Coca-Cola's Social Responsibility Initiatives

The assignment content discusses Coca-Cola's initiatives to reduce unemployment, poverty, and environmental impact through various projects. The company has launched programs such as Micro Enterprise Development (MED) in Indonesia, Pushcart Project in Vietnam, Little Red School House Project in the Philippines, and eco-friendly fuel project in Brazil. These projects aim to empower women, provide education, and promote sustainable livelihoods while also increasing business performance and profitability. Additionally, the content highlights Coca-Cola's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, which involve balancing the interests of various stakeholders, including customers, government, suppliers, society, and employees.

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1. The project undertaken by Coca-Cola Indonesia i.e. Micro Enterprise Development (MED)
has been created to meet needs of poor families, where current micro business are struggling to
grow because of the limited capacity. It provides loans to people at a charge of 2.5 percent per
month, and self-help groups have been made for the people. It basically serves to reduce
unemployment in Indonesia. Coca-Cola Pushcart Project was launched in 2002, in partnership
with Vietnamese Women Unions for supporting poverty alleviation program of the Vietnamese
government. The main aim of the project is to reduce unemployment in urban areas. In the
Philippines, Coca-Cola has launched Little Red School House Project for improving access to
primary education in the country’s impoverished and isolated areas. In which it build schools and
also manage the capacity of teachers. In the year 2004, Coca-Cola and its bottling partners have
launched novel projects in Brazil, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions form their fleet of
vehicles, by the use of alternate fuel. Coca-Cola Amatil in Australia will be making novel
changes in packaging technology. Old packaging will be switched to innovative micro-flute
packaging, which will be much easier to break in recycle process (Chang, H. C. 1997).
2. By sponsoring Micro Enterprise Development Program in Indonesia, Coca-Cola wants to
build an image of the socially driven enterprise. Coca-Cola wants to become an enterprise which
focuses on community-driven service. In Vietnam, Coca-Cola wants to build sustainable
livelihoods along with custom built pushcarts, so that company can also sell its beverages and
expand its market. Along with providing necessary skills to maintain sustainable income for the
people, Coca-Cola also wants to increase their business performance by imparting proper
training. Thus by empowering women and reducing poverty in more communities, the company
want to expand its business in those areas. Little Red School House in the project in the
Philippines, have been supported by the government in the form of improvement of roads and

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installation of electrical and water connections in the nearby areas. Thus company wants to
contribute towards a society with the aim of getting political support in the country. In Brazil, by
making fuel which is environment friendly with the help of its bottling partners and government,
it aims to build and assess the feasibility of such fuel. In future, it will help the company to
minimize costs related to transportation while taking care of the environment. Micro Flute
Packaging will have cost benefits for Coca-Cola Amatil. This is because it will be supplied
locally and give the company more flexibility in the process of manufacturing. This initiative
will increase financial returns to the company while reinforcing environmental stewardship
(Keys, B. 2004).
3. Every company is started for profit maximization, so does Coca-Cola aims to increase profits.
Marketing Campaigns of the company have a wide range of objectives such as increasing sales
and formation of buying behavior which aims to increase profits for the company. The company
did so by focusing on high volume and made beverages affordable. In already developed markets
company is relies on price mix and improves profitability by offering small packages and
premium packing as well like aluminum and glass. For maximizing profits, the company has
invested in more brands and good marketing for those brands which increased quality and
quantity of advertising. For building momentum for the growth of the company, company
invested in better marketing for increasing financial flexibility. Parts of the profits that company
is earning, it is utilizing those profits in the business and brands for increasing returns for
shareholders.
4 Corporate Social Responsibility is the obligation of business toward the society, as
organizations take resources form the society. Therefore it is necessary for the organization to
take care of the environment and people and need to be taken voluntarily. Business and society

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are interdependent on each other; business take resources form the society and society receive
products and services in return. When business undertakes CSR, it increases the goodwill of the
company which helps the company to expand its operations which will lead to increased profits.
Moreover, voluntarily adopting CSR activities leads to less intervention from the government
and lead to increased support from the society. Thus CSR helps the organizations to achieve their
goal of achieving profits and expansion of business (McWilliams, A. 2000).
5 The underlying theory behind CSR is the obligation of organizations towards various
stakeholders. Stakeholder theory describes and lists groups and individuals that will be affected
by organization’s activities, what type of obligations and responsibilities they have in the
business. Customers, government, suppliers, society, employees all are stakeholders of the
organization, lives of all these are touched by the activities of the organization, therefore, they
have an obligation and right to participate in its activities. According to this theory, it is the
responsibility of the leader to work for the owner of the organization as well as should take
direction form all those who will be affected by the organization’s actions. Simply meaning to
add up and balance interests of all stakeholders (Matten, D., & Moon, J. 2005).

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References
McWilliams, A. (2000). Corporate social responsibility. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management.
Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2005). Corporate social responsibility. Journal of business Ethics, 54(4),
323-337.
Chang, H. C. (1997). Coca-Cola Company (Doctoral dissertation, Calif. State University,
Hayward).
Keys, B. (2004). Spreading Peace, Democracy, and Coca-Cola®: Sport and American Cultural
Expansion in the 1930s. Diplomatic History, 28(2), 165-196.