Today, Oxfam America is releasing a Poverty Footprint Study …a balanced snapshot of how the Coca-Cola/SABMiller system, bottler, suppliers, and distributors, affects poverty in two developing countries – El Salvador and Zambia...The report won’t provide the final word on any particular issue, but it identifies the critical areas of impact and provides recommendations by way of follow up. The Coca-Cola Company and SABMiller have each been subject to high profile corporate advocacy and Oxfam America takes a risk in co-branding a study like this. We do that with eyes wide open…Our approach is based on the belief that top-down, voluntary reforms are not sustainable. They can be driven by vision and good faith initially, but to last there has to be a business case, backed up by commercial opportunities, stronger laws, and sustained engagement by a variety of actors… Oxfam America came to agreement up front with The Coca-Cola Company and SABMiller that the research would be “people-centered,” the process would be participatory, the report would be released publicly, and the release would be followed by stakeholder events and dialogue in each country…