Corporate Responsibility Mondays.

As always . . . remember to check out Ariah’s excellent post on a company that is doing it’s best to practice ethical behavior.

Of all companies . . . this is the hardest for me to critique and question. Coca-Cola is my coffee. Or it was. I used to drink over 10 glasses a day. I was such a big addict that I can tell you which fast food restaurants have the best fountain mix. I can even tell you (blind-folded) which Coke is in which glass (plastic, paper, or glass) and what kind of ice is used. I even have an imaginary chart that puts together the best Coke mix based off of a Trinitarian model . . . glass, ice, mix. My favorite of course being Styrofoam, with crushed ice, with the Coke coming out of a can. With that being said . . . I continue the long line of posts critiquing a product I use.

Coca-Cola is known the world over for producing a variety of tasty beverages from carbonated sodas to water. Promoting the company philosophy to “make every drop count,” Coke officially encourages people to do the same in their own lives. Unfortunately, Coke continues to work against human rights, the environment, and the health of consumers, showing few signs of meaningful change. In Colombia, working at Coca-Cola bottling plants has cost lives and the personal safety of those trying to unionize. Eight union organizers have been murdered by Colombian paramilitaries and at least 100 others have been detained and beaten, and Coca-Cola has yet to conduct a full investigation of the claims. Coke’s bottled water operations have made it the focus of at least two international water rights campaigns, as the company continues high-volume pumping in areas such as Kerala, India, where extreme shortages of potable water are already a problem. Coke signed onto the United Nations Global Compact, which aims to make companies more responsible corporate citizens, but the soft drink giant has taken no concrete steps toward remedying abuses currently tallied against it. Coke continues to reject the call to use its wealth and international status to set new standards for sustainability and respect for human rights in the countries where it operates.

CONTAMINATION: The Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) comprehensive study, covering 25 different manufacturing plants over 12 Indian states, found dangerous levels of pesticides in all samples of the Coca-Cola and Pepsi products tested. On average, Coca-Cola drinks contained 27 times higher pesticide residues than the standards outlined by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). According to CSE this poses serious health effects; even small doses of pesticides such as lindane, chlorpyrifos, and heptachlor, are known to cause cancer, neurological problems, and other health disorders.

According to the India Resource Center’s June 2006 report “Ground Water Resources in Plachimada,” there are harmful long-term effects to Coke’s operations, such as extreme water shortages, harvest shortages contamination of soil and groundwater, and serious health problems for local villagers and former workers. All 9 water samples, collected within a one kilometer radius of the plant, failed to meet the safety standards for drinking water as outlined by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the samples contained excessive levels of dangerous toxic chemicals. Coca-Cola has avoided answering to the Indian government and people on the issue of water contamination due to cadmium in the Plachimada plant’s sludge. Two previous orders by the Kerala Pollution Control Board were ignored: one called for Coke to build an effluent treatment facility to deal with wastewater, the other required the company to pipe potable water into communities for residents most vulnerable to water shortages.

HUMAN RIGHTS: In July 2001, the International Labor Rights Fund and United Steelworkers filed a lawsuit against two Coca–Cola bottlers in Colombia accusing the plants of hiring paramilitary groups to kill labor union organizers. In 2003, the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed the case due to a lack of jurisdiction. The ILRF and USW brought a new complaint against Coca-Cola and its Latin American Bottler, Coca-Cola FEMSA in June 2006. The US District Judge Jose E. Martinez dismissed the case stating a lack of evidence linking the murders of union leaders to an alleged conspiracy between paramilitaries and bottling plant officials in September. Sinaltrainal, the major Colombian labor union involved in the allegations, is appealing the ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Legal proceedings against Coca-Cola in Colombian courts have all been shelved; no entity has yet been held responsible for the killings.

WORKER RIGHTS: Coca-Cola workers in Turkey and Indonesia have had to face mass firings for their efforts to improve labor conditions. Employees of at least two of Coke’s bottling facilities in Turkey have found themselves jobless after openly working to initiate union activity. When workers protested the firings, they were met with police violence. Turkish laborers and their family members were attacked by police again while in the midst of talks with the management at one plant.

In Indonesia, Coca-Cola is PT United Can Company’s largest and most important customer. Therefore, when the packaging company decided to intimidate 48 workers for openly forming a union, Coke could rightfully have intervened, using economic incentives to get PT to act ethically. The 12 leaders of unionization efforts have been fired, and the other continue to be harassed by PT management. Coca-Cola has yet to take action or make a statement regarding the ill treatment of workers.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION: In 2005, E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Company, earned $12,350,336 in compensation including stock option grants from the Coca Cola Co.

DISCLOSURE: In March 2004, Coca Cola admitted the UK version of Coca-Cola’s Dasani brand bottled water is really treated water from London’s public supply.

Sources: Responsible Shopper

[tags]Coca-Cola[/tags]