[NYTr] Coca-Cola Loses University of Illinois Contract

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India Resource Center
http://www.indiaresource.org

Coca-Cola Loses University of Illinois Contract

For Immediate Release - August 6, 2007

Contact:
Shivali Tukdeo, Coalition Against Coke Contracts +1 503 867 1284 (US)
Amit Srivastava, India Resource Center +91 98103 46161 (India)

New Delhi (August 6, 2007): The Coca-Cola company has lost its 
contract with the University of Illinois, giving another boost to the 
international campaign against Coca-Cola.

Students and faculty at the University of Illinois, a prestigious 
public university with over 40,000 students, have campaigned for over 
two years to end the 10-year, exclusive "pouring rights" agreement 
with Coca-Cola because of the company's unethical practices in India 
and globally.

The Coca-Cola company has created severe water shortages around its 
bottling operations across India, and one of its largest bottling 
plants has been shut down by the government because of pollution.

"This is a tremendous victory for the campus community and sends a 
strong message to the Coca-Cola company that it must respect human 
rights and the environment," said Shivali Tukdeo of the Coalition 
Against Coke Contracts, a broad coalition of campus and community 
groups that led the campaign to remove Coca-Cola from campus.

More than 20 colleges and universities in the US, UK and Canada have 
removed Coca-Cola from campuses as a result of student-led 
initiatives to apply pressure on the company for its practices in 
India and internationally.

"We welcome the decision in Illinois to remove Coca-Cola and the 
action goes a long way in pressuring the Coca-Cola company to do the 
right thing in India," said Nandlal Master of Lok Samiti, a community 
group that is campaigning for the closure of Coca-Cola's bottling 
plant in Mehdiganj in north India.

In an unusual arrangement, the state of Illinois negotiated new 
contracts for beverages for the state which covers over 2000 vending 
machines and 29 facilities across the state, including the University 
of Illinois and Northeastern University.

The Coalition Against Coke Contracts enjoyed widespread support from 
the campus and community, and also approached the University of 
Illinois Board of Trustees and petitioned university administrators 
to end the contract with Coca-Cola.

The state selection committee included Mr. Mike Bass, Executive 
Assistant Vice President for Business and Finance at the University 
of Illinois. Mr. Bass admitted that financial considerations were not 
the only criteria used for rejecting the contract with Coca-Cola.

"The decision from Illinois is a clear message to Coca-Cola that the 
campaign will continue to take a toll on its profits and image until 
it gets serious about addressing the concerns in India," said Amit 
Srivastava of India Resource Center, an international campaigning 
organization that worked closely with the Coalition Against Coke 
Contracts at the University of Illinois.

For more information, visit India Resource Center 
http://www.IndiaResource.org/
and Coalition Against Coke Contracts
http://caccuc.blogspot.com

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