01-2012
How can civil society organisations – in the North and the South – improve their positions in negotiations with the business world, be it in alliances, dialogue or roundtables? In a practical guidebook, SOMO researcher Mariëtte van Huijstee describes a strategic action perspective for organisations who are involved in Multi Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs).
Grievance mechanisms central to new human rights programme
31-01-2012
In the next four years, SOMO will be working on the improvement of grievance mechanisms for victims of human rights violations by enterprises. To this end, the new human rights fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has granted SOMO over €1.5 million.
Lack of transparency on origins of coal leaves Dutch in the dark
24-01-2012
Despite earlier promises, electricity companies continue to withhold important information about the origin of the coal they use. As a result, it is likely that coal imported into the Netherlands comes from mines where abuses of human rights and the environment are taking place. This is one of the conclusions of The Black Box: Obscurity and Transparency in the Dutch Coal Supply Chain, a report published today by SOMO in collaboration with Greenpeace. SOMO and Greenpeace call on the electricity companies to be transparent about the coal supply chain and guarantee consumers that no coal is used from mines where human rights and the environment are threatened.
