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Leaders Urge U.N. to Withdraw Support from CEO Water Mandate

CorporateAccountabilityInternational — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:19:45 -0700

Mandate fosters corporate control, threatens global access to water

For Immediate Release: March 21, 2008

Contact:
Nick Guroff, Corporate Accountability International, (617) 784-4753
Tony Clarke, Polaris Institute, 613-746-8374

NEW YORK CITY—Leaders from more than 125 environmental, public health, water justice, human rights and corporate accountability organizations in 35 countries, are urging United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to withdraw his support from the CEO Water Mandate—a voluntary initiative being promoted as a way for corporations to make progress toward protecting water resources.

Corporations like Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Suez and others that have joined the CEO Water Mandate have drawn criticism from around the world for practices that threaten people’s access to water. Organizations delivered the letter to coincide with the U.N.’s World Water Day, to call attention to the threats posed by corporate control of public water resources.

“Although the stated purpose of the CEO Water Mandate is to make progress toward protecting water resources,” says Tony Clarke of the Polaris Institute in Canada, “we are concerned that it is really a thinly veiled public relations effort by for-profit corporations to gain greater control over water resources and services around the world. This is a prime example of ‘greenwashing’ and the U.N. should not be giving it credibility and support.”

“The United Nations should play a vital and active role toward protecting water as a human right and ecological trust,” says Rafael Colmenares of the Comité Nacional en Defensa del Agua y de la Vida in Colombia. “Instead, through the CEO Water Mandate, the U.N. is helping to advance corporate control of water.”

“Corporations like Coca-Cola, Suez and Nestlé are trying to turn water into a high-priced commodity, the oil of the 21st century,” says Kathryn Mulvey of Corporate Accountability International in the United States. “This presents a grave threat to people’s access to water. The United Nations needs to stand up for public, democratic control of a resource that is essential to life.”

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Think Outside the Bottle

CorporateAccountabilityInternational — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:29:20 -0700

Think Outside the Bottle is a campaign working to promote, protect and ensure public funding for our public water systems. That means challenging corporations who undermine public confidence in tap water. It also means working with mayors, faith groups, restaurants, celebrities, campuses, and individuals to support public systems by opting for tap over bottled water.

Did you know?

*Seventy-four percent of Americans drink bottled water, and one in five drinks only bottled water.

*Worldwide, consumers spent $100 billion on bottled water in 2005.

*Each year more than 4 billion pounds of PET plastic bottles end up in landfills or as roadside litter.

*Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil last year – enough fuel for more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year - and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.

learn more at www.StopCorporateAbuse.org

Corporate Hall of Shame

CorporateAccountabilityInternational — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:37:42 -0700

This year’s election is all about the issues — global warming, war-profiteering, predatory lending — or at least that is the case in Corporate Accountability International’s annual Corporate Hall of Shame.

This year’s nominees made headlines for breaking the law, influencing elected officials, undermining democratic decision-making and outright endangering the environment and public health. They include ADM, Blackwater Worldwide, Countrywide, Wal-Mart, Mattel, Nestlé, Toyota, and Wendy’s.

Each voter has three votes, to cast on nominated corporations or for write-in candidates. Voters are also encouraged to post comments about specific corporations on the ballot.

Corporate Accountability International

CorporateAccountabilityInternational — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:37:48 -0700