In 2003, Coca-Cola India was faced with allegations regarding the unsanitary production of beverages, unnecessary pollution, and physical abuse to unarmed protestors. During the time of allegations, Coca-Cola sales in India dropped 30-40%. Here are the specific allegations Coca-Cola was faced with...
Background information regarding the allegations against the Coca-Cola Enterprises in India (taken from a petition letter to Douglas Daft, the CEO of Coca-Cola):
(i) Allegation that Coca-Cola bottling plants in Plachimada[2] in
Kerala and Mehdiganj[3] in Uttar Pradesh pass on sludge as
fertilizer causing health and environmental damage.
(ii) Allegation that excessive depletion of water table caused by
Coca-Cola bottling operations is resulting in drastically
reduced availability of water for irrigation purposes which is
devastating local communities.[3]
(iii) Allegation that security personnel at Coca-Cola plant at
Mehdiganj used excessive force against unarmed citizens
protesting the damage caused by the manufacturing unit.[4]
(iv) Allegation that Coca-Cola bottled water and drinks manufactured
in New Delhi and Mumbai contained pesticides when tested by
reputed NGO Center for Science and Environment.[1]
A video depicting Coca-Cola's abusive production and distribution practices.
In response, Coca-Cola published this news release, and posted it on their website to make their statement public. In this news release, Coca-Cola addressed the environmental allegations.
What gave Coca-Cola validity in the company's defense was that Coca-Cola took the initiative to get expert opinions in the matter of pollution control and production techniques from scientists and even invited the Indian central government to make a detailed investigation of Coca-Cola's impact on water sources and the environment.
Coca-Cola effectively used the news release to disarm its protestors and find their allegations groundless. It is easy to target a large corporation as a source for environmental problems. Coca-Cola utilized professional and expert observation to prove the allegations false. This could have been a potentially damaging set of allegations against Coca-Cola, and probably still had a negative impact on the company; however, the damage control that was done protected Coca-Cola from allegations that challenge the company's vision and mission. No matter how well Coca-Cola controlled this situation, it still does not stop the Indian people from having false preceptions of Coca-Cola products that are infact damaging to the company image and sales.
In this report, the damages Coca-Cola has faced are noted and there is a brief "fact vs. myth" section where Coca-Cola smashes the false preceptions the Indian people had at the time of the allegations in 2003.
Coca-Cola made the right steps to dispell the myths regarding its negative company image in India. Coca-Cola brought these allegations to experts and the Indian central government and published the findings publically in a news release type statement as well as detailed reports. This has protected and defended the company's image and has enabled the Coca-Cola company to prosper yet again in India after this damaging set of allegations from 2003-2005. More recently, Coca-Cola has been recieving awards in India based on their involvment in preserving the environment in India from public relation campaigns Coca-Cola has set forth.
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