Image from an E-card,
part of the Cokespotlight campaign, which
successfully changed Coke's policy on climate-killing
refrigerants.
05/05/2005— When Sydney declared that the
2000 Olympics would be the "Green games"
we pointed out that the refrigerants Coca-Cola
used to chill their beverage were also warming
our planet.
So with the good folks at Adbusters, we set
up "Cokespotlight," an online action
which generated messages from all over the
world telling the Coke CEO to go truly green
and phase out the climate-killing chemicals.
It worked so fast, we never got a chance to
roll out the banners or stage the confrontations
we'd been planning for the games: a clear
victory for online activism.
Now, almost five years later, the US government's
Environmental Protection Agency is applauding
improved practices by Coca-cola, along with
Unilever, and McDonalds.
We called on the global corporations to scrap
the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) refrigeration.
HFCs are one of the most potent greenhouse
gases ever invented. According to a report
by the International Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), HFCs contribute more to global warming
than originally thought. Natural refrigeration
systems, known as "Greenfreeze,"
are commercially available and can be used
instead of HFCs.
Coca-Cola quickly agreed to phase out the
use of HFCs in refrigeration by the start
of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. It promised
to expand its research into refrigeration
alternatives and insist that suppliers announce
specific time schedules to use only HFC-free
refrigeration in all new cold drink equipment
by 2004. McDonald's and Unilever soon followed
suit.
In June 2004, the corporations' commitment
to promote innovative ways to fight global
warming was strengthened at the "Refrigerants
Naturally" conference held in Belgium.
The three powerhouses showcased new refrigeration
technologies that are viable, efficient and
reliable. They called on others in the food
and drink industry to join their initiative.
Greenpeace Executive Director, Gerd Leipold,
commended the Coca-Cola, Unilever and McDonald's
alliance at the Refrigerants Naturally conference.
He said their good example should be "a
wake-up" call to governments and competitive
businesses around the world. Gerd went on
to say that HFCs are a "disaster and
a scandal," and that without government
action "the planet will be at the mercy
of individual corporate whims and greed."
On May 4, 2005, the Environmental Protection
Agency drove the point home by awarding the
companies the Climate Protection Award for
their leadership in developing technologies
that reduce the global warming impact and
energy usage of commercial refrigeration equipment.
These companies have taken the first step
in fighting global warming by developing more
climate friendly refrigeration. Now, however,
is the true test of Coca-Cola, McDonald's
and Unilever's commitment to confronting this
issue; we urge them to implement this technology
in North America, where its use is most important,
as quickly as possible.
