Coca-Cola cuts lobby group support, and mineral certification made easier
Coca-Cola drops support for lobbying group
Coca-Cola has pulled funding from the conservative lobbying organisation the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), following public pressure.
The non-profit organisation Colour of Change (COC), which seeks to strengthen the African American political voice, has been particularly critical, stating that the ALEC’s support of voter ID legislation (which, as the name suggests, requires citizens to present a photo ID in order to vote) is restricting the minority vote, as they often do not own photo IDs.
The group also criticised the ALEC’s support of the “stand your ground” law, which exists in more than two dozen states and says individuals have the right to defend themselves if they suspect their lives are under threat, and they have no obligation to try to retreat from the scene first. The controversial law has recently garnered heightened attention and criticism with the shooting of a 17-year-old African American in Florida wearing a hoodie, who was unarmed and, many argue, did not pose a threat to the shooter.
Coke has remained exceptionally tight-lipped about its decision to halt funding, simply releasing a statement that its initial involvement with the ALEC was “focused on efforts to oppose discriminatory food and beverage taxes, not on issues that have no direct bearing on our business”. Suffice to say, actions speak louder than words.
Despite NGO requests, FDA won’t ban BPA
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected a call by consumer advocacy groups to ban Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical commonly used in canned food and plastic products that many experts say is linked to cancer, obesity and other serious health risks.
In its decision, the FDA cited a need for continued research and review of the effects of BPA, and while it recommended voluntary actions to reduce BPA exposure, it stopped short of banning the chemical altogether.
The FDA did, however, publish a report in 2010 stating its concern about BPA’s potential effects on the brain, behaviour, and prostate glands of foetuses, infants and children.
With these findings in mind, it is no surprise that non-profit groups such as the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) are fighting the FDA’s ruling.
“How much evidence is sufficient to ‘conclude’ a chemical is safe?” asks Dr Sarah Janssen, senior scientist in the public health programme at the NRDC. “The burden is on the FDA to prove BPA is safe for use in the food supply. To date, they have not met that burden. The preponderance of scientific evidence points to concerns for the effects of BPA in multiple organ systems. A hormonally active chemical such as BPA has no place in our food supply.”
Janssen suspects that America’s powerful chemical lobbying groups and trade associations have something to do with the FDA’s decision, and accuses them of employing methods that are “disturbingly similar to the tactics used by the tobacco industry to raise doubts about the harms of cigarettes”.
The FDA says it will continue working with experts in the US federal government, such as the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Product Safety Commission, to explore BPA’s effects, and will update its assessment if warranted.
In the meantime, the NRDC will continue campaigning against BPA and encouraging state initiatives to remove the controversial chemical from consumer products.
New fund supports smelters
HP, Intel and the GE Foundation have joined forces with the non-profit group Resolve to help smelters ease the financial burden of certifying their minerals as conflict-free though a new, independent Conflict-Free Smelters (CFS) early-adopters fund.
The fund encourages the early adoption of the CFS protocols, established by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative. Smelters that pass their first CFS audit are rewarded with up to $5,000, which covers about half the cost of the audit.
The fund will be developed and managed by Resolve, a Washington DC-based non-profit group that fosters collaboration between businesses, government and non-profits to address environmental, social, and health issues. Resolve will employ its expertise and encourage other companies to join the fund.
In a year’s time, the founding participants will take stock of the initiative and make any necessary changes that improve the fund’s ability to incentivize smelters to become early adopters.
“Early leadership from electronics companies helped catalyse development of the Conflict-Free Smelter programme, and once again we see leaders like Intel, HP and the GE Foundation taking action to make a difference in the world supply chain,” says Stephen D’Esposito, president of Resolve.