Cabot Corporation

Infobox_Company
company_name=Cabot Corporation
company_
company_type=Public
company_slogan=Creating What Matters
foundation=1882
location= Boston, Massachusetts, USA
key_people=Godfrey Lowell Cabot: Founder
num_employees=4,400
products= Aerogel, Carbon Black, Caesium Formate Fluids, Conductive Compounds, Elastomer Composites, Fine Caesium Chemicals, Fuel Cell Electrocatalysts, Fumed Metal Oxides, Inkjet Colorants, Masterbatch, Mined Minerals, Niobium, Tantalum
revenue = "'USD$2.5 billion (2006)
homepage = [http://w1.cabot-corp.com/index.jsp Cabot Corporation]

Cabot Corporation is a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. It operates in four segments: the Carbon Black Business, the Metal Oxides Business, the Supermetals Business, and the Specialty Fluids Business. Cabot's headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company's slogan is "Creating What Matters".

History

The Cabot Corporation was founded in 1882 by Boston entrepreneur Godfrey Lowell Cabot. The company started by focusing on certain metalloids and pharmaceuticals in the 20th century and continued into the 21st century by creating small electronic devices.

Products

Some of the products produced at Cabot Corporation are:
*Aerogel
*Carbon Black
*Caesium Formate Fluids
*Conductive Compounds
*Elastomer Composites
*Fine Caesium Chemicals
*Fuel Cell Electrocatalysts
*Fumed Metal Oxides
*Inkjet Colorants
*Masterbatch
*Mined Minerals
*Niobium
*Tantalum

Although the company produces multiple products, 77% of the company's FY 2007 revenue came from the sale of Carbon Black, an ultra fine particle used primarily in the production of tire rubber. [ ]

Criticisms

Pollution

Sam Bodman, CEO of Cabot during the coltan boom, was appointed in December 2004 to serve as President Bush’s Secretary of Energy. Under Bodman’s leadership from 1987 to 2000, Cabot was one of the U.S.’s largest polluters, accounting for 60,000 tons of airborne toxic emissions annually. [cite web|url=http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2007/index.htm#5|date=2008-01-23|accessdate=2008-01-23|title=High tech genocide in the Congo|publisher=projectcensored.org/ ]

Activities in the Congo

The Cabot Corporation has been involved in the mining of coltran in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Involvement of Cabot in this region has led to a United Nations Panel of Experts have accused corporations (Cabot among them) of being involved in the support of atrocities in this region. Accusations have included bribery of officials, in a business that extracts more than $6million in raw cobalt from the DRC per day. [cite web|url=http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2007/index.htm#5|date=2008-01-23|accessdate=2008-01-23|title=High tech genocide in the Congo|publisher=projectcensored.org/ ] Specifically, the UN panel accused Cabot Corporation of being involved in "unethical business practices." [cite web|url=http://zmagsite.zmag.org/JulAug2006/snow0706.html#author|title=Suffering in the Congo|publisher= Z Magazine ] The UN report further alleges that Cabot purchased coltan from the DRC during the war. While Cabot has denied these allegations, a report by the Belgian Senate states that Eagle Wings Resources International had a long‑term contract to supply Cabot with coltan. [cite web|url=http://www.foe.org/new/releases/84drccomplaint.html|date=2006-04-06|accessdate=2008-01-23|title=Groups File Complaint With State Department Against Three American Companies Named in UN Report|publisher=Friends of the Earth ] These actions taken by Cabot were said to be against the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) “Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises,” a set of international standards for responsible corporate behavior. [cite web|url=http://www.foe.org/new/releases/84drccomplaint.html|date=2004-08-04|accessdate=2008-01-23|title=Groups File Complaint With State Department Against Three American Companies Named in UN Report|publisher=BBC ] The conflict in the DRC, in which warlords and militias have funded themselves by control of the mining industry, has led to the deaths of more than 5 million individuals. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7204898.stm|date=2008-01-23|accessdate=2008-01-23|title=Eastern Congo peace deal signed|publisher=BBC ]

References

External links

* [http://w1.cabot-corp.com/index.jsp Cabot Corporation]
* [http://www.business-humanrights.org/Categories/Individualcompanies/C/CabotCorporation Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reports on Cabot]
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