Anglo-American: the alternative report

This is the fifth in a series ofWar onWant alternative reports.Their purpose is to compare and contrast the rhetoric of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with the reality of companies‘ actual practices.The reports form part ofWar onWant‘s ongoing campaign for a global framework of corporate regulation, and each recommends action that ordinary people can take to rein in the power of multinational corporations across the world. This report looks at Anglo American, the world‘s second largest mining company.Anglo American is one of the 10 largest British companies, with net profits of over $6 billion in 2006. It operates in 60 countries around the world and its subsidiaries include AngloGold Ashanti,Anglo Platinum and the international diamond producer De Beers.Anglo American prides itself on its'good citizenship business principles‘, and has signed up to a number of CSR initiatives in order to promote itself as a responsible player in the global economy. Yet Anglo American‘s activities around the world tell a different story. In Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo,Anglo American is profiting from conflict and associated human rights abuses. In the Philippines and South Africa, local communities have faced severe repression for protesting against Anglo American‘s operations. In Ghana and Mali, local communities see little of the huge profits being made by Anglo American, but suffer from the devastating impact of its mines. This report not only reviews Anglo American‘s record over and against its rhetoric on corporate social responsibility. It also recommends action, both to send a message to Anglo American and to redress some of the damage inflicted by the company‘s operations.This isWar onWant‘s mission more widely: to support people in developing countries in the fight against the root causes of poverty, but also to inform and inspire people in rich countries to challenge the global structures which sustain poverty across the world