A good business is
also a good citizen. As well as making a profit by supplying products or
services that people want to buy, it can be a positive influence on the rest of
society, including - in the case of multinationals - local communities spread
across the globe. An enlightened business recognises that it is in its own
interests to be socially responsible, since an enhanced public image is more
likely to be attractive to investors, employees, customers, consumers,
suppliers and host governments.
This case study
focuses on the approach The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) takes to social
responsibility. The Company is proud of the fact that in addition to being a
world-famous global brand it also takes an active, responsible interest in
individuals and communities at a local level wherever it operates.
The Company believes
it has a duty to contribute to the communities in which it does business, and
its Great Britain operations exemplify this approach.
In Great Britain,
‘Coca-Cola’ has been a member of Business in the Community for many years,
which works with its partners and The Prince’s Trust to involve corporations,
large and small, in their local communities.
‘Coca-Cola’ is also a
member of The Per Cent Club, a group of leading national and international
companies that are committed to making a significant contribution to the
communities in which they operate. To qualify for membership, businesses must
contribute not less than 0.5 % of pre-tax profits to the community.
All companies have
responsibilities towards a range of people who have a ‘stake’ in what that
company does. The various stakeholders may have competing, even conflicting,
interests that have to be balanced. Certainly, different groups of stakeholders
will place a different emphasis in what they expect from their company
stake-holding, as the diagram below illustrates.
Successful business
strategies are built around establishing a clear set of realistic objectives
for all aspects of a company’s activities. To meet its social responsibilities
‘Coca-Cola’ has identified a range of targeted initiatives likely to have maximum
impact in two key areas: the environment and the community.
eKOsystem
The environmental
management system of TCCC is known as the eKOsystem. The Company ‘conducts its
business in ways that protect, preserve and enhance the environment.’ The
eKOsystem of TCCC translates this principle into action by establishing a
framework for successfully managing the Company’s environmental performance
worldwide.
‘Coca-Cola’ sets
itself this objective: ‘We cooperate with public, private and governmental
organisations in seeking solutions to environmental challenges. We direct our
skills, energies and resources to those activities and issues where we can make
a positive and effective contribution.’
‘Coca-Cola’ recognises
the importance of ‘doing the right thing’ with regard to the local and global
environment as the Company builds and nurtures strong brands. The Company takes
progressive actions that focus on minimising environmental impact, striving for
continuous improvement and seeking to provide leadership in three critical
areas - water efficiency and quality, energy efficiency and the elimination or
minimisation of solid waste.
It also supports local
initiatives that have a positive environmental impact. Taken together, these
help promote a sustainable future.
Currently ‘Coca-Cola’
is committed to the following GB environmental initiatives. They are
continually reviewed to ensure they fit with ongoing strategy.
For over 30 years the
Company has supported the Tidy Britain Group, including the People and Places
initiative. This supports local authorities in their efforts to keep the local
environment clean, eg in reducing and eliminating litter, graffiti, dog fouling
and disposing of abandoned cars. The National Spring Clean initiative, recently
renamed Just Bin It, takes place each April and involves schools, business
organisations and local authorities in tidying up local ‘grot spots’.
Coca-Cola Great
Britain is a founder member of the Environment 21 Club of Going for Green,
Britain’s biggest ever campaign to increase and encourage public awareness of
environmental issues. The Coca-Cola Youth Foundation is a major sponsor of eco
Schools, a Europe-wide project that aims to raise students’ awareness of
environmental issues through classroom study. It encourages youngsters to take
an active role in how their school and their community can be run to the
benefit of the environment. It provides practical steps as to how the
environmental impact of schools can be reduced.
‘Coca-Cola’ supports a
number of resources for schools on environmental issues including:
• Our World, Our Responsibility - a
comprehensive environmental guide for schools, produced by the RSPB under the
auspices of the Council for Environmental Education.
• Wise Up To Waste: The Dustbin Pack -
explaining aspects of recycling for secondary and primary school pupils
respectively, produced in cooperation with Waste Watch.
• Finding Out… About Packaging - covering the
history, use and proper disposal of packaging, backed up by a wallchart
distributed through INCPEN.
• Finding Out… About Managing Waste -
covering all aspects of waste management for GCSE pupils distributed through
INCPEN.
In working with
education it is important for the Company to ensure that support activities are
tied in with the brand. For example, ‘Coca-Cola’ supports the recycling of
cans, and has a clear interest in education about issues related to recycling.
This programme is set
out to be inclusive. An inclusive programme looks to provide particularly for
the social and economic needs of those who might otherwise find themselves
excluded from the benefits of the modern society. Social inclusiveness is one
of the most important issues in GB today. Inclusiveness (or inclusivity) is
concerned with trying to create opportunities for everyone, not just the
privileged, to make the maximum possible contribution to the community. The
Coca-Cola Valued Youth Programme has been running in the USA for 15 years and
the Company has supported the GB arm since 1998.
Secondary school
students who are considered to be at risk of dropping out are placed as tutors
of primary school pupils, enabling older students to make a difference to the
lives of younger ones. Experience has shown that this initiative raises the
self-esteem and academic achievement of the student-tutors. The tutors work
with a primary school teacher on a specially designed learning package which is
flexible so as to best meet the needs of those involved.
The programme has a
7-point philosophy:
1.
All students can
learn.
2.
The school values all
students.
3.
All students can
actively contribute to their own education and the education of others.
4.
All students, parents
and teachers have the right to participate fully in creating and maintaining
excellent schools.
5.
Excellence in schools
contributes to individual and collective economic growth, stability and
advancement.
6.
Commitment to
educational excellence is performed by including students, parents and teachers
in setting goals, making decisions, monitoring progress and evaluating
outcomes.
7.
Students, parents and
teachers must be provided with extensive, consistent support in ways that allow
students to learn, teachers to teach, and parents to be involved.
Experience shows that
Valued Youth participants are an inspiration to the children they tutor,
positive leaders among their peers, motivated learners to their teachers, a
source of pride to their parents and contributors to their communities.
The programme has been
piloted in 6 local authorities with the intention of launching it in 30 areas
by the end of 2001.
Coca-Cola Great
Britain also provides support for a number of other initiatives. For example,
the Special Olympics UK - a body that seeks to improve the world through sport
for people with a learning disability. The National Summer Games was held in
Cardiff in 2001 and the World Games are to be held in Dublin in 2003.
In any business
activity it is important to be able to measure the success of strategies and
operational activities. Measuring performance is the best way of assessing how
effective strategies and initiatives have been, with a view to making
appropriate adjustments. Organisations need to measure and report performance
against stated aims contained in a business plan, eg daily output, employee turnover.
The business will tend to measure and evaluate only those aspects of its
business over which it has control. Ideally these measurements should also be
benchmarked so that everyone can see how performance compares with others.
‘Coca-Cola’ uses detailed
sets of performance indicators for many areas of its activities, including its work to promote
social responsibility. Community performance indicators include:
·
Impact evaluations of
community programmes. These include indicators of educational attainment as
well as of environmental enhancement and conservation.
·
Perception measures of
the Company as a good neighbour.
The Company is an
equal opportunity employer, committed to fair and effective practices in relation
to workplace diversity, work/life
balance, health and safety, training and staff development. Support programmes for employees include
pension schemes, an independent counselling service covering areas such as
bereavement, divorce and alcohol abuse. Our maternity benefits are leading edge
which include bonuses to return to work.
We operate other methods to accommodate flexible working where possible,
and have an in-house gym that runs programmes focussing on life style and
general well-being.
The Company uses professional
benchmarking and diagnostic tools to evaluate performance, ensuring continuous
improvement in these areas and in addition, measures and reports on the
outcomes of its impact in the workplace, including employee perception
measures.
The Company engages in
effective two-way consultation with employees and has in place a team that
represents each function and meets fortnightly to raise topics and discuss
developments with senior management.
The ‘Coca-Cola’
promise is simple, solid and timeless: The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit
and refresh everyone who is touched by its business. Part of this promise is to
continually operate as a model business citizen, consistently shaping business
decisions to improve the quality of life in the communities in which it does
business. The Company is committed to monitoring performance in the area of
social responsibility against benchmarks to make sure that it is, and continues
to be, a good citizen as well as the benchmark global brand.
1.
Give an example of the
way in which a business organization with which you are familiar operates in a
socially responsible way.
2.
Who benefits from the
programs and activities that ‘Coca-Cola’ supports and which are detailed in
this case study?
3.
Why do you think that
‘Coca-Cola’ supports the Valued Youth Program?
4.
Why do you think that
‘Coca-Cola’ is involved in education about recycling?
5.
Why is it important
for businesses like ‘Coca-Cola’ to measure the impact of their current
activities that are concerned with social responsibility?
Business in the Community:
An organization dedicated to enabling businesses to play an active part
in the life of the wider community.
Global brand: A name or logo that represents an
organization and which is used and recognized worldwide.
Impact evaluations: Measuring and weighing up the success of
particular initiatives.
Local level: A regionalized and/or more direct
response to particular needs either by communities, individuals, groups or
areas.
Perception measures: Ways of measuring views and opinions
about different initiatives.
Social responsibility: Behaving in a way that actively supports
all members of the community.
Stakeholders: People and groups that have a legitimate
interest in the running of an organization.
Targeted initiatives: Programs and initiatives set up with a
clear focus and a specific purpose.
