The world is facing a serious water crisis with increasing water scarcity and overuse globally. The demand for water resources is growing rapidly mainly due to industrial use, and beverage companies are one of the major industrial consumers.
Giant corporations such as Coca-Cola and Nestlé are currently expanding its production and sale of soft drinks and bottled water, especially in the Asian market due to a rapidly growing middle class. The commercial over-extraction and depletion of local water resources by these companies have led to considerable grievances and conflicts with affected communities fueled by the hardship caused by water shortage. The poor are the first to suffer under water scarcity.
A lack of safe and sufficient water affects both their ability to secure a livelihood and their health. This raises important questions regarding unethical corporate water management, severe environmental damage and the human right to water.
In Fivas’ new report these water issues are addressed and further discussed in the light of the heavy investments the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global has put into The Coca-Cola Company and other beverage companies