Shareholders Ask Coca-Cola To Do More To Fight AIDS

CONTACT: Daniel Rosan,
Program Director, Access to Health Care
212-870-2317

ATLANTA - November 6, 2003 - Shareholders in Coca Cola Company today filed a resolution asking the Company to act on its commitment to the fight against AIDS and report to shareholders on the threat the HIV/AIDS - TB - Malaria pandemics pose to Coca Cola, which has a large presence in Africa and other parts of the developing world.

"Over one year ago, Coca-Cola and the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation committed to making sure Coca-Cola bottlers provided anti-retroviral treatment for HIV infected employees," said Sister Vicki Bergkamp, ASC, of The Adorers Of The Blood Of Christ, the lead filer of the Coca-Cola resolution. "Coca-Cola also agreed to devote some of its marketing muscle to help spread AIDS awareness messages."

"Today, we are asking the company what those efforts have to show for themselves. "

Sister Kathleen Coll of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia continued, "Coca-Cola has to get its own house in order. That means making sure everyone in the Coke family - including bottler employees and their families - have access to life-saving drugs." But she pointed out "Coke can't stop there. We want to know how Coke is going to deal with the economic collapse HIV/AIDS may cause if it is not addressed. And we want to know how Coke intends to be a part of stopping that collapse."

Currently, Coca-Cola provides treatment for its own employees, but bottlers who want to treat their workers must pay 50% of the cost. All bottlers have agreed to do so in principle - but slow implementation of the program has frustrated shareholders and drawn the ire of activists, who toned down a public campaign against Coca-Cola because of the commitments.

"Coca-Cola has no time to drag its feet," said Anna Burger of the Service Employees International Union Master Trust Fund, which is joining with religious investors working with Coca-Cola. "They are the largest employer in Africa - and a symbol around the globe. Coca-Cola can get a cold can of Coke into practically every hand in Africa. Surely they can do more to protect workers, their families, and every community challenged by HIV/AIDS."
Shareholders are also worried about the consequences of inaction on Coca-Cola's part. "Obviously caring for workers and fighting AIDS is the right thing to do," said Daniel Rosan of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. "But it is also the smart thing to do. Investors are demanding that the company protect their investment from the ravages of AIDS."

Recent World Bank and Harvard Business Review studies bolster shareholders' arguments. They show that providing treatment, with drugs available for less than a dollar a day, save money that would be spent on retraining, hiring, and other costs. And they raise grave concerns about the economic prospects in AIDS-impacted regions such as southern Africa.

"Productivity, absenteeism, low morale - Coca-Cola can avoid all these problems by making sure bottlers are providing treatment," Sister Bergkamp said. "But no company can avoid the economic hurricane of HIV/AIDS. Coca-Cola is going to have to take a long, hard look at its business plan, and what it can do to soften the blow."

Sister Bergkamp continued, "Coca-Cola has built a global business, and HIV/AIDS is a global problem. Africa is being devastated. Russia, India and China are in the cross hairs. This has the potential to be a core profitability problem for Coca-Cola. We're worried."
"For shareholders, this is an easy call," Ms. Burger concluded. "If our company is going to continue to be a global brand, we need Coca-Cola to be a leader, not a laggard, in the fight against AIDS."

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