MB Civic

http://www.grist.org/comments/soapbox/2006/09/05/hoffman/index.html?source=rss

This is a link to a fascinating piece in Grist magazine on a trend that I think will grow in the coming years. Multinational corporations being held to account by colleges and other institutions on their environmental and human rights records.

The conflict is between Coca Cola and the University of Michigan who wants to ban Coke from their campus based on their practices in India and Columbia. The larger issue is really about sustainability .. summed up in this paragraph:

What does sustainability mean? While we see the term everywhere, everyone — whether corporations, governments, foundations, individuals, or NGOs — uses it differently. For some, the definition lies in the Brundtland Commission call “to satisfy the needs of present generations without sacrificing the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs.” For others, the definition lies in the triple bottom line: the three E’s of environment, equity, and economics, or the 3 P’s of people, planet, and profits. But these definitions remain cloudy, and have problems in practice.

Getting banned from major US institutions is not good PR for these peeps and dissent like this will be an effective avenue of recourse.
– MAB