Empower
Empower aims to eliminate the strategic information gap between businesses and civil society stakeholders by conducting strategic research, providing business intelligence, advising on accountability and advocacy campaigns, and building civil society capacities to better understand capital and engage companies more effectively. Our vision for building grassroots power is our defining characteristic.
Here atEmpower,we are a Mexico-based, worker-owned, worker-governed social enterprise that specializes in strategic research, business intelligence, due diligence, and civil society capacity building.Our mission is to improve corporate transparency and accountability by eliminating the strategic information gap between businesses and civil society stakeholders.
Generally, we work on six thematic areas: technology and human rights; grave crimes and illicit financial flows; democratic economies; private capital; climate crisis and energy transition; and corporate capture of the State. We also work on business and human rights; labor rights issues, including forced labor; supply chain research, including regarding the climate crisis and the just transition; and investigative journalism.
Empower works exclusively for CSOs of different shapes and sizes, primarily to build their capacities to engage businesses in order to improve private sector compliance with human rights, environmental, and social responsibility standards. As an alternative to the corporate-led model of globalization, we seek to contribute to building a democratic economy by operating as a worker-owned and worker-governed organization. Our experience includes that of our former sister organization PODER, which is recognized globally as a pioneer in the corporate accountability and business and human rights fields.
As research consultants and providers, our work invariably employs a corporate capture framework, follow-the-money methodology, power mapping and analysis, tech-based information tools, and a mix of open and human sources to produce actionable intelligence for advocates seeking to enhance understanding, press advocacy strategies, or directly engage corporate targets.
Select examples of Empower’s work with a corporate capture focus include:
- “Who’s Behind ICE?”: According toMary Beth Gallagherfrom Domini Impact Investments, “[This research] that Empower produced for Mijente was excellent. We learned where the money was going and acted on it, connecting dots between public contracts and who is doing business with who.”