Adidas

Another win for people power! On Wednesday, a worried-sounding man from Coca-Cola called the 38 Degrees office to say they wouldn’t be using the Olympic tax dodge. [1]

But it didn’t stop there. Later in the day, VISA, General Electric and EDF all confirmed that they were out too. [2] That’s five big companies down - and nine to go.

The bigger our petition has grown, the more companies have hurriedly announced they won’t be dodging the tax. Can you help this campaign go all the way by sending the petition past 200,000 signatures?

Please sign the petition now to make sure the sponsors pay their fair share:

SIGN THE PETITION



The more companies that say they won’t dodge the tax, the harder it is for the others to stay silent. Let’s target Adidas next. They’re already under fire this week after revelations that they may have exploited third-world workers making Olympic sports clothes. [3]

When Coke phoned up to confirm, what worried them most was the idea of a high energy petition hand-in staged outside their London headquarters. Well, Adidas has a massive flagship store in central London.

If we can push the petition past 200,000 names we’ll organise a high-profile hand-in - a PR nightmare they’ll be desperate to avoid. The Olympics should be about sports - not tax-dodging. So let’s wrap this up before the Games begin.

Can you help cross Adidas off the list next by signing the petition now?

SIGN THE PETITION


Thanks for being involved,

David T, Robin, Belinda and the 38 Degrees team


NOTES
[1] Ethical Consumer: The Great Olympic Tax Swindle http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/commentanalysis/corporatewatch/thegreatolympictaxswindle.aspx
[2] The Guardian: McDonald's to decline London 2012 tax break http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/18/mcdonalds-decline-london-2012-tax-break
London 2012: Olympic sponsors waive tax break http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/18/london-2012-visa-olympic-tax?newsfeed=true
[3] Metro: Adidas hit by price tag protest over third world workers http://www.metro.co.uk/news/905166-adidas-hit-by-price-tag-protest-over-third-world-workers

McDonald's: One down

It’s working! Moments after launching the petition calling on companies like McDonald’s to give up their Olympic tax breaks, their rattled PR team were on the phone. [1] Minutes later they publicly confirmed they wouldn’t be taking up the tax dodge. [2]

If you didn’t sign the petition because you weren’t sure it would work, now you know it can. It’s an exciting start. But there are lots of other sponsors who still haven’t budged. Let’s turn up the pressure by keeping the petition growing. Every name helps.

Can you sign the petition now and tell the other sponsors to pay their fair share?
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/olympic-tax-dodging

Next in our sights is Coca-Cola. They’ll be supersizing their profits at the Olympics, expecting to sell 23 million drinks. [3] Together let’s make sure that they’re paying their fair share in tax. Their close relationship with McDonald’s will make dodging the issue even harder for them now.

The petition’s already got nearly 100,000 names. If you can help push it past that target we’ll organise a high profile hand-in to Coke’s London headquarters and a simultaneous people-powered flood of messages to them via Facebook and Twitter. Together, we’ll make a splash they can’t ignore!

38 Degrees members have been campaigning against tax dodging because things get cut when businesses don’t pay their fair share. The Olympics is a powerful global symbol. Taking on this particular tax dodge won’t fix the whole problem but it’ll send a strong message that we expect these massive multinationals to do the right thing.

If we can get to 100,000 signatures, we’ll organise a hand-in at Coke’s London headquarters this Friday. Click below to add your name now: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/olympic-tax-dodging


Thanks for being involved,

David T, Robin, Belinda and the 38 Degrees team


PS: The secretive nature of these companies’ tax arrangements makes it difficult to figure out exactly how much this Olympic tax dodge is worth. Let’s use people power to shine a light on what they’re up to. Can you call on Coca-Cola to front up? Sign the petition here: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/olympic-tax-dodging


NOTES
[1] Ethical Consumer: The Great Olympic Tax Swindle http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/commentanalysis/corporatewatch/thegreatolympictaxswindle.aspx
[2] McDonald’s: Olympic Tax Exemption Clarification http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/Aboutus/Newsroom/news_pages/Olympic_Tax_Exemption.html
[3] Coca-Cola: What does Coca-Cola’s sponsorship bring to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games?
http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/faq/olympic-games/what-does-coca-cola-sponsorship-bring-to-london-2012.html

Shell petrol stations closed to stop Arctic drilling

Hi there,

Right now, Shell petrol stations are being shut down across London and Edinburgh.

Teams of Greenpeace volunteers are fanning out across the two cities, going station to station shutting down the pumps. In total, over 100 forecourts will be out of action. We're broadcasting live throughout the day on a special online TV channel - watch live now.

Why are we doing this? Because Shell is lining up a fleet of huge oil drilling vessels and later this month, for the first time, will start drilling for oil in the Arctic, off the coast of Alaska.
You can protect the Arctic from Shell's dangerous plans. We're declaring a global sanctuary around the pole, to become enforceable by international law, that will mean a ban on oil drilling and other activities that threaten the Arctic.

There isn't much time to stop Shell's plans. Sign up now to help us create an Arctic sanctuary, safe from Shell and other reckless oil companies. Over 850,000 people have already signed up - join them!

The Arctic is a dangerous place to go drilling - an oil spill would wreak havoc on the fragile, vulnerable environment. Shell's own plans show how difficult it will be to mop up if a spill happens in the Arctic.

By chasing after hard-to-reach oil in remote and dangerous places, Shell is putting polar bears, walruses and other Arctic wildlife at risk.

That's why we're shutting down the pumps at so many Shell petrol stations.
You can stop Shell. Join us in declaring a global Arctic sanctuary.

Let's go!

Jamie Woolley

PS Tune in to our live online TV channel to get the latest updates from the closed Shell forecourts, throughout the day.