Coca Cola's Sustainability Claims: A Critical Analysis

This report critically analyzes the sustainability claims made by Coca Cola, focusing on their Water Stewardship Program and its impact on water-stressed areas. The report examines the organization's efforts in water-use efficiency, wastewater management, replenishment, and risk mitigation. It also discusses the controversies and criticisms surrounding Coca Cola's sustainability initiatives. Recommendations for improving ethical behavior and interpreting company self-reports of sustainability are provided.

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Business Ethics
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Introduction
The concept of sustainability describes the manner which natural systems operate, remain
diverse, and produce everything required for the ecology to remain in balance. Nonetheless, the
concept also acknowledges that civilization acquires resources with the intention of sustaining
human being’s modern way of life. In a limited world that is experiencing increased growth in
terms of population and economy, the natural resources are getting depleted at a faster rate than
they are being regenerated. As such, the global ecosystem’s carrying capacity has been exceeded.
Through literature review and analysis of information from the general web sources and
information sourced from the KBS library database, the report will comment upon the online
sustainability claims made by Coca Cola.
Analysis
Coca Cola’s Water Stewardship Program has been beneficial to the organization in
securing a water source that is sustainable and socially responsible. However, it is worth asking
ourselves if the program is truly assisting individuals that live in water-stressed areas or even it is
worsening the situation (Chambers, Simmons and Wackernagel, 2014, n.d.). The Water
Stewardship Program began in 2007 with the aim of creating a business that is “water
sustainable” (Coca-colacompany.com, 2019). The program is divided into four aspects that
include replenishment, water-use efficiency, mitigating risk, and managing wastewater.
Water-use efficiency: As of 2004, Coca Cola used 2.7 liters of water per liter product.
However, the organization has enhanced its water-use efficiency by 27%. By 2020, Coca Cola
intends to improve the current efficiency to attain an objective of 1.7 liters, - 13% increase in
water-use efficiency (The Verge, 2019). With its plants in North America, South Pacific, and

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Europe, Coca Cola is bottling at or below its 2020 objective, with more efforts aimed at
continuously increasing efficiencies across all plants.
Managing Wastewater: Coca Cola has made it a standard operating requirement to treat
wastewater that is used to manufacture Coke products. Later in 2015, Coca Cola transformed
wastewater management into a performance-based model aimed at accelerating the quality and
improving efficiency (Richtopia, 2019). Currently, approximately 795 out of 804 Coca Cola’s
facilities have wastewater treatment facilities.
Replenishment: In 2009, the organization began replenishing water used in the
manufacture of Coke products. In 2015, Coca Cola attained its 2020 goal of ensuring 100%
replenishment. The organization has partnered with civil societies, governments, as well as
private sector in running an estimate of 250 community projects in more than 71 countries
(Cocacola.co.jp, 2019). The projects aim at enhancing access to safe water and sanitation,
providing water through rainwater harvesting and through water reuse for irrigation along with
conserving and restoring the quality and quantity of watersheds.
Mitigating risk: in conjunction with governments and local communities, in 2015, the
organization conducted a plant-by-plant evaluation to investigate risks of water supply both to
Coca Cola’s facility and the community. Each of these plants created a development plan to curb
the identified risks (Lang, et al., 2012, pp.29). The actions that were identified in each of these
protection plans resulted in more than 3,700 mitigation strategies that serve as a guideline for
several projects (Pearce, 2019). Coca Cola aims at revaluating its current plants after every five
years.

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Discussion
Through its concern of developing water sources that are sustainable and socially
responsible, Coca Cola serves as a good example to other organizations. However, Coca Cola’s
sustainability claims are questionable. Recently, the organization has had to deal with several
backlashes over water exploitation. For instance, in 2004, the company was compelled to shut
down its plant in Rajasthan, India (Singh, Murty, Gupta and Dikshit, 2012, pp.285). The reason
for the closure was due to claims from local communities and the NGOs who accused Coca Cola
of massive water withdraws and exploitation, leaving the community with no water for their
consumption (Corporate Citizenship, 2019). Regardless that the organization was found to
function within the laws, this plant, along with other plants, are developed in India’s water-
stressed regions. Adding to the incident at Rajasthan, in 2014, the organization was also forced to
shut down another Indian plant due to accusations of water exploitations. Also, due to a public
campaign against the organization, Coca Cola was forced to abandon a new facility.
Nonetheless, the 2 billion liters of water that Coca Cola offset in 2015 only covers a very
small percentage of the water it uses for its operations as portrayed in the company’s Water
Footprint. Particularly, when the company refers to returning “every drop”, it essentially refers to
the amount of water that fits into every can used for its beverages, - 0.5 liters contained in a half-
liter bottle of Coke. In the real sense, according to Coca Cola’s Water Footprint, 35 liters of
water is used to produce the 0.5-liter bottle of Coke (War on Want, 2019). Furthermore, most of
the organization’s projects are subject to questioning as to whether the company adequately vets
its projects to make sure that they are supported by science. Scientists in Mexico have raised
concerns a forestry work that was financed by Coca Cola. The project comprised of digging
trenches that are similar to those used in farming. The trenches were meant to make sure that

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enough water was availed to the saplings (Coenen, Benneworth and Truffer, 2012, pp.973). The
company took claim for financing closely over 5 million trenches. However, the company has
come under criticism for financing such projects which resulted in the damage of Mexico’s most
iconic national parks. In 2016, the company reported 221 billion liters of water offsets
(Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund and Hansen, 2012, pp.102). However, considering the company’s
Water Footprint, the number is slightly above its operational water and not the water that goes
into its supply chain.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Coca Cola has implemented several strategies aimed at securing its water supply along
with increased efficiencies. However, the company’s questionable tactics have resulted in a
backlash as well as reputation damage. Nonetheless, the company’s 100% replenishment rates
are being criticized because the initiative does not benefit the communities. If Coca Cola intends
to remain as the leading beverage manufacturer, it is entitled to maintain 100% ethical behavior
or face permanent reputational damage. Company self-reports are subject to bias. Thus, the
report reader can take several measures such as comparing the report with other sources such as
event sampling, qualitative data, and tracking data to accurately interpret company self-reports of
sustainability.

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Bibliography
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