Coca-Cola Motion St Hilda's
This JCR notes that: Linacre College has recently introduced a Coca-Cola Water Sustainability Scholarship, prompting debate over the negative impact of the Coca-Cola Company on water resources in India .
The Coca-Cola company stands accused of social and environmental irresponsibility in Kerala , India :
The Coca-Cola plant in Kerala has depleted local ground water resources, adversely affected the local water supply and heightened the risk of crop failure. Lower water levels in wells in Kerala have forced many people to walk miles to find drinking water. By releasing chemicals into the ground, the Coca-Cola plant has made the water unfit for drinking.
Coca-Cola has consistently fought all attempts to regulate its water usage in Kerala. On April 7, 2005, it obtained a judgment from a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, permitting it to draw up to 500,000 litres of water per day under normal' rainfall conditions. This judgment was based on a controversial investigation that certified that Coca-Cola's water requirements would not conflict with those of local communities. The local government authority is appealing this decision, and the Supreme Court of India is now considering the matter.
Coca-Cola is also accused of serious human rights violations in Columbia . Hundreds of workers in Coca-Cola's Colombian bottling plants have been tortured, kidnapped and/or illegally detained by violent paramilitaries. The Coca-Cola Company have not denied using these paramilitaries and merely claim that they cannot be held liable in a US Federal Court for occurrences in Columbia .
In the US in 2002 the Coca Cola Company and its network of bottlers were cited for 222 violations of Federal Health and Safety standards by the OHSA.
This JCR further notes that:
Coca-Cola company products are sold in St Hilda's College Bar and Buttery.
Balliol, Wadham and St John's JCRs have recently taken action against the sale of Coca-Cola products in College.
SOAS, Middlesex, Leeds and Bristol Students' Unions already have a policy boycotting Coca-Cola.
Alternatives to Coca Cola are available. Qibla Cola donates 10% of its profits to charity and only costs 0.7p extra.
This JCR believes that:
Coca-Cola is neither a socially nor an ethically responsible company.
Selling Coca-Cola undermines St Hilda's image as a socially and environmentally responsible College.
St Hilda's has a student-run bar and buttery and so is able to use its unique purchasing power to raise awareness of corporate irresponsibility.
his JCR resolves: To stop buying all products endorsed or produced by the Coca Cola company for a period of one term, during which time the Ecology Officer will run an awareness campaign about the ethical policies of coca cola and other companies. After 1 term a referendum will be held to decide whether the ban should be abandoned or made permanent. The Bar and Buttery Managers, with the help of the Ecology Officer, should research and begin stocking ethical Coca Cola alternatives.
See the Christian Aid report: http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/indepth/0401csr/csr_casestudy3india.pdf
See P.N. Venugopal & M. Suchitra, Rain or no rain, water for Coke', http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/may/env-plachmada.htm