Raw material research or DIY

My bad word of the last decade was already decided at the end of 2007. All the worse that it still dominates the headlines today. The attributes "systemically relevant" and the new German synonym "too big to fail" continue to serve as rhetorical smoke screens and argumentative all-purpose weapons in parliamentary debates, regulars' round tables and editorial conferences. Luckily, the occupiers from Wall Street to Paradeplatz are currently setting the record straight: "If anything is systemically relevant, it's us humans." And it's no coincidence that the New York Times also described the movement critical of capitalism as "too big to ignore".

The big Swiss banks and the financial center have been monitored by the Berne Declaration (EvB) for over 20 years. However, one sector that has a much more direct and therefore undisputed "systemically relevant" impact has only been on our radar as a Swiss "corporate watchdog" from time to time: the commodities companies based mainly on Lake Geneva and Lake Zug. The notoriously discreet trading companies and mine operators only briefly came into the crosshairs when an oil pipeline exploded in Africa or the residents of a South American coal mine were brutally evicted. Scandals like these occasionally made it into the margins of newspapers and were regularly shortlisted for awards critical of corporations, such as the Public Eye Awards.

By contrast, the global structures, Swiss headquarters and business strategies of Glencore, Vitol, Trafigura & Co, which often exploit legal gray areas, have remained an explosive black box - both in the media and politically. The fact that the Swiss companies with the highest turnover, which supply the global economy with their lifeblood of energy, metals and agricultural goods, have hardly been covered by the media casts a harsh light on the laws of the current media and attention economy. The combination of a lack of CEO prominence and hyper-complex structures deliberately created by the companies has a paralyzing rather than inspiring effect on Swiss business journalism. The concerted silence within the industry is usually excused by a lack of research resources and (resulting) ignorance of the dossier.

If any evidence were needed for Kurt Imhof's thesis of the influence of corporate PR on journalism as a threat to democracy, the non-reporting on the raw materials industry provides it. Admittedly with the opposite sign: Corporate intransparency and refusal to communicate produce journalistic ignorance and discretion. The EvB identified this information vacuum years ago, but only received the means to remedy the situation in 2008 with a bequest. And it did so thoroughly, namely in book form. In order not to block its own campaign crew, the project was outsourced - to a renowned business journalist who had already worked on the subject. However, the result was useless, so we had to get into our pants ourselves.

Our internal team of five quickly came to the basic conclusion that the history, structure and functioning of the Swiss commodities hub could certainly be researched. Dutch commercial registers, Luxembourg stock exchange listings and other economic databases contain many subtle clues about the activities of the main players. These pieces of the puzzle, supplemented by a few valuable industry contacts, could be put together to form an overall picture of over 400 pages, which is currently being read in many editorial offices.

At least that is what the number of requested review copies and the initial media response suggest. Of course, "Rohstoff: das gefährlichste Geschäft der Schweiz" cannot close the information gap on this increasingly important economic sector, but at least it outlines its dimensions and risks for the first time. And hopefully inspires many colleagues to take a closer look at this overdue issue. In any case, there are no more excuses.