The University of Michigan has become the latest to boycott Coca Cola on its campuses after the soft drink company was accused of treating its Colombia employees badly and causing environmental pollution in India.
Due to the expired contract between Coca Cola and the university, around 50,000 students in three campuses under the university will not be able to drink Coke products including Sprite, Minute Maid and Powerade sports drinks. Earlier, nine other universities, including New York University, Rutgers University in New Jersey and Santa Clara University in California, meted out the same treatment to the soft drinks giant.
Problems for Coca Cola began in November 2004 when University of Michigan's Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality group lodged a formal complaint to the university that Coca Cola's bottling plants in India were precipitating drought condition and resulting in farmers losing water for their crops.
Other allegations, like contaminated water containing pesticides being used for preparing soft drinks in India, using paramilitary groups to curb union demands in Colombia and abuse of the environment and human rights were made against the company. The death of eight union leaders in Colombia was also blamed on the company.
After the complaint, talks commenced between the University of Michigan and Coca Cola. However, Coca Cola failed to convince the university's Dispute Review Board that it was serious about righting the wrongs. The board recommended the cancellation of the US$ 1.4 million contract after Coca Cola failed to present satisfactory findings of an independent third-party investigation.
“We plan to resume university procurement of Coca-Cola products if the details of an independent third-party investigation in Columbia can be resolved to our mutual satisfaction, and if we can agree on the process for a third-party review of environmental concerns in India,” a letter signed by University of Michigan's executive vice president Timothy Slottow and associate vice president of finance Peggy Norgen said.
Meanwhile, Coke spokesperson Kari Bjorhus expressed hopes that the university's decision was a temporary one. “The University of Michigan is an important school, and I respect the way they worked with us on this issue. (But) These are complicated issues. We are continuing to try hard to work with the university to address concerns and assure them about our business practices,” she said, adding that the matter was more of the reputation than the sales in the university.
About the third-party investigations, Bjorhus said that the company was facing a civil lawsuit and evidence from investigations might harm its interest in the court.
The Coke vending machines installed in the University of Michigan campuses would remain empty and products from other soft drink manufacturers would be sold on the campus.
