German car trio and nuclear lobby shamed for worst lobbying and worst greenwashing in Europe
At an awards ceremony in Brussels on 4 December 2007, German car manufacturers BMW, Daimler and Porsche were disgraced when they were named winners of the 'Worst EU Lobbying' Award 2007. The German Atomic Forum was also named and shamed with a special prize for 'Worst EU Greenwash'. Read the press release (04.12.2007)
Winners of the Worst EU Lobbying Award BMW, Daimler and Porsche - nominated together in the worst EU lobbying category - gained more than 30 percent of the vote. Their joint lobbying offensive designed to water-down and delay the mandatory CO2 emission reduction targets proposed by the Commission after voluntary targets were not met was deemed to be the worst and most deceptive by voters across Europe. View the results for all five nominees for the Worst EU Lobbying Award 2007
Winners of the Worst EU Greenwash Award The special greenwash prize for the most audacious attempts to gain unjustifiable green credentials was awarded to the German Atomic Forum, which received more than a third of votes cast. It was nominated for its campaign aimed at improving the image of nuclear energy. Under the slogan "Germany's unloved climate protectionists" it featured images of nuclear power plants placed in unpolluted and unspoilt natural environments. View the results for all five nominees for the Worst EU Greenwash Award 2007
This year's awards were a huge success. More than 6600 people across Europe participated in the online poll to decide the winners of the awards. More than one hundred people attended the entertaining awards ceremony, including many journalists. The awards have now clearly established themselves as an event to be taken notice of in Brussels political calendar.
The highlights of the ceremony
In his speech, Ulrich Müller of LobbyControl explained how the awards aim to "name and shame misleading, manipulative and otherwise controversial EU lobbying practices and demonstrate the need to act against them, to foster transparency and democracy." Next year will see the start of a (voluntary) EU register for lobbyists.
The award winning British comedian Christina Martin then stepped up to give her hilarious take on such things as the Worst EU Lobbying winners BMW, Daimler and Porsche, "they've been putting in a lot of effort to undermine those pesky CO2 emissions targets. And who can blame them? All this green nonsense, trying to stop the demise of the planet and ensure some sort of future humankind, well it is kind of standing in the way of progress isn't it?! We can't have that. Big cars, that's what we want, with big engines. They're much more fun aren't they!"
The audience at the Worst Lobby Awards 2007. Photo credit: Lode Sadaine/FoEE
Unfortunately none of the winners wanted to come to collect the awards, although they were invited them and offered them the opportunity to present their view. But our master of ceremonies Frank van Schaik had visited the nominees the day before to congratulate them with their nomination. The video clips of these surprise visits were a highlight of the awards evening and can now be seen here:
The Worst EU Lobbying Awards - why?
The aim of the Worst EU Lobbying Awards is to name and shame misleading, manipulative and otherwise controversial EU lobbying practices and demonstrate the need to act against them, to foster transparency and democracy. As the awards ceremony and the outcome of the public voting were covered extensively in mass media in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and elsewhere in Europe, we are confident that call for transparency and rules for EU lobbying has reached decision-makers in Brussels, including Members of the European Parliament, who are currently discussing how to strengthen ethics and transparency rules around lobbying.
With the European Commission launching an EU Lobbying Transparency Register next spring, 2008 will prove a key year in the battle for EU lobbying transparency and ethics rules. Find out more about transparency around lobbying
In 2006 the 'Worst EU Lobbying' Award was won by oil giant ExxonMobil for its secretive funding of climate-skeptic think tanks. In 2005 the prize went to the bogus Campaign for Creativity, a front group used by large IT companies to lobby for software patents and intellectual property rights.
Friends of the Earth Europe gratefully acknowledges funding for this project from:
EU DG Environment, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Humanitarian Group for Social Development
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