Just one hundred corporations are behind a fifth of the documented extractive conflicts worldwide, exposing how companies from the Global North seize resources and profits, while social and ecological harms are imposed on the Global South, according to a recent study by Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB).

The findings are based on the analysis of data from the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas), an interactive map that locates and documents more than 4,300 extractive conflicts around the world - such as disputed mines, pipelines, or hydropower dams resisted by environmental justice activists and local communities.

The most conflictive 100 corporations - including Shell, Glencore, Repsol, or Bayer-Monsanto - represent only 2% of the 5,500 companies documented in the EJAtlas and yet are involved in 20% of the conflicts analysed. The vast majority of these companies are transnational giants that operate in the energy, mining, and hydropower sectors, are headquartered in the Global North, and yet their activities have serious negative impacts on communities in the Global South.
The study reveals that nearly half of the companies involved in extractive conflicts in the Global South are from the Global North. Furthermore, 50% of the companies involved in conflicts in impoverished countries originate from developed economies such as the U.S., China, and Europe.

“Current global trade rules, such as free trade agreements, investor-state dispute settlement courts, and foreign investment tax incentives, promote the unfettered growth of big transnationals involved in a large number of extractive conflicts, and exacerbate the environmental and social impacts of their extractive operations, primarily in the Global South" explains Marcel Llavero-Pasquina, , ICTA-UAB researcher and lead author of the study, published this week in the scientific journal Global Environmental Change.

Transnational corporations are particularly involved in conflicts related to products of high value or large environmental footprints, such as corn, cotton, oil, gas, or precious and rare minerals. In contrast, conflicts over lower-value resources, such as coal or waste, more often involve domestic companies. The extraction and transport of such strategic goods allows Global North companies to more efficiently concentrate wealth while transferring harms such as land dispossession, deforestation or oil spills to communities and ecosystems in the Global South.

The study also shows that the involvement of transnational corporations in extractive conflicts is linked with more harm and worse outcomes for local populations. The authors document more violent events, forced displacements, land dispossession, loss of livelihoods and traditional knowledge, as well as greater impacts on women and Indigenous peoples when multinational companies are involved. In many cases, these conflicts result in repression, corruption, and even the assassination of community leaders and environmental activists.

The report’s findings challenge corporate social responsibility policies and voluntary sustainability commitments. Despite many of these companies being part of initiatives such as the UN Global Compact, they continue to operate in extractive sectors with severe negative impacts. "Teethless voluntary initiatives mainly based on self-reporting paint a deceitful picture of corporate transparency and responsibility. Yet, the voices of the environmental defenders confronting their operations reveal a story of widespread corporate impunity, and a systemic lack of accountability and justice", says Llavero-Pasquina, coordinator of the Environmental Justice Atlas.

The researchers call on academia and international organizations to judge corporate social and environmental behaviour based on the outcomes experienced by affected communities rather than on company voluntary policies. The study results urge policymakers to rewrite the rules of global trade on principles of equity, autonomy and reciprocity, and implement binding, mandatory and enforceable regulations on transnational corporations to avoid harm, and when necessary, provide the tools to secure accountability and liability for the impacts linked to their wrongdoing.

“This research sheds light on the dark corners of corporate abuse, clearly illuminating how extensive and deep the tentacles of corporate wrongdoing reach,” said Rachel Rose Jackson, Director of Climate Research & Policy at Corporate Accountability, a corporate watchdog. “It also clearly illustrates the failure of existing mechanisms to deliver justice, address harms, and stop future wrongdoing. The solutions to corporate impunity are not voluntary pledges, self-regulation, or half measures with little to no oversight. Addressing corporate abuse requires meaningful measures that are legally-binding and that truly safeguard people and the planet (not corporate greed). Until we hold corporations liable for the harms they cause, they will continue to wreak destruction in their unconscionable pursuit of profit.”

“This article clearly shows that global trade rules are a legacy of colonialism that give free reign to Global North transnationals to continue plundering the Global South at the expense of communities and ecosystems“, said Meena Raman, Head of Programmes at Third World Network. “Only a system change that counters the imperialistic and neo-liberal order and enables economic and ecological sovereignty of peoples, a fair distribution of world resources and forms of development which are ecologically sustainable and fulfill human needs, can deliver genuine justice for the poor and the planet."
The study comes out as the European Parliament debates the European Commission's Omnibus deregulation package that will water down corporate obligations to prevent human rights and environmental violations across their global supply chains under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

Speaking to the European Coalition for Corporate Justice, Nick Omonuk, a climate justice activist resisting TotalEnergies' EACOP pipeline in Uganda, said "Irresponsible corporations don’t just extract resources; they extract life. They displace people, destroy livelihoods, and pollute the water and soil we depend on. These companies know exactly what they’re doing, but they don’t care—because the system protects them, not us. We are the ones treated like criminals. The European Commission is making corporate impunity the norm; it’s a death sentence for our communities. If the Omnibus proposals pass, they will give polluters a free pass and directly attack victims and communities."