Nominated by Groundwork USA
Headquarters: Luxembourg, with offices in 60 countries
Sector: Steel
Turnover/Profit: US $105.2 billion / US $19.4 billion (2007)
Owned by: Publicly-traded in Amsterdam (MT) and Brussels
Employees: 310,000
CEO: Lakshmi Mittal

In Brief

Indian steel tycoon soils South Africa. Arcelor Mittal is by far the largest steel producer in the world, and its principal owner, Indian Lakshmi Mittal, is the world’s eighth richest person. His company took over the South African half-state-owned steel producer Iscor several years ago, but since then it does not seem to care about its social or environmental responsibility. The company even lobbies against stricter state air pollution regulations, and refuses to clean up the heavily contaminated environs of the steelworks, although the contamination was the reason why Arcelor Mittal could buy the plant at a bargain price. People who live near the company landfill talk of deformed newborn animals and of tin cans and metal window frames that rust through with alarming speed. And the community exhibits a much higher than average cancer rate. Arcelor Mittal also laid off a large number of workers and sold their dwellings to a private company. Many of the workers are still unemployed and can no longer pay their rent. Further charges against Arcelor Mittal include illegal toxic waste disposal, price fixing, and market collusion.

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