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Home--Campaigns--Coca-Cola
Key Findings of the TERI Assessment
by India Resource Center
February 1, 2008
The campaign against Coca-Cola has maintained (and continues to maintain)
that the Coca-Cola company's operations in India have negatively affected
large numbers of people in India, particularly those that live around
Coca-Cola's bottling plants.
The assessment by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of Coca-Cola's
operations in India released on January 14, 2008, validate the concerns
being raised by the communities in India.
As a result of the assessment, it is clear that the Coca-Cola has
continued to operate in an unethical manner in India. It is highly
likely that the Coca-Cola company will have to shut yet another bottling
plant in India- in Kala Dera, as the assessment recommends.
The assessment also points to the real and concrete problems created
when a company such as Coca-Cola operated in water-stressed areas
in India. As a result of the assessment, which makes clear the fallacy
of operating bottling plants in water stressed areas, we now expect
the calls for shutting down bottling plants in India to grow significantly,
particularly in water stressed areas.
SOME KEY FINDINGS OF THE TERI ASSESSMENT
Community Concerns Validated
The assessment has VALIDATED the concerns that communities have been
raising against Coca-Cola. As the assessment itself notes:
"In general, the community perceptions were found in conformity to
the results obtained from the detailed technical assessment of groundwater
resources." Page 38
Coca-Cola Has Sited its Bottling Plants Without Due Consideration
to Community Impacts
The assessment is very clear that the Coca-Cola company has sited
its bottling plants in India from strictly a "business continuity"
perspective that has not taken the wider context into perspective.
The report notes:
"The company's assessment of water availability in the vicinity of
a bottling operation should be from a perspective that is wider than
business continuity." Page 489
Coca-Cola Has Not Respected Rights of Farmers and Groundwater
Conditions
Taking note of the fact that 3 of the 6 sites assessed were either
in overexploited or critical groundwater areas, the repot notes:
"Siting policies need to recognize and respect the existing (formal
and informal) riparian rights. For instance, the informal rights of
the farmers to extract groundwater for irrigation need to be respected.
This has also been acknowledged in the national and most state water
policies that give precedence to domestic and agriculture demands
vis-ŕ-vis industrial demand for water. This aspect is relevant particularly
in case of areas that are critical or overexploited (as per the norms
defined by the Central Ground Water Board, Government of India) and/or
have been experiencing irregular and low rainfall." Page 489
Assessment Agrees with Key Campaign Demand - Shut Down Kala
Dera
The TERI assessment has recommended a key campaign demand - the closure
of the Kala Dera bottling plant in Rajasthan. The assessment notes:
"From the detailed assessment undertaken in the Kaladera watershed,
it is obvious that the area is overexploited and it is highly unlikely
that the water situation would improve to a level as to make its availability
a non-issue. The reasons for this may be many and contributing factors
may include, apart from the HCCBPL's operations, the existence of
other industries, changes in cropping patterns, and rainfall. It was
beyond the scope of this study to look at contributions, or indeed
the chronology of establishment, of these other industries. Nor was
it in the sprit of the assessment to attribute the issue to other
stakeholders. What emerges, however, is that the plant's operations
in this area would continue to be one of the contributors to a worsening
water situation and a source of stress to the communities around.
Water contingency measures as adopted by the plant seem to rely heavily
on rainwater recharge structures, which in turn depend on rainfall
in the region. Since the rainfall is scanty, the recharge achieved
through such structures is unlikely to be meaningful.
In such a scenario, TCCC has to evaluate its options for HCCBPL, Kaladera,
such as:
- Transport water from the nearest aquifer that may not be stressed
(could be at quite a distance from the existing plant)
- Store water from low-stress seasons (may not exist!)
- Relocate the plant to a water-surplus area
- Shut down this facility
Page 42
Coca-Cola Also Warned on Mehdiganj, Another Key Campaign Demand
The TERI assessment also validates the concerns of the communities
around Mehdiganj who have been campaigning against the local Coca-Cola
bottling plant for creating water shortages. Using the logic offered
for Kala Dera, the Coca-Cola company should also be making plans to
shut down the bottling plant in Mehdiganj - another key campaign demand
as well as the bottling plant in Nabipur. The report notes:
"In addition to the general recommendations, there is a need to take
note of the fact that while in Mehndiganj, the water tables have been
depleting and the aquifer may move from a safe to semi-critical situation,
in Nabipur, the state of the aquifer has already moved from critical
to overexploited condition (refer Chapter 4B and 4C). In both the
areas, water-intensive crops such as rice are predominantly cultivated
for a major part of the year and riparian rights need to be respected."
Page 43
Coca-Cola has Not Met its Own Waste Management Standards at
Plants Surveyed
While Coca-Cola has met most, BUT NOT ALL, government regulatory standards
with regard to water quality, the company has failed to meet its own
TCCC standards at all the plants surveyed. What is the point of having
TCCC standards, we ask, if the company does not meet them? The report
notes:
"As compared to TCCC's own treated wastewater quality standards, TKN
(total Kjeldahl nitrogen) was found to exceed the limits in all the
six plants. In addition to this, one time or marginal exceedances
were found for TDS, total suspended solids, and anionic surfactants
in HCCBPL Mehndiganj; biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids,
and iron in HCCBPL Nabipur; and biochemical oxygen demand, iron, and
cadmium in HCCBPL Pirangut." Page 34
Coca-Cola Does Not Have Adequate Pollution Prevention Measures
The assessment also pointed out the deficiencies in managing waste
in Coca-Cola's plants in India. The report notes:
"TCCC and CCI need to develop additional requirements (standards)
covering treated wastewater quality. For instance, the presence of
faecal coliform and several other physico-chemical pollutants in the
treated wastewater in almost all the plants calls for an urgent and
stringent definition (and implementation) of standards and practices
as well as source identification." Page 490
The assessment also notes that "Hydraulic loading rates as prescribed
by the state pollution control boards for land application of treated
effluent could not be verified at any of the sites as mentioned in
the site-specific reports. Hence, the ETPs need to be redesigned/
modified and flow-measuring devices need to be installed both at the
inlet and outlet of the ETP for all the plants." Page 490
The TERI assessment also found shortcomings in the effluent discharge
in 4 of the 6 plants assessed. The report noted:
"The treated effluent discharge at four of the six plants (namely,
HCCBPL Kaladera, Mehndiganj, Sathupalle, Nabipur), mostly met the
effluent discharge requirements except for one-time exceedance of
bioassay test at two sites (HCCBPL Kaladera and Nabipur) as per the
appropriate regulatory standards by CPCB (Central Pollution Control
Board), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India,
for disposal of treated wastewater on land for irrigation. The quality
of the treated wastewater from the ETP (effluent treatment plant)
at HCCBPL Nemam indicates exceedance of fluoride as per specified
Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board limits. Similarly, the quality
of the treated wastewater from the ETP at HCCBPL Pirangut facility
indicates exceedance of chloride as per specified Maharashtra State
Pollution Control Board limits." Page 34
Increased Pollution in Immediate Vicinity of Coca-Cola Plants
The TERI assessment also confirmed an alarming trend that the communities
living around Coca-Cola's bottling plants have identified- pollution.
However, the TERI assessment is not able to identify the source of
the pollution, and has called for further studies. The report notes:
"Regional water quality assessment of four out of six sites (Kaladera,
Mehndiganj, Nemam, and Sathupalle) revealed that villages located
in the immediate vicinity of the plant showed the excess presence
of certain parameters. However, since this assessment here could not
relate the regional groundwater quality to the operations of the Coca-Cola
plant, there is a need to carry out a further detailed study to establish/rule
out the reasons for such presence." Page 36
Problems with Process Water
The TERI assessment also found problems with the process water (treated
water used inside for plant processes) in the Coca-Cola plants, noting:
"Plant process water quality was compared to the norms prescribed
by national standards IS 10500: 1991, and IS 14543: 2001 (for packaged
drinking water) as well as TCCC specifications for treated water.
Process water quality was not in exceedance of any of the monitored
parameters at three of the six sites (HCCBPL Kaladera, Neman, and
Pirangut). HCCBPL, Nabipur was found to be meeting norms for all parameters
except nitrite compared to the norms specified under IS 14543:2004.
The samples taken at HCCBPL Mehndiganj were also well below the specified
standards; however, nitrite showed a one time marginal exceedance
compared to the norms specified under IS 14543:2004. At the Sathupalle
site pH, after a 0.22 micron filter, was found slightly in excess
(towards acidic) of IS 10500, IS 14543 limits." Page 33
Coca-Cola Continues to Act in Bad Faith
The TERI assessment makes it clear that the fact that the Coca-Cola
company did not share the Environmental Due Diligence with TERI has
hampered the scope and effectiveness of the assessment. The report
notes:
"EDD (Environmental Due Diligence) conducted by TCCC, prior to selecting
a site or acquiring an existing site for setting up a bottling operation,
examines the sources of water availability, restriction with respect
to wastewater discharge, and issues of contamination and pollution
at the site. While TERI was informed that this requirement for conducting
EDD existed, the actual EDD assessments of the six selected plants
were not shared due to legal and confidential reasons. Hence, it is
not possible to surmise the extent to which long-term water availability
for bottling operations were considered while conducting EDDs, or
indeed the wider regional impacts considered." Page 26
The TERI assessment also points to a disturbing question. Did Coca-Cola
company officials know (as they should have) that the area around
the Kala Dera bottling plant was already classified as an overexploited
block? The Environmental Due Diligence should have alerted them to
the fact that the area was classified as overexploited. Regardless,
the Coca-Cola company located its plant in Kala Dera, which has resulted
in increased water shortages for the community. The report notes:
"A case in point here is the HCCBPL, Kaladera, which was established
in 1999 in the Govindgarh block. This block was declared an overexploited
block as per the assessment of January 1998 but was not notified as
such. In response to queries from TERI, Coca-Cola representatives
explained that the company's requirements do not explicitly necessitate
the assessment of the effects of HCCBPL, Kaladera, bottling operations
on groundwater in the region of operation but focused on ensuring
a sustained supply of water for business operations." Page 26
On the Issue of Pesticides in Soft Drinks
As for the presence of pesticides in Coca-Cola products, this was
not within the purview of the assessment. TERI did NOT test Coca-Cola
products in India to see if they contained pesticides. The Centre
for Science and Environment did test Coca-Cola products, twice. Both
times, the Centre for Science and Environment confirmed the excessive
levels of pesticides in Coca-Cola products. Please refer to the press
statement on this matter by the Centre for Science and Environment.
For more information, visit www.IndiaResource.org
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PRESS: Coca-Cola Forced to Abandon $25 Million Project in India
PRESS: Coca-Cola Expansion Plans Rejected
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STUDY: Coca-Cola’s Operations in India Lead to “Tragedy of the Commons”
PRESS: 15 Village Councils Reject Coca-Cola Plans as Opposition Grows
Mehdiganj - The Issues
PRESS: Coca-Cola Expansion Plan Opposed in Mehdiganj, India
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