Vision & Guiding Principles

CorpWatch's vision is to promote human, environmental and worker rights at the local, national and global levels by making corporate practices more transparent and holding corporations accountable for their actions. As independent investigative journalists, we provide critical information to foster a more informed public and an effective democracy.

CorpWatch is part of a diverse global movement for human rights, social justice, environmental sustainability, peace, corporate transparency and accountability.

We believe that all people deserve:

• The power to make decisions over their own resources, environment and working conditions
• Fair and sustainable trade that rewards workers with just wages and a clean, sustainable environment
• Public services such as education, healthcare, water or electricity available at an affordable price. No institution should be allowed to profit unjustly out of the provision of such basic services
• Access to local jobs and services 
  

We oppose:

• Violations of human rights such as torture, discrimination, political repression, or union-busting
• Ecologically unsustainable business practices, including those that have an adverse impact on local communities or the global environment
• Secret and unaccountable corporate and government activities
• Economic rules that adversely impact communities, national governments and entire regions of the world, such as free trade, privatization and outsourcing of local jobs.
  

Finally, we support the right of people, communities and countries to be compensated for human rights violations, and environmental and economic impacts caused by damaging corporate, government or multi-lateral institutional behavior. Corporations must abide by international law and be directly accountable to those directly impacted, whether a local community or a national government to redress damage.