Letter to the editor.......RE: “All the Ways to Enjoy Coca-Cola” (April 2, 2007)
I am writing in response to the piece published in Interrobang on April 2, 2007 entitled All the Ways to Enjoy Coca-Cola. The author makes a number of serious and false allegations about Coca-Cola's business operations in Colombia and India as well as our role as a socially responsible corporation. I would like to take this opportunity to point out the facts.
To learn more about Coca-Cola's business practices I recommend your readers visit www.cokefacts.com and www.cocacolaindia.com for information on our activities around the world.
Two different judicial inquiries in Colombia - one in a Colombian Court and one by the Colombia Attorney General - found no evidence to support the allegations that bottler management conspired to intimidate or threaten trade unionists. The International Labor Organization has accepted requests made by The Coca-Cola Company and the IUF (the International Organization for Food and Beverage Unions) to conduct an independent investigation and evaluation of Coca-Cola bottling operations in Colombia, with the results expected later this year.
Last year, India's Union Minister of Water Resources released study results that found agricultural pumping, not industry activities, is contributing overwhelmingly to the decline of ground water in India. In the coming months, The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), an India-based nonprofit research organization, will wrap up an independent assessment of Coca-Cola's current water resources management practices in India, which we're confident will augment our internal audits on this issue.
In addition, Coca-Cola has installed 270 rainwater harvesting structures including some located near schools and farms, in an effort to increase water use efficiency. The company plans to have 50 more systems by the end of 2007. The Indian Red Cross has recognized Coca-Cola for its environmental practices and for four consecutive years Coca-Cola plants in India have won the prestigious Golden Peacock Environmental Management Award in association with the World Environmental Foundation.
Coca-Cola continues to integrate principles of environmental stewardship and sustainable development into our business decisions and processes. In addition to using less packaging material, we also ensure the materials used are safe and resourceful over their entire life. Approximately 85 per cent of our packaging used to deliver beverages globally is made from 100 per cent recyclable materials. It is also among the most recycled consumer packaging material in the world. We constantly aspire to environmental excellence by aligning our initiatives and programs accordingly.
David Moran
Director, Public Affairs and Communications
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
To learn more about Coca-Cola's business practices I recommend your readers visit www.cokefacts.com and www.cocacolaindia.com for information on our activities around the world.
Two different judicial inquiries in Colombia - one in a Colombian Court and one by the Colombia Attorney General - found no evidence to support the allegations that bottler management conspired to intimidate or threaten trade unionists. The International Labor Organization has accepted requests made by The Coca-Cola Company and the IUF (the International Organization for Food and Beverage Unions) to conduct an independent investigation and evaluation of Coca-Cola bottling operations in Colombia, with the results expected later this year.
Last year, India's Union Minister of Water Resources released study results that found agricultural pumping, not industry activities, is contributing overwhelmingly to the decline of ground water in India. In the coming months, The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), an India-based nonprofit research organization, will wrap up an independent assessment of Coca-Cola's current water resources management practices in India, which we're confident will augment our internal audits on this issue.
In addition, Coca-Cola has installed 270 rainwater harvesting structures including some located near schools and farms, in an effort to increase water use efficiency. The company plans to have 50 more systems by the end of 2007. The Indian Red Cross has recognized Coca-Cola for its environmental practices and for four consecutive years Coca-Cola plants in India have won the prestigious Golden Peacock Environmental Management Award in association with the World Environmental Foundation.
Coca-Cola continues to integrate principles of environmental stewardship and sustainable development into our business decisions and processes. In addition to using less packaging material, we also ensure the materials used are safe and resourceful over their entire life. Approximately 85 per cent of our packaging used to deliver beverages globally is made from 100 per cent recyclable materials. It is also among the most recycled consumer packaging material in the world. We constantly aspire to environmental excellence by aligning our initiatives and programs accordingly.
David Moran
Director, Public Affairs and Communications
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
