August 16, 2010

NEWS: A New Issue Percolates Throughout India: How Much to Charge for Water?

Every day that it’s open for business, the local Coca-Cola bottling plant in this parched corner of India draws about 200,000 litres of underground water from four wells. Coke’s annual bill for 36 million litres? Zero. Pawan Bansal, minister for water resources, says companies like Coke must be stopped from extracting water for nothing.

July 3, 2010

PRESS: Government Moves to Claim $48 Million in Damages from Coca-Cola

In a major step towards holding Coca-Cola accountable for damages it has caused in India, the state government of Kerala decided on Wednesday to move forward with the formation of a tribunal that will hear and award compensation claims against the Coca-Cola company. Using the “polluter pays principle”, a High Power Committee had recommended that Coca-Cola be held liable for Indian Rupees 216 crore (US$ 48 million) for damages caused as a result of the company’s bottling operations in Plachimada.

June 27, 2010

PRESS: Three Workers Killed In Coca-Cola Factory Explosion in India

Three workers were killed and at least five others seriously injured at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Khurda in the state of Orissa in India on Friday. The workers were engaged in the maintenance of a boiler in the factory which exploded.

June 4, 2010

OPINION: Exporting Junk Food – Good for Business, Bad for Health

It comes as a major disappointment that while companies like Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestle, Kraft Foods and the like have pledged commitments to reduce calorie intake and fight obesity in the US, these very companies are extremely busy ramping up their presence in the developing world, and China and India in particular.