Which airlines are companies that you would feel the most comfortable giving your business to? That is the question tackled in the newly added ´Airlines´ section of Green America´s consumer watchdog Web site, ResponsibleShopper.org.
Looking at environmental, human rights, labor, ethics & governance, and health & safety issues, the ResponsibleShopper.org ranks Southwest the best, Virgin second best. United is in last place. Companies in the industry received low marks overall for ethics and governance.
Green America Responsible Shopper Coordinator Victoria Kreha said: ´It´s another big step forward for ResponsibleShoppper.org to add airlines to the range of industries we profile on our corporate watchdog Web site. Airline travel is a big expense for many responsible consumers and we want to make it as easy as possible for them to spend their money with airlines that are making an effort to be good [better] corporate citizens.´
Green America Corporate Responsibility Programs Director Todd Larsen, said: ´The addition of the airlines section reflects the Number 1 goal for Green America´s ResponsibleShopper.org: to be the Web´s most powerful one-stop information resource for concerned consumers. The result is that ResponsibleShopper.org now provides you with the real story about abuses by well-known companies, gives you actions to promote corporate responsibility, and helps you green your life and world.´
At ResponsibleShopper.org, you can find the answers to the following:
* Which airline was fined $7.1 million in August 2008 for violating drug- and alcohol-testing protocols for its pilots and for flying aircraft that were not properly maintained?
* Which airline ejected six Muslim clerics from a Minneapolis-to-Phoenix flight, subjecting them to handcuffing, detention, and questioning, after a fellow passenger told a flight attendant he was alarmed to have seen them praying before the flight?
* Which airline was accused in 2007 by the AFL-CIO of distributing anti-union literature in an attempt to block 7,650 service employees at Newark Liberty International Airport from forming a union?
Kreha added: ´Of course, it´s not all bad news when it comes to the airline industry. At ResponsibleShopper.org you can also find out which airlines are working to reduce their fleets´ emissions, or received a high score from the Human Rights Campaign. As with all of the industries profiled on ResponsibleShopper.org, we rank the airline companies all on one page, where an easy-to-read chart compares their performance in categories like environment, labor, human rights, health & safety, and ethics & governance.´
