Value and Social Performance of Nike and Nestle

This article discusses the value and social performance of Nike and Nestle, including their CSR policies, social reporting, alignment with Sustainable Development Goals, and mission and vision statements.

Running head: VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
Answer to question 1:
Nike, Inc. is a multinational company that deals in designing, development and
manufacturing and marketing of footwear and accessories. The company is based in the United
States and it is headquartered at Beaverton, Oregon. Nike is the top supplier of athletic apparel
and shoes in the world and a prime manufacturer of sports equipment. The company is ranked 89
in the Fortune 500 list for the year 2018 ("Nike", 2019). At the end of 2017, the company was
valued close to $30 billion. Founded in 1964, the company was initially named as Blue Ribbon
Sports by the founding fathers Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. On May 30, 1971, the company
officially became Nike, Inc. in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the company has
been under scrutiny owing to the several controversies surrounding it. However, in the past few
years, Nike has increased efforts to improve on CSR. Concepts like innovating sustainability
under which Nike Flyknit was designed have put the company in the esteemed list of top
companies with CSR.
Nestle is the leading company in the world in terms of food production and sales. Based
in Switzerland, the company was found in the year 1866 with the establishment of Anglo-Swiss
Condensed Milk Company by Henri Nestle. In the year 1905, Henri Nestle’s company merged
with Anglo-Swiss Company to form what is known popularly today as the Nestle Group
(Nestle.com, 2019). It ranked 69 in the global rankings of Fortune 500 companies ("Nestle",
2019). The revenues for Nestle for the year 2018 are more than 80 billion CHF. Nestle has been
a strong performance in terms of CSR with its and its Nestle in Society initiative has been
appreciated greatly. According to the recent CSR report, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has
recognized Nestle as the global leader in tackling issues of climate change and reducing carbon

2
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
emissions across its supply chains. The company has three chief areas of focus – individuals and
families, communities and the planet.
Answer to question 2:
In terms of releasing CSR reports, Nestle provides a more detailed and systematic report
having statistics and other details for each year. Nike, on the other hand, releases combined
report having information of two years. A look at the 2017 CSR report of Nestle reveals the
effort that has been given to presenting the news and statistics regarding CSR activities and
achievements of the company for every month. On the other hand, Nike released the combined
report of 2016 and 2017 CSR in a single page without taking much effort to elaborate on the
initiatives and achievements.
Considering the social reporting of the two companies, both have some strengths and
weaknesses. Social reporting refers to the process of “communicating the social and
environmental effects of organizations” (Romolini, Fissi & Gori, 2014). The strength of Nike’s
social reporting is that it has kept the theme of sport with which it is mostly associated, as the
driving force behind social responsibility. Further, the company has demarcated clearly, the areas
where business has gained most in terms of sustainability. For example, it has outlined clearly,
the products, materials, energy and emissions, waster, water and chemistry as those areas where
it has made an impact.
The social reporting has several weaknesses as well. One of the biggest weaknesses of
the social reporting done by Nike is that it has juxtaposed different ideas making the report
confusing for the reader to understand. Further, it has not provided details of the impact it has
been able to make in the society; only figures are given with a few lines accompanying those.

3
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
In contrast to Nike, Nestle has given extreme care and effort in reporting on the social
activities it was involved in every year. Unlike Nike, Nestle has chronologically provided the
achievements and events it undertook as part of its CSR. In addition, the company’s CSR report
entails its efforts in society, community and environment separately, which makes it easier for
the readers to read and understand. Nestle’s social reporting has the least weakness except that it
has not provided clear statistics of its activities and achievements.
As evident, Nestle covered more issues and had more depth in its coverage as compared
to Nike in terms of social reporting.
Answer to question 3:
The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs include, amongst others ("Sustainable
Development Goals | UNDP", 2019):
Good health and wellbeing – This goal could be fulfilled when countries promote
wellbeing of all people at all ages by ensuring healthy lives.
Gender equality – Empowering all the girls and women is important in achieving gender
equality.
Decent work and economic growth – Inclusive and sustainable economic must be
promoted by all the nations. This could be done when all there is productive employment
ensuring decent job for everyone.
Reduced inequalities – Similar to gender equality, this goal also focuses on reducing
inequalities within countries and among the countries as well.

4
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
Sustainable cities and communities – By making human settlements and cities
sustainable, the world could ensure a safe, resilient and inclusive place of living for everyone.
Responsible consumption and production – This goal could be achieved by ensuring
sustainable production and consumption patterns.
Climate action – Urgent actions are required to combat climate change and its impact.
Based on the industry and the country the two companies belong to, these above-
mentioned sustainable goals are very crucial for them.
Nike is based in the US and according to the Sustainable Development Solutions
Network (SDSN) survey, the US lies at the bottom of the countries working towards achieving
SDGs by the target date of 2030 (Qz.com, 2019). It is thus important for Nike to implement CSR
policies that cover the aforementioned SDGs.
In case of Nestle, it has to focus on producing food that would support good health and
wellbeing. Further, the company has the opportunity to put Switzerland ahead as the finest
example as a country that is working towards achieving the SDGs.
The CSR report of the two companies largely reflects their efforts towards achieving the
SDGs. While Nike’s 2016-2017 report indicates its efforts towards using environment friendly
resources for its operations, Nestle has developed a CSR that encompasses all the elements of the
SDG. Nestle’s initiative to aid 50 million children to have a healthier life, improving 30 million
communities’ lives are in line with SDGs.
Answer to question 4:

5
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
Zadek et al. (1997) have outlined eight criteria to examine the quality of social
accounting by companies (Crane & Matten, 2016). These include inclusivity, completeness,
comparability, evolution, disclosure, management policies and systems, continuous improvement
and external verification (Crane & Matten, 2016).
Inclusivity refers to including all the elements of CSR into the social accounting
approach and Nike did not entirely include the community, only a section was included.
Disclosure refers revealing both the positive and negative news about a company’s CSR
achievement and activities. Nike has been able to put forth most information for its people. It
has learned from the debacle caused during the 1990s when the company was accused of
engaging in child labor. The Evolution criteria demonstrate a company’s growth. Nike evolved
from being a careless, anti-CSR Company to being the first in its industry to promote
transparency. The social accounting approach is transparent but there is a lack of external
verification. The report talks about data integrity but it should have included external verification
to make the data more credible.
Nestle on the other hand, seems to fulfill all the criteria with its detailed and clear
description of the social responsibility policies and implementations. The report demonstrates
inclusivity in that it has made sure it includes the community, the people and the environment
entirely and not just on the surface level. It has divided its CSR report into three parts concerning
the three aspects. In all three reports, there is evidence of external verification as well. In fact, the
report has a separate section titled external assessments, which shows the company’s
commitment towards transparency. Nestle also fulfills the continuous improvement criteria as it
aligns most of its goals to the DSGs that are dated to be met by 2030.

6
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
Answer to question 5:
The mission statement of Nike is “to bring inspiration and innovation to very athlete in
the world” and its vision statement is “to remain the most authentic, connected, and distinctive
brand”. The mission and vision statements demonstrate the values the company upholds. As per
the social reports published every year by the company, it has largely managed to align the report
with its values. For instance, the 2016-2017 report includes unleash human potential as a section
that demonstrates its alignment with its mission statement although not completely. Regarding its
vision statement, Nike has stayed true to its values however; it does not reflect the CSR
approaches it undertook or undertaking. The brand is authentic and connected to people, though
not to all, but it is not distinctive in terms of its CSR approaches. In its social report, it is evident
that the initiatives to connect with people are limited.
In its mission statement, Nestle has included one of the important sustainable
development goals, which is good health and wellbeing thus aligning its social report with its
mission statement. The mission statement incorporates Nestle’s commitment towards providing
best foods to the people, contributes to the wellbeing of the people, and enhances their quality of
life. The vision statement also reflects the company’s efforts to meet the nutritional needs of the
people. The company invests billions of dollars in research and development (R&D) to ensure
that the food products are of the best quality and healthy as well as pleasurable for the people
("Our vision", 2019). As evident from its reports, Nestle has developed programs like Nestle for
Healthier Kids that are in alignment with its mission and vision. The social report of Nestle
incorporates all the elements of its mission and vision. it is also worth mentioning that unlike
Nike, Nestle’s mission and vision statements are not stated in just one sentence. Similar could be
said about the social reports of both the companies.

7
VALUE AND SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF NIKE AND NESTLE
References:
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press. P 216
Nestle. (2019). Retrieved from http://fortune.com/global500/nestle/
Nestle.com. (2019). Enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Retrieved
from https://www.nestle.com/csv/impact
Nike. (2019). Retrieved from http://fortune.com/fortune500/nike/
Our vision. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nestle.com/randd/ourvision
Qz.com. (2019). The US and Russia are doing the least to achieve the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals. Retrieved from https://qz.com/1328895/un-sustainable-
development-goals-the-us-and-russia-are-doing-the-least-among-g20-nations/
Romolini, A., Fissi, S., & Gori, E. (2014). Scoring CSR reporting in listed companies–Evidence
from Italian best practices. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental
Management, 21(2), 65-81.
Sustainable Development Goals | UNDP. (2019). Retrieved from
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html