dodgy because: involvement in controversial hydropower projects and pulp & paper production
about
In recent years the Andritz Group has developed into a globally present market leader for
customized plant, systems and services for specialized industries - mainly for hydropower, the pulp and
paper, and steel industry (other ares of involvement are solid/liquid separation,
feed and biofuel production).
Despite being able to deliver ecologically top-notch equipment in particularly in the field of hydropower, Andritz is also notorious for getting involved in some of the worst projects in hydropower and pulp and paper with vast social and environmental consequences.
Andritz is the last European company to remain involved in the Ilisu dam project in Turkey. All other European export credit agengies, banks and construction companies withdrew from the project after it became evident in July 2009 that Turkey would not fulfil internationally established standards concerning resettlement and the protection of the environment and cultural heritage.
location
new location saved
active file
last update: Jan 23, 2012
headquarters
Stattegger Strasse 18
A-8045 Graz
Austria
CEO / chair
Wolfgang Leitner
ceo
key sectors / activities
energy plants, dams pulp and paper
ownership
Shareholders
29 percent of shares are owned by the company's CEO Wolfgang Leitner.
The company is at present and has been in the past involved in P&P projects leading to illegal logging, the destruction of rainforest and other sanctuaries of threatend species, heavy pollution of air and water and forceful displacement of local inhabitants.
Currently Andritz plays a major role as Gunns's partner in the construction of the infamous Bell Bay Pulp Mill in Tasmania. In the past Andritz took part in desastrous P&P projects such as a pulp mill in Borneo (together with United Fiber Systems), up to date having destroyed over 150.000 ha of native rain forest. The company was also involved in the construction of the controversial Fray Bentos pulp mill at the border between Argentina and Uruguay.
energy plants, dams
Big dams have frequently imposed high social and
environmental costs and long-term economic tradeoffs, such as lost
fisheries and tourism potential and flooded agricultural and forest
land. According to the independent World Commission on Dams, most
projects have failed to compensate affected people for their losses and
to adequately mitigate environmental impacts. Local people have rarely
had a meaningful say in whether or how a dam is implemented, or received
their fair share of project benefits. In stead of the construction of
big dams there are more sustainable and cleaner ways of energy
generation, like solar and wind power.
An example of a big and controversial dam project is the Ilisu
project on the Tigris river in south-eastern Turkey. This project not
only threatens the biodiversity of the Tigris valley and the material
existence of the inhabitants of Ilisu, it will also destroy the ancient
town of Hasankeyf as well as hundreds of yet unexplored archaeological
sites. Although the Austrian ECA Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG (OeKB)
and Bank Austria (and all other European ECAs and banks involved)
withdrew from this project in July 2009 because of its vast impacts and
its breach of international standards, Andritz continued their
involvement. In June 2010 Andritz announced that they signed a EUR 340
million contract for delivering turbines and other construction
material, after its two European partners Alstom and Züblin had also
pulled out of 'Ilisu'.
Besides the Ilisu dam project Andritz is also involved in big
hydropower projects in Brazil. It is participating in the construction
of 28 turbines for the Jirau dam, part of the Rio Madeira dam project,
and is planning on delivering equipment for the Belo Monte dam on the
Xingu river. Both dam projects are highly controversial and receive a
lot of local, national and international opposition.
active file
last update: Jan 23, 2012
headquarters
Stattegger Strasse 18
A-8045 Graz
Austria
CEO / chair
Wolfgang Leitner
ceo
key sectors / activities
energy plants, dams pulp and paper
ownership
Shareholders
29 percent of shares are owned by the company's CEO Wolfgang Leitner.
Located in the state of Rondônia - Brazil, the Madeira River is the principal tributary of the Amazon River, with its basin covering about one-quarter of the Brazilian…
The Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River is currently the largest dam project under consideration anywhere on the planet, and would be the world’s third largest in installed…
The 1,200 MW Ilisu dam project is planned on the Tigris River in Southeast Turkey, some 50 km away from the border with Syria and Iraq. A 1,800 m-long wall will form a 313…
Gunns Limited, an Australian logging giant, is planning to build a ECF Lite pulp mill in Tasmania, Australia. The pulp mill is currently one of the most controversial issues…
Rapport - Investissement Socialement Responsable: l'heure du tri
Sep 20, 2010 | Les Amis de la Terre
Ce rapport analyse la composition des fonds dits "éthiques" ou "ISR" (Investissement socialement responsable) et met ainsi en lumière l’écart entre la promesse des intitulés et la réalité des faits.
Fact finding report about the rock fall in Hasankeyf on 13th July 2010 and possible risks
Aug 05, 2010 | The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive
This fact finding report about the rock fall in Hasankeyf on the 13th July 2010 and possible risks includes a crictical analysis of the incident and develops for proposals how to allow tourism again and take serious the security aspects.
Feb 22, 2010 - The Madeira River: Life Before the Dams tells the story of the people of Brazil and Bolivia affected by the construction of the Santo Antonio and Jirau dams, part of the Madeira Hydroelectric Complex. The film was shot both in the dry and rainy season, in Amazon riverine communities in Brazil and Bolivia. It documents expectations, opinions, and fears of people, whose livelihood depends on the river, including indigenous communities.
Tasmanias clean green future - too precious to pulp
Aug 06, 2007 - Video on Gunns pulp mill project. By Wilderness society. Part II
Tasmanias clean green future - too precious to pulp
Aug 06, 2007 - Video on Gunns pulp mill project. By Wilderness society. Part I
Rio Madeira vivo
Dec 26, 2006 - Video showing the resistance against the construction of three new dams in the Rio Madeira river in Brazil.
active file
last update: Jan 23, 2012
headquarters
Stattegger Strasse 18
A-8045 Graz
Austria
CEO / chair
Wolfgang Leitner
ceo
key sectors / activities
energy plants, dams pulp and paper
ownership
Shareholders
29 percent of shares are owned by the company's CEO Wolfgang Leitner.
