Coca-Cola has hit back at campaigners in India whom it claims are
causing the company undeserved reputational damage over its use of
water supplies in the Kerala region.
The
company says ‘politically motivated’ community elders and pressure
groups are unfairly blaming Coca-Cola for a water shortage caused by
two years of much reduced rainfall.
Local politicians,
community groups and some western non-governmental organizations have
said water shortages in the area are largely caused by Coca-Cola’s
bottling plant at Plachimada, and a lengthy legal battle has ensued.
When
the Perumatty village council refused to renew the plant’s water
licence, the Kerala High Court supported the decision. However, a
division bench of that court has quashed the ruling after a panel of
independent experts set up by the court found no evidence that the
company’s operations were causing water shortages.
The village
council has refused to accept the latest decision and has appealed to
the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the plant, which has already been
closed for a year as a result of the court battles, will remain shut.
Coca-Cola has kept all 400 employees on full pay even though they are
not working, and will continue to do so until the dispute is settled.
The
allegations about Coca-Cola’s impact have been picked up by a number of
international pressure groups and widely aired in the world’s press.
However, Coca-Cola says the campaigners are guilty of ‘brand-jacking’ –
using a well-known multinational as a soft target to blame for local
problems. Since the allegations surfaced, communities near other
Coca-Cola plants have begun to demand their closure.
Coca-Cola,
which extracted 380,000 litres of water daily from groundwater sources
for washing and bottling in its plant at Plachimada, told EP: ‘Our view
is that this is a politically motivated attack. There are 27 other
business users of water within five kilometres. About half of those use
more water than we do. But they are all Indian-owned and not one of
them has been targeted. We feel we’ve been singled out unjustly,
especially as we put most of the water back after it has been treated.
‘In
many ways it would be better for us just to close the plant and get rid
of the reputational damage, but there’s an important point of principle
here. We are one of the most responsible users of water in India, and
while we’re not perfect we are many years ahead of most other companies
in the country. Unfortunately, if you want to make a point about
something in a developing country such as India it is easier to find a
multinational to blame.’
The report to the court said water
stocks in the area had decreased because rainfall had been about
two-thirds lighter in the past two years, and that Coca-Cola could not
be blamed.
Amit Srivastava, director, global resistance of the
India Resource Centre, which has campaigned on the issue, said it was
‘absurd’ that the company ‘should be allowed to waste precious natural
resources in such a frivolous manner’.
Coca-Cola says it has offered to take Srivastava to its operations, but claims he has refused even to talk to the company.
• A water sustainability project has been started in Delhi with
sponsorship from Coca-Cola India. The Jal Beema Abhiyaan project will
be run at 50 locations by Coca-Cola in partnership with
non-governmental organizations and local councils and communities.
Every site will be managed by volunteers known as ‘water saviours’, who
will implement water conservation schemes.
The project is one of 30 citizenship initiatives in which Coca-Cola is involved across India.
