Effects of the Boycott

1146 Words3 Pages

Effect of boycott Since the launch of the boycott in 2005, it has been documented that Veolia lost around 18.122 billion Euros. The company loss was due to major contract failures that included: Stockholm subway contract worth 3.5 billion Euros, Yolo County California water contract worth $325 million, and West London boroughs domestic waste contract worth £485 million. (Global Exchange 2013) Furthermore, in December 2011 Veolia announced a 5 billion Euro divestment program to terminate the transport sector. This ultimately affirms that the boycott of Veolia contributed to the closure of one of the services Veolia was differentiated for. This ultimately led to Veolia’s decline in operations from 77 to 48 countries (Veolia Environnement 2013). The combination of these factors impacted Veolia as it generated a reduction in sales, decline in country operations and the termination of a branch of services it once offered. The claim of Smith, which states that a successful boycott is measured by a decline in sales, is illustrated in the case of Veolia. However, it is difficult to measure the extent of the boycott on the reduction in sales revenues generated by the company. Yet, it is argued that Veolia attempted to conduct different sell-offs that valued around 15 billion Euros. This value is relatively equivalent to the value of contracts that Veolia has lost or withdrawn as a result of the boycott (Dores 2013). Furthermore, if a closer investigation is taken analyzing the annual reports while comparing the yearly boycott activity, a stronger link can be formulated. For example, the effect is visible when comparing the years before and after Veolia’s involvement in the Jerusalem Light Railway became public. According Veolia’s 2007 A... ... middle of paper ... ...ed: 13 Jan 2014]. 10. Unispal.un.org. 2014. A/HRC/RES/13/7 of 14 April 2010. [online] Available at: http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/37BF1829818D0B788525770D00536076 [Accessed: 2 Jan 2014]. 11. Veolia Annual and Sustainability Report. 2012. [e-book] Paris: Veolia Environnement. http://www.veolia.com/veolia/ressources/documents/2/16043,veolia-annual-report-GB-2012.pdf [Accessed: 29 Dec 2013]. 12. Veolia Brand Book. 2012. [e-book] Paris: Veolia Environnement. http://www.identity.veolia.com/identity/ressources/documents/2/608,brandbook.pdf [Accessed: 1 Jan 2014]. 13. Veolia.com. 2013. Veolia Environnement Our locations worldwide. [online] Available at: http://www.veolia.com/en/group/locations/ [Accessed: 2 Jan 2014]. 14. Vogel, D., (1992), “The Globalisation of Business Ethics: Why America Remains Distinctive”, California Management Review, 35, No. 1, pp. 30-49

Open Document