Posted on 03/10/2006 5:24:28 PM PST by cope85
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co. (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest beverage company, on Wednesday joined the Global Compact, a six-year-old U.N. program intended to help businesses become better world citizens.
Coca-Cola Chairman and Chief Executive E. Neville Isdell told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the firm's decision to join the compact during a meeting at U.N. headquarters.
The compact is the world's largest voluntary corporate responsibility network with 2,900 participating organizations in 90 countries.
The Atlanta-based company has annual sales of $23 billion and markets beverages in more than 200 countries.
Isdell said the decision showed the company's commitment to conduct its business "with the utmost respect for universal principles" centering on human rights, workplace standards, responsible environmental practices and fighting corruption."
"Our commitment applies to The Coca-Cola Company, and all of the entities that it owns or in which it holds a majority interest," he said in a statement.
Annan created the program as a way to encourage corporations to commit to nine key principles embodied in U.N. treaties or risk a backlash from poor nations left out of globalization.
The principles include ending sweatshop conditions, child labor and discrimination against minorities or women and developing environmentally friendly technologies.
Leadership at Coke tends to be Republican - if they are doing this they think its smart business.
its not about America anymore! will they wake up in time?The Global Compact consists of 10 universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption that participating businesses, industry associations, academic institutions and civil society groups agree to support. To date, there are a total of 122 U.S. participants, including 81 companies.
Trade talks concluding in London today between six of the leading global players will help prepare the ground for a wider deal involving all 149 members of the World Trade Organisation, Peter Mandelson said yesterday.
Europe's trade commissioner, who has been chairing two days of discussions involving the EU, the US, Japan, Australia, India and Brazil, rejected claims by lobby groups that the meeting ignored the interests of the poorest countries.
"This is not a secret deal but an opportunity to ... help the rest of the WTO to reach agreement. The gap is real but it is bridgeable," he said.
NWO. Have a Coke and a smile and STFU. The NWO is in place and the official state beverage is Tab.
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