No place for unethical companies at IU

As IU’s exclusive beverage contract with Coca-Cola comes to an end June 30, it is encouraging to know that the University is seriously deliberating the merits of renewing the contract with Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola has a dismal environmental and human rights record in India, and prestigious institutions such as IU should not reward unethical behavior by renewing the contract.

Communities living around Coca-Cola bottling plants in India have challenged the company for creating severe water shortages affecting the livelihoods of thousands through over-extraction and pollution of water.

Two Coca-Cola bottling plants have been shut down as a result of community opposition, and other ongoing campaigns have strengthened considerably as a result of Coca-Cola’s own findings.

In 2005, Coca-Cola was asked to agree to a review of its bottling operations in India as the result of a sustained international campaign.

The assessment was conducted by The Energy and Resources Institute, a group founded by R. K. Pachauri, Ph.D., currently the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

Although the assessment – paid for by Coca-Cola itself and released last year – only looked at six plants, the findings validated the concerns of the communities.

Concluding that Coca-Cola had situated its bottling plants from strictly a “business continuity” perspective, the assessment noted that Coca-Cola needed to respect the rights of farmers and groundwater conditions.

The assessment saved its strongest language for the plant in Kaladera, in the desert state of Rajasthan, where the community has been campaigning against Coca-Cola since 2003.

The assessment concluded that Coca-Cola had a “significant” impact on the area’s water situation.

The assessment recommended that Coca-Cola should no longer use the groundwater in Kaladera. It even suggested a closure, relocation of the plant or bringing in water from outside the area.

Despite the findings, Coca-Cola has continued to operate its plant in Kaladera, knowing very well that its operations bring significant hardships to the community.
The community in Kaladera is left wondering what the point of paying for an assessment was if Coca-Cola was not going to respect the findings.

And the community continues to suffer from the escalating water crisis, which has meant less water for farmers to have successful crop yields and women having to walk kilometers in search of potable water because local water sources have dried up – courtesy of Coca-Cola.

Such is the arrogance and impunity of Coca-Cola in India, and Kaladera is just one example.

As an institution of higher learning, IU plays a key role in advancing principles of fairness, justice and equality.

We urge IU to uphold these principles by sending a clear message to Coca-Cola that the campus cannot serve as a marketplace for unethical companies until they clean up their act.