Coca-Cola has continued unethical practices that negatively impact communities in India. The document describes how Coca-Cola illegally extracted large amounts of groundwater at a plant in Kerala, lowering the water table by over 100 meters and causing health issues. Similarly, a plant in Kala Dera depleted local groundwater levels, harming farmers' livelihoods. Despite this, Coca-Cola denies wrongdoing and makes misleading claims about sustainability efforts like rainwater harvesting. The document argues Coca-Cola's actions in India show its corporate social responsibility campaigns are disingenuous.

1. Coca-Cola Continues Unethical and
Dishonest Practices in India
-Ravichandra Devadiga

2. Overview
 The Indian government forced Coca-Cola out of the
country in 1977.
 The company returned in 1993
 Each bottling plants extracts up to 1.5m liters of water
everyday from the ground.
 It takes nine liters of clean water to manufacture a
liter of Coke.
 In 2000 Coca-Cola opened a plant at Plachimada, a
village in Kerala to produce 1.2m liters of coke every
day.

3.  The conditional license granted by the local Panchayat
authorized the use of motorized pumps
 But the company drilled more than six wells & illegally
installed high-powered electric pumps to extract
millions of liters of pure water.
 The level of the water table fell from 45 to 150 meters
below the surface.

4.  The company started dumping waste outside causing a
serious health hazard.
 The court gave Coca-Cola a notice to cease water
extraction
 The theft of water was not only limited to kerala
 Overexploitation of groundwater soon started in
Kaladera

5. Kala Dera - Thirsting from Coca-Cola
 Kala Dera is a large village outside the city of Jaipur.
 Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood.
 Coca-Cola started its bottling operations in Kala Dera
in 2004, and within a year, the community started to
notice a rapid decline in groundwater levels.

6. Unusable Well in Kala Dera
Showing Depleted Water Level

7.  For farmers, loss of groundwater translated directly
into loss of income.
 For many children it meant leaving schools to provide
a much needed helping hand in household since the
women had additional burdens.

8. Community response
The community in Kala Dera organized itself to
challenge the Coca-Cola company for the worsening
water conditions - through extraction and pollution -
and demanded the closure of the Coca-Cola bottling
plant.

9. Company's Response
The company, in usual fashion, denied any wrongdoing,
blaming "outsiders" for the increasing local
community opposition

10. Stop Using Groundwater in Kala Dera
The assessment noted that the plant's operations would
continue to worsen water situation

11. Coca-Cola's Response - Unethical
and Dishonest
 Coca-cola took seven month to respond
 Coca-cola not respond to the concern raised
 Unethical and dishonest campaign
 Chosen to continue the operation
 Continued in misery of thousand people

12. Coca-Cola should no longer utilize the overexploited
groundwater resource in Kala Dera
1. Transport water from the nearest aquifer that may
not be stressed
2. Store water from low-stress seasons
3. Relocate the plant to a water-surplus area
4. Shut down this facility
The community in Kala Dera welcomed the
recommendations and waited for company’s
response.

13. COKE’S Corporate Social Responsibility - A Scam?
The Coca-Cola steps up its corporate social responsibility
announcing to the world that it is a “green and socially
responsible company.” --- but was not the case at kala
dera

14.  The company announce its rainwater harvesting
initiatives in India
 It also announce that the company will become
"water neutral" in India by 2009.

15. Some serious concerns about Coca-Cola's
claims on rainwater harvesting
 The company announced that it has recharged five times
the amount of water it has used.
 When asked to back it up with numbers, Coca-Cola does
not provide any.
 Coca-Cola states that they "will install measuring devices
that will verify the amount of water recharged."
 If they do not have measuring devices installed to verify the
amount of water recharged, how can they make a claim of
recharging five times the water that they have extracted?

16.  People across Rajasthan are well known in rainwater
harvesting and have been harvesting rainwater long before
Coca-Cola started.
 Coca-Cola started rainwater harvesting to overcome response
to the growing campaigns against its water mismanagement.
 Coca-Cola was bluffing people with its rainwater harvesting.
 The rainfall in the area is too low, and the amount of rainfalls
fluctuates a lot contributing to 30 days of rains every year
 80% of those rains come in just two or three days and hence
rainwater harvesting is simply not efficient

17.  Based on their rainwater harvesting initiatives Coca-
Cola company has announced that they will become
water neutral in India by 2009
 Coca- cola will recharge more water than the use from
the groundwater resource. ---A BLUFF

18. Coca-Cola Threatens Top Indian Photographer with Lawsuit
Billboard by: Sharad Haksar

19.  In 2005, Coca-Cola's Indian subsidiary, sent a letter to Mr.
Haksar threatening him with serious legal actions unless
the billboard was replaced 'unconditionally and
immediately'.
 Coca-Cola would seek Indian Rupees 2 million (US$
45,000) for "incalculable damage to the goodwill and
reputation" of Coca-Cola, and also sought an
'unconditional apology in writing'.
 Mr. Haksar said that he had no intentions of issuing any
apology because he has not committed anything wrong.

20. THANK YOU