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Brent and Harrow AM Navin Shah calls for rethink on Dow Chemical Olympic deal

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By David Hardiman

A Harrow politician has led calls for Olympic officials to review their sponsorship contract with a chemical company with links to the 1984 Bhopal disaster.

London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Navin Shah, led a move by the Assembly to call for a rethink on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) deal with Dow Chemical, which is one of 11 global Olympic sponsors.

He said that organisers should pay more attention to environmental, social and ethical records of companies when awarding high-profile contracts.

He said: “Almost thirty years after the horrific Bhopal chemical disaster, the factory site has still not been cleared up and the survivors and their families continue to fight for compensation.

“It is time for LOCOG and the IOC to take their ethical and sustainability code seriously and exclude Dow Chemical from future sponsorship deals.

“It’s not too late to clean up their act. We owe it to the victims and their families to demand actions and implement changes to keep out the likes of Dow Chemical from future Games.”

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Up to 25,000 people in Bhopal, India, died in the aftermath of a gas leak at a pesticide factory that was owned by a subsidiary of Union Carbide in the 1984 disaster.

Dow, which bought Union Carbide in 2001, has repeatedly denied any responsibility for Bhopal and has refused demands, including from the Indian government, to increase a $470million compensation package that Union Carbide paid to victims in 1989.

Mr Shah has been a long supporter of the campaign to increase compensation and support for the victims affected by the leak.

In a statement, LOCOG said: “Dow was appointed as the supplier of the Olympic stadium wrap in August 2011 following a thorough and competitive procurement process.

“We assessed all bids on the ability to deliver a sustainable solution and Dow met this criteria by some distance.”

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16th July 2012