The CokeSpotlight Web site, produced in conjunction with Canadian-based
Internet activist organization Adbusters, enables people around the
world to campaign with Greenpeace to change Coca-Cola's policy on HFC
refrigeration. www.cokespotlight.org provides a comprehensive campaign
kit including downloadable stickers, posters, postcards and e-mail
images to lobby Coca-Cola directly.
"Coca-Cola has had seven years to take the initiative and place
environmentally friendly refrigeration at the Olympic site in line with
the Environmental Guidelines," said Greenpeace Olympics campaigner,
Corin Millais.
"Instead, Coca-Cola will continue its polluting practice of using HFC
and undermining the Green Games. Coca-Cola's global refrigerant policy
is intensifying the global climate crisis."
At the Olympic site Coca-Cola will have 1,700 refrigerators that run on
global warming HFC gases and only 100 Greenfreeze coolers that comply
with Sydney's Environmental Guidelines. This means that HFC greenhouse
gases will cool over 10 million Coca-Cola drinks during the Sydney
Olympics - the world's first "Green Games."
HFCs are one of the most potent greenhouse gases ever invented. On
average over 20 years, one ton of HFCs causes 3,300 times more climate
change destruction than one ton of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse
gas. In 1997 the United Nations Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change was
extended to include HFCs.
Natural refrigeration systems, known as "Greenfreeze," are commercially
available and can be used instead of HFCs. There is a wide range of
commercially available, cost-effective Greenfreeze systems available
for supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, offices, ice-cream and drinks
chillers, freezer cabinets and air conditioning.
Internationally, Greenpeace offices will be calling on supporters and
the public to join it in its campaign to pressure Coca-Cola for a
worldwide HFC phaseout.
"Sydney's Green Games are the perfect opportunity for Coca-Cola to show
its commitment to protecting the environment," said Millais. "Coke
sells more than 700,000 drinks every minute around the world so it has
real potential to clean up the refrigeration market worldwide.
"Coca-Cola is a dirty Olympic sponsor while it persists in using HFCs.
The CokeSpotlight Web site enables the public to join with Greenpeace
in calling for Coca-Cola to show true leadership. If Coke changes its
global policy and practice of HFC use then the environment and all of
us, including polar bears, will be the real gold medal winners."
Read the Greenpeace report, "
Green
Olympics, Dirty Sponsors: How McDonald's and Coca-Cola's global HFC
pollution is undermining the world's first Green Games at the Sydney
Olympics."
