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Coca-Cola Vows to Change Perception Abroad
By Harry R. Weber
Associated Press
April 19, 2005
ATLANTA -- The Coca-Cola Co. vowed Tuesday to change the perception
of people who still believe it permits abusive practices abroad, a
tough sell to some shareholders who bombarded the world's biggest
beverage company with questions about human rights and water depletion.
At his first annual meeting since taking over the Atlanta-based company's
top post, chief executive Neville Isdell had his hands full pushing
through Coke's routine business of the day. The meeting was in Wilmington,
Del.
Shareholders didn't want to talk about re-electing the board of directors
or appointing an independent auditor. Instead, they questioned Isdell
about issues he's heard before, namely the killings of several union
workers at Coke bottling plants in Colombia and accusations that some
of Coke's plants in India have depleted local groundwater.
Isdell said Coke has not done anything wrong in the two countries,
noting that government inquiries in Colombia have dismissed the accusations
that Coke was complicit in the deaths by failing to protect workers
there. He also said a high court in India has sided with Coke over
the water dispute. Even so, Isdell conceded that the company's best
efforts to put the questions to rest have not been successful. Last
year's annual meeting also descended into questions about alleged
abuses abroad.
"As long as anyone continues to believe these allegations, we're going
to take them seriously" and work to change people's perceptions, Isdell
said.
Isdell turned down a request from one angry shareholder representative
to have a face-to-face debate with him, saying "I get many of those
(requests) and I respectfully decline that at this point in time."
Later, he said the company will engage "anybody who believes, even
though they're wrong, the accusations."
Outside the hotel where the meeting was held, about 25 protesters
gathered. Some carried signs and banners and chanted anti-Coke slogans
such as "Workers don't get what they need, all because of corporate
greed."
Amit Srivastava, an activist with the India Resource Center, noted
that leaders in one Indian village have refused to allow a Coca-Cola
plant there to reopen. The plant has been shut down for over a year
now because the village council has refused to renew the company's
license because they believe it is depleting the village water supply.
"The good news is that people in India really have started to organize
themselves to hold Coca-Cola accountable," Srivastava said.
The protesters represented campus groups from several colleges and
universities that have been working to ban the sale of Coke on their
campuses.
Carrying a bullhorn, Ryan Bates, 21, a University of Michigan political
science major, said "Coca-Cola is putting the value of profits over
the values of human dignity, lives and communities."
According to preliminary voting results released during the meeting,
three shareholder proposals, including one that would have restricted
compensation for current executives and another that would have restricted
severance packages given to departing executives, were rejected.
Coca-Cola shares rose $1.77, or 4.3 percent, to $42.74 in afternoon
trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have traded in
a range of $38.30 and $53.50.
Associated Press Writer Randall Chase contributed to this report
from Wilmington, Del.
FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. India Resource Center is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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