Future News Features (General) Black marks for big brand | Black marks for big brand |
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| Written by Jan Lee Martin | |
| Tuesday, 25 April 2006 | |
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Coca-Cola, which has had more opportunities than most to learn about corporate social responsibility, may finally be facing an issue that’s bigger than its advertising budget – the right of local communities everywhere to their own fresh water. As aquifer levels around the world fall, the tide of protest rises. Stories in both alternative and main media, as well as several books, are drawing attention to the way the world’s water supplies are being sold off to international corporate interests at the cost of local farmers and other citizens (see Future News Sept. 03) Now Haider Rizvi reports from New York that as the level of anger and resentment against Coca-Cola touches new heights in India, rights activists in the US have increased pressure on the company to mend its ways. At a shareholders' meeting last week (April 19) activists demanded the company disclose the full extent of its liabilities in India, but failed to receive any positive response from the company. People in more than 20 villages in northern India have organised an indefinite vigil against Coca-Cola, calling for the government to shut down the company's local bottling plant. In the desert state of Rajasthan people in more than 50 villages are facing acute water shortage, allegedly due to Coca-Cola operations. Official accounts suggest that water levels in that area have dropped up to 10 metres since 2001 when the company started its operations there. And in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, thousands of community members are organizing a series of protests against Coca-Cola's plans to build a new plant. "Coca-Cola is culpable, and therefore liable for the serious problems that are affecting the lives and livelihoods of our people," said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, a rights advocacy group that works with peasants and local communities. "The longer the Coca-Cola company waits to genuinely address the issues in India, the larger their financial liability becomes. It just doesn't make good business sense."The company is also running into trouble with consumer groups, student bodies and labor organisations in many other parts of the world, including the United States and Europe. Activists in the United States claim that more than 100 colleges and universities already have anti-Coke programs in place, and about 20 schools have either banned Coke products or axed their exclusive contracts with the company. |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 14 May 2006 ) |
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