Challenging Corporate Control of Water

On December 2nd and 3rd, global corporations will meet in San Francisco at a conference called “Corporate Water Footprinting: Towards a Sustainable Water Strategy,” to discuss their use of water, and ostensibly, outline water conservation strategies.

A conference geared towards sustainable use of water is indeed welcome, but having the largest water abusers in charge is not.

Given the central role of water-intensive companies in the conference – Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Nestlé Waters, MillerCoors, Intel, Dean Foods, General Electric, ConAgra Foods – and the glaring absence of perspectives from those without access to water – it is clear that the conference is designed primarily to greenwash the practices of these very companies that have, in many cases, led to water scarcity and water contamination resulting in the denial of people’s access to water.

Access to water is a fundamental human right. With more than a billion people – about one in six – lacking access to safe drinking water, it is imperative that the international community act urgently to meet the growing challenge of providing access to water to everyone.

Join us to challenge the corporate agenda of privatization of water and place the focus on strengthening public institutions so that they do what they are supposed to do – deliver a public good to the public at large.

Speakers will include:

• Maude Barlow, Blue Planet Project, Council of Canadians, Special Advisor on Water to the United Nations
• Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food and Water Watch
• Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief, Winnemum Wintu Tribe, Indigenous Environmental Network
• Amit Srivastava, Coordinator, International Campaign Against Coca-Cola and India Resource Center

Sponsored by: Blue Planet Project/Council of Canadians, Food and Water Watch, India Resource Center, Indigenous Environmental Network, International Campaign Against Coca-Cola

Initial endorsers include: Alliance for Democracy, Center for Political Education, Design Action, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Global Exchange, Movement Generation, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, International Forum on Globalization, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, International Rivers, Oakland Institute, Other Worlds, People Organizing to Demand Environmental & Economic Rights (PODER), Ruckus Society, The Public Trust Alliance, Peoples Health Movement.

For more info or to endorse, contact Jeff at jconant [at] fwwatch.org or Amit at info [at] indiaresource.org

See our position paper at http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/2008/challengecorporatecontrol.html