Last year, Green America launched a new tradition for Thanksgiving: crowning CEOs leading the way in bad business practices as Corporate Turkeys of the year. This year’s winners distinguished themselves through their failures in corporate responsibility. They didn't treat workers well in the pandemic, take action on the climate crisis, and continued to pump toxic chemicals into the world.
And the Corporate Turkey winners are:
1. For failure to protect workers in the pandemic: Jeff Bezos, Amazon.
When the pandemic broke out, orders to Amazon increased, which put more pressure on workers and upped the hours worked in Amazon’s warehouses (where working conditions were already hazardous, pre-COVID-19). Warehouse workers repeatedly called on Amazon to protect them from COVID-19 and offer paid time off for workers who needed it. Amazon responded by firing several workers who raised concerns. As a result of Amazon’s inaction, over 19,000 Amazon workers have contracted COVID-19. Join Green America in pushing Amazon to protect its workers.
2. For continued efforts to market poisons: Werner Baumann, Bayer Monsanto.
Even though Bayer-Monsanto is likely to pay over $11 billion to settle lawsuits stemming from Roundup’s cancer-causing properties, the company continues to forge ahead with GMOs and the toxic pesticides that are tied to them, including a new GE corn that resists five toxic chemicals. At a time when more and more farmers are calling for regenerative agriculture, we need to end Bayer-Monsanto’s toxic reign. Find out more about GMOs and pesticides.
3. For driving the climate crisis: Doug McMillon, Walmart.
Walmart talks a good game on climate change, but the mega-retailer is refusing to act fast on its biggest source of emissions: refrigerants. The HFCs that cool Walmart’s fridges and freezers are a major source of the climate crisis, but unlike Target and Aldi, Walmart is moving too slowly to set a clear goal for climate-friendly refrigerants in all of its stores and facilities. Since Walmart is the nation’s biggest grocer, join Green America in urging Walmart to act fast on refrigerants.
While these three corporate CEOs are all Corporate Turkeys of the year, there are many more. Last year’s “awards” went to the CEOs of Amazon, Godiva, Walmart, and Carter’s for their negative impacts on people and the planet.
Check out all of Green America's actions and join us in pushing corporations to make progress on major social and environmental issues.
And, if you are not currently a member of Green America, please consider making a donation to support our campaigns calling on corporations to be more responsible.
