Corporate accountability
Coca-Cola under fire as World Cup comes to London
Coca-Cola's dominance of the global soft drinks market has come at huge cost to local communities, the environment and its own workforce, according to a new report published by campaigns group War on Want. The new evidence appeared in the week that the Coca-Cola sponsored international World Cup tour came to London.
Coca-Cola: The Alternative Report is the first full exposé of the company’s activities worldwide, and forms part of War on Want’s ongoing campaign for directors to be made liable for corporate wrongdoing. The report brings together new research and testimony to show how Coca-Cola has:
- exhausted community water reserves in India by drilling deep into underground reservoirs, drying up local wells and leaving farmers unable to irrigate their crops;
- contaminated local ecosystems in El Salvador and India through waste effluents discharged from its plants;
- been implicated in human rights abuses in Colombia, including the death and disappearances of trade union activists at Coca-Cola bottling plants;
- adopted union-busting tactics in a wide range of other countries such as Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, Peru, Chile, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
 |  | E-card:
Send a postcard to Coca-Cola management urging them to redress the damage that they are inflicting upon communities and its workers worldwide. | |
 | | World Cup:
Coca-Cola promotes a sporty image of itself through sponsorship of events such as the World Cup, but the company is not playing fair with its workers and with local communities around the world. | |
 | | Olympics:
The International Olympic Committee is awarding Coca-Cola contracts for the London 2012 without carrying out a full investigation of the company’s abuses. | |
 | | World Water Forum Blog:
Coca-Cola sponsored the World Water Forum in Mexico whilst communities around the world accuse the company of depleting and contaminating water systems. War on Want's Joe Zacune was there to challenge the company. | |
