Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Coca Cola Company

This study aims at understanding the different CSR initiatives that are followed by the Coca Cola Company. The study will analyse the CSR activities which are adopted by the Coca Cola Company. To get a better understanding about the study, proper literature will be provided on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Greenwashing.

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
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Abstract
This study aims at understanding the different CSR initiatives that are followed by the Coca
Cola Company. To understand the study in details the terms Corporate Social Responsibility
and Greenwashing are first explained which clears the difference between the two terms.
After the explanation of the terms, the main activities that are undertaken by the company are
explained in details, which shows that the company concentrates on various areas such as
social, economic and environmental aspects. The findings of the study based on the case
study and the literature of the terms is followed by the recommendations and
implementations which helps to form a proper plan for the future initiatives of the company.

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Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................4
Company Background................................................................................................................6
Methodology..............................................................................................................................7
Case Study of CSR Activities....................................................................................................8
Findings....................................................................................................................................10
Recommendations....................................................................................................................10
Implementation........................................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept of the business environment that consists
of the legal, ethical, humanitarian and economic responsibilities (Schwartz 2017). The
policies of corporate social responsibility and staying committed to them determines the kind
of the company and the ethical values of that company. CSR depicts the sustainability of a
company and hence is important for the company (Tai and Chuang 2014). To ensure
sustainability, the company should aim at providing better social, environmental and
economic aspect to the people, which will help to retain their old customers and also gain
new ones (McWilliams 2015). Proper CSR activities initiated by the company will help to
avoid any business risk that they might be facing, provide proper support to the society and
hence earn high profits for their company by enhancing their brand name and brand image
(Carroll 2015). However, aside from the above mentioned benefits of CSR, the main purpose
of CSR is to provide welfare for the society by creating a system which sustains value and is
ethical so that everyone is benefited from it (Suliman, Al-Khatib and Thomas 2016).
This study will analyse the CSR activities which are adopted by the Coca Cola
Company. To get a better understanding about the study, proper literature will be provided on
the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Greenwashing. The background of the
company will also be provided in the study. Further, the methodology and research questions
of this study will be mentioned followed by case studies of the main CSR activities of the
company. The study will further state the findings of the case studies and recommend
suggestions to build an improvement plan about the company’s CSR activities followed by
ways to implement that plan. The study will finally contain a conclusion about the whole
study.

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Literature Review
Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept of management where various
organizations integrate environmental and social activities into the operations of an
organization and the way that they interact with the stakeholders of the company (Roy et al.
2015). CSR is the way through which an organization creates a balance between the social,
environmental and economic aspects of the community, which is also known as the Triple
Bottom Line Approach (Elkington 2013). However, even while managing these aspects they
find ways through which they can satisfy their stakeholders and shareholders as well.
Keeping this in mind it is important to note the difference between CSR which can be the
strategic management of business and charities or sponsorships (Ni and Van Wart 2015).
Following the later initiatives can help in the reduction of poverty and contribute to the
betterment of the society, which will directly help in increasing the brand name and image in
the market (Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim 2014). However, the concept of CSR goes beyond
these two aspects.
In the small and middle sized enterprises, also known as SMEs, CSR is adopted in
such ways so that it aligns with the needs and capacity of the organization and also that is
does create and adverse effect on the economic condition of the business (Servaes and
Tamayo 2013). The CSR programme which are implemented with the Triple Bottom Line
Approach are the ones who strive to be most successful in their achievement. The Triple
Bottom Line Approach have helped the organizations in the developing countries to fulfil
their CSR initiatives and provide social and environment help without having to compromise
on their competitiveness (Savitz 2013). The Triple Bottom Line Approach is a very important

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tool through which the economic, social and environmental performance is measured against
the performance of the organization (Milne and Gray 2013). The main and vital issues of
Corporate Social Responsibility are as follows – eco-efficiency, stakeholder engagement,
community and employee relations, gender balance, good governance, environmental
management, responsible sourcing, labour standards and working conditions, social equity,
human rights and anti-corruption measures (Crane, Matten and Spence 2013). A CSR plan
which is properly planned and implemented can add to the competitive advantage of the
company and determine various beneficial factors such as getting more access to capital and
markets, saving operational cost, efficiency in human resources, increased customer loyalty,
better risk management process, increase in profit and sales, improvement in quality and
productivity, improvement in the brand image and reputation and better decision making
process (Clapp and Rowlands 2014).
Greenwashing is a concept which arises when an organization lies about their CSR
activities and creates fake reports which is shown to the public. This happens when an
organization wants to appear as a strong and helpful citizen of the community but is not so in
reality. A report of an organization which has an environment friendly initiatives will incur
higher demand among the public (Mahoney et al. 2013). However, instead of completely
lying to the stakeholders and the other public, the company bends and misrepresents the facts
and activities which is also greenwashing. A company which practices greenwashing can
engage in poor environmental practices and remain silent about the same to their
stakeholders, or they can lie about their performance and present themselves as a contributing
organization which is using the method of greenwashing (Nyilasy, Gangadharbatla and
Paladino 2014).
There are various drivers of greenwashing which can be divided into three sections
which are external, individual and organizational. The external drivers are the pressures

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which are received from the non-market actors who are the NGOs and regulators and the
market actors who are the competitors, investors and consumers. The individual drivers are
the narrow frames of decisions made, the individual process of decision making and optimal
bias. The organizational drivers are the incentive structure of the company and their ethical
viewpoint.
There is no existence of a proper jurisdiction or regulation regarding greenwashing
and hence this lack of proper punishment, greenwashing is often used by different
organizations. The limited source of jurisdiction regarding greenwashing comes in the form
of NGOs being the monitor if greenwashing among the organizations. They try to keep a
check on the organizations regarding the use of green washing (Bazillier and Vauday 2014).
The NGOs work hard to stop the dishonest organizations from using greenwashing by
spreading information and introducing campaigns against the use of greenwashing as a part
of CSR in organizations.
Company Background
Coca Cola is one of the largest beverage company in the world. The company was
founded on 8 May of 1886 at Atlanta, USA. With time the company has expanded its
operations all over the globe, in every country. It has around 500 production and distribution
brand and more than 3300 beverages to be sold among the consumers and the market. The
main priority of the company has always been to protect its brand name and image and its
reputation (The Coca-Cola Company 2018).
The mission that is stated by the Coca Cola Company is that they aspire to refresh the
world that inspire moments that are optimistic and happy, to create value and to make a
difference in the world. The vision followed by the company becomes a framework for the
roadmap and which guides every situation that is faced by the business by stating the facts

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which will help them to continue achieving a sustainable and quality growth. They want to
create a workplace for their employees where they would be inspired to give their best. The
company strives to produce beverages which are of good quality and satisfies the desires and
needs of the people. Coca cola wants to be a responsible organization who can contribute in
the welfare of the society and help to build and support a sustainable community (The Coca-
Cola Company 2018). They want to create a network of suppliers and consumers, who can
help them to create value for their company. Coca cola as a company have always been aware
of their overall responsibilities, and have also maximized the long term return to their
shareowners. They have also always tried to be highly effective and a fast learning and
moving organization. Coca Cola have operated in the market for about 124 years and have
always shown that they are a productive and profit making company (The Coca-Cola
Company 2018).
Methodology
This study contains a collection of many kinds of data which are acquired from
various sources. The sources from which these data are collects depicts the methodology if
the data collection. The data that is used in this study is secondary data, as they are acquired
from journals, articles, researches and case studies (Cheng and Philips 2014). The data is not
derived from any primary source such as surveys and others hence it cannot be said that there
are any primary data collection method used in this study. However, there are many research
questions that could be addressed in this study which will help to better understand the scope
and purpose of this research. The research questions that could be used in this study is
mentioned below:
1. What factors does a company have to keep in consideration while working on CSR?
2. What are the existing CSR strategies that are followed by the Coca Cola Company?

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3. How does these active strategies help to strengthen the company’s image in the market?
4. How have the company developed its CSR strategies?
5. How does these CSR strategies create an impact in the competitiveness of the market?
6. What are the effects if CSR activities on getting competitive edge in the market?
7. Should the Coca Cola Company address the social and environmental issues through its
CSR activities?
8. What role does the CSR activities play in improving the goodwill of the company?
9. How can the company contribute for the betterment of the community through its CSR?
10. Is the company doing effective CSR or just greenwashing?
Case Study of CSR Activities
Every year there are certain CSR activities that are initiated by the Coca Cola
Company. The CSR initiatives taken by the Board of Directors of the company are in
different sections of the society and described below. The company ensures that they are able
to contribute and adopt projects for environmental protection. For this they undertake solar
energy projects and also work for water sustainability (Sustainability Report 2016). The
directors proposes that the company takes on certain integrated water shed and also
community development projects as water is a very essential resource in the world. It
involves and forms partnerships with other civil society organizations and the local
communities of the area to fulfil these projects. Sustainable agriculture is also an important
area for the company and the board aligns itself with other organizations and forms
partnership to address the economic, environmental and social challenges that are being faced
by farmers and find ways to increase their production capacities (Sustainability Report 2016).
The company focuses on ensuring a better waste management system in the community and

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they strive to engage the residents of the community into doing the same. The company
demonstrates the importance of managing waste in a better way and the benefits of
segregating the dry and wet waste in the homes, offices and other surrounding places. The
company supports the groups and organizations that promote education for every person
creates awareness for the importance of education among all generations if people
(Sustainability Report 2016). Along with creating awareness for education the company also
strives to create awareness regarding environmental issue in schools and other educational
centres such as proper sanitation and basic requirements like toilets and other hygienic
facilities especially for the female population. This is done for those areas where even in
today’s time many schools do not possess the proper hygienic facilities and this leads to
many children dropping out of schools or falling sick often. The company helps the educated
but unemployed population to find the right kind of employment according to their skills and
requirements (Sustainability Report 2016). They even provide vocational training for the
population which can help the people to get the right kind of job according to their desire.
Coca cola has several mission by following which they plan a compact and helpful CSR plan.
Every employee of the company have to participate and contribute to the corporate social
responsibilities of the company and have to be an active part if the initiatives that are taken
by the company. The initiatives that are mentioned above are one of the few activities that are
carried out by the company. They find more activities which can help them to fulfil their
mission and vision about creating a sustainable environment and contribute to the growth and
development of the community (Sustainability Report 2016). The Coca Cola Company
contributes a minimum of 1% of their annual operating income in the programs and
initiatives of CSR. In the year 2014, they invested around 1.3% or $126 million for different
activities and initiatives such as healthy living for all people of the community, various water
stewardship programs, education for all, empowerment of women, programs for humanitarian

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and disaster relief and such other initiatives (Sustainability Report 2016). In the Middle East,
the company has launched various campaigns as part of their program for corporate
citizenship. They support university students who aspire to become entrepreneurs through
their program known as Ripples of Happiness. They have also provided clean drinking water
to the refugees in that area through their campaign which was launched in the year 2014,
known as Arwa Price of Water (Sustainability Report 2016).
Findings
The findings of this study is that CSR is an important part if a company and should be
fulfilled with vigorous planning and full attention to the initiatives of the company. The
company, Coca Cola is one such organization which has always strived to fulfil their CSR
initiatives and to work for the betterment of the community and its people. Coca Cola have
never supported or believed in the concept of greenwashing and have always in reality found
new and different ways through which they promote and develop the community. Not just
CSR for the community, the company have also kept an active participation in the betterment
of their own organization and also concentrated on the profit making scenario of the
company. This was done by ensuring that they are able to enhance their brand image and
reputation with the help of proper programs and initiatives being undertaken at various
destinations ion behalf of the whole organization.
Recommendations
Based on the above study on Corporate Social Responsibility of the Coca Cola
Company, following recommendations can be made. Firstly, the company can adopt new
techniques, programs and initiatives which can help to ensure more sustainability in all
countries, especially those areas where they have not been able to reach yet. Secondly, they

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should adopt proper regulations of against greenwashing practices and not align themselves
to any false practice to maintain their reputation in the market.
Implementation
The above recommendation can be implemented only when the company does an
extensive research on the various need for CSR initiatives in various areas and countries. This
research should be completed done with the help of primary data and quantitative techniques
so that a clear data is found regarding the need for CSR activities in the mentioned areas.
Conclusion
It can be deduced from the above study that the management concept of CSR is a vital
part of any organization and must be followed by every entity for their own welfare and also
for the development if the community. Coca Cola have been one of the biggest player in the
market regarding their CSR initiatives and will strive to do so, if can be determined from
their performances all these years.

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