Coca-Cola committed to fair practices

As director of global labor relations at the Coca-Cola Company,
I share student interest in advancing human rights, labor rights
and environmental responsibility around the world.

I’d like to give you another perspective to consider in
response to the Feb. 28 Daily Bruin story by Mussarat Bata and the
opinion piece by Aliya Hussaini (“Coalition campaigns against
Coca-Cola”; “Coke’s practices have no place on
campus”).

The success of our business depends on the success and
contentment of our employees. Coca-Cola is committed to treating
our employees fairly and providing them with safe and healthy work
environments.

In Colombia and around the world, we respect workers’
rights to unionize, and we do not tolerate intimidation of union
members.

Two different judicial inquiries in Colombia found no evidence
to support the allegations mentioned in your paper.

Additionally, a recent assessment of our operations by a
respected global corporate social accountability auditor found no
violations and uncovered no allegations with respect to human
rights abuses at any of our plants.

To further demonstrate our commitment, we are working with
international labor and nongovernmental organizations, as well as
our most vocal critics, to develop another credible, impartial and
independent third-party assessment of our operations in
Colombia.

In India, the Coca-Cola Company is partnering with the Indian
Central Ground Water Authority, local governments and communities
to combat water scarcity by expanding the use of rainwater
harvesting technology. The company has installed nearly 200
rainwater-harvesting structures across 17 states throughout India
and is planning for 40 new such projects this year.

Through rainwater harvesting, the water from heavy downpours
during the rainy seasons can be captured and returned to the
aquifer.

Coca-Cola India has received a prestigious environmental award
for the third consecutive year for its efforts with rainwater
harvesting.

All the water used to manufacture our beverages conforms to the
highest international drinking water standards. We test for traces
of pesticide residues in water to the level of parts per billion.
All this is to ensure that a bottle of Coke tastes the same in
India as it does in Colombia or Southern California.

We respect the need for campus scrutiny of the products and
services that are provided to the UCLA community. We hope that you
consider all sides of these issues and that any decisions made at
UCLA are based on being fully informed of the facts involved.

Potter is the director of global labor relations for the
Coca-Cola Company.