RE: COKE and APC SPONSORSHIP OF THE CURC CONFERENCE SERIES --- MONEY AND POLICY
The ultimate goal of 'sponsorship' is to INFLUENCE PUBLIC POLICY.
Corporations and their trade associations use their BIG BUCKS to BUY that
influence and they are very successful at it. Here are just a few recent
examples of attempts by Coke, Pepsi and their trade association and the
American Plastics Council to BUY INFLUENCE.
America Recycles Day/State Recycling Organizations: In recent months, the
soft drink companies and the state soft drink associations (SDA's) have been
getting increasingly involved in recycling campaigns. Nearly every state
America Recycles Day Committee had a representative from that state's soft
drink association as do most state recycling organizations.
National Recycling Coalition: The National Soft Drink Association
(representing Coke and Pepsi) was one of eight sponsors of the National
Recycling Coalition's Anniversary Gala in October. Corporate sponsorship of
NRC activities is standard operating procedure.
America Recycles Day (ARD): The National Soft Drink Association (NSDA)was
the 'exclusive' sponsor of the America Recycles Day website. The ARD
website is linked to the NSDA website where the visitor can get all the
anti-bottle bill information he/she desires. CRI has protested this 'link'
and called on EDF, NRC, EPA and the OFEE to have the ARD site DELINKED from
the NSDA website. The sites remain linked as of this writing.
US EPA: The OECD Workshop on Producer Responsibility sponsored by the US
EPA: A lavish reception and dinner in early December for 60 OECD
participants at the U.S. Capitol was sponsored by:
The American Plastics Council (APC)
The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA)
The National Soft Drink Association (NSDA)
The American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA)
Coke and APC do not want legislative mandates such as recycled content
requirements, bottle bills, or any other sort of 'producer responsibility'
initiatives.
MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
At 02:38 PM 12/21/98 -0500, Dennis Clark wrote:
>There seems to be enough of us asking why Coke and APC are sponsoring our
>conference series that someone should come forward to explain! Who signed
>these folks up as sponsors? The NRC? Isn't that contradictory to the
>mission (and demonstration on Thursday in NM) of the NRC's Grassroots
>Recycling Council? I feel VERY uncomforable having Coke as a sponsor, and I
>trust there are others that agree. (I do like their polar bear commericals
>though!)
>
>At 10:34 AM 12/21/98 -0800, you wrote:
>>What's the story on the American Plastics Council as a sponsor?
>>Isn't that like having the beef producers sponsor a PETA conference?
>
>*****************************************************
>Dennis Clark
>University of Virginia Facilities Management
>Division of Recoverable & Disposable Resources
>575 Alderman Rd.
>Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-2476
>804-982-5050
>804-243-1796 (Fax)
>dlc8n@virginia.edu "the textbook hasn't been written yet!"
>*******************************************************
>
>
Pat Franklin, Executive Director
Container Recycling Institute
1911 Ft Myer Drive, Ste 900
Arlington, VA 22209
tel: 703/276-9800 fax: 276-9587 email: cri@igc.org
on the web at www.igc.apc.org/cri/