An In-Depth Analysis of Coca-Cola's Corporate Social Responsibility

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of Coca-Cola's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. It begins with an introduction to CSR and its importance in business, followed by an overview of Coca-Cola's history and its commitment to CSR. The essay then delves into Coca-Cola's CSR model, focusing on its key components: people, partners, portfolio, profit, and planet. It examines specific CSR initiatives, including those related to customer well-being, packaging recycling, water stewardship, employee development, and environmental sustainability. The essay evaluates Coca-Cola's CSR efforts using Carroll's three-domain approach and stakeholder theory, assessing the company's performance in economic, legal, and ethical domains. It also considers the GRI standard of reporting. The analysis highlights the evolution of Coca-Cola's CSR approach, from addressing negative publicity to integrating CSR into its long-term development strategy. The essay concludes with an evaluation of the company's strengths and weaknesses in CSR and offers recommendations for improvement.

RUNNING HEAD: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate Social responsibilities of coca cola
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Introduction:
In business, the corporate social responsibility is of utmost necessity since it aims at
promoting a vision for the business account in the broader range of the stakeholders beyond the
investors and the shareholders (Tai and Chuang 2015). The concept of corporate social
responsibilities is referred to the self-regulating model in business that makes a company to be
socially accountable to the public, the stakeholders and above all, to itself. A company needs to
constantly analyze their actions and evaluate whether they are about the social responsibilities
that they need to achieve to have a clear brand image and a reputation. It also positively impacts
the sustainability of the company and creates a good relationship between the environment,
human rights and the community it is operating in (Marquis and Qian 2014).
International companies need to understand that to sustain effectively in their home country
and most importantly across the boundaries, it should think beyond the profit-making
philosophies. They must take responsibility and incorporate actions into the business model so
that they can solve the local and global problems and improve social well-being.
The following report will analyze the corporate social responsibility activities of the well-
known international company coca-cola. It will take into account the activities of the company in
various aspects from various viewpoints and relationships to the various stakeholders of the
company. The report will aim at evaluating the activities in light of the corporate social
responsibilities and analyze the reasons for that approach. It will also provide a suitable
recommendation for the company so that it can improve in the area.

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Coca-Cola Company:
The company of Coca Cola was initially established in 1886 at the Atlanta as a local soda
manufacturer. As the company extended its business in Europe, Asia, the Soviet Union, and
South America, it established itself as the world’s largest non-alcoholic beverage company. By
the end of the 20th century, the company had established itself in almost all of the countries in
the world. The present CEO of the company is James Quincy. The company, being one of the
most essential companies in the world, it has to maintain the corporate social responsibilities. In
the present business scene, there is a growth in the demands for corporate disclosures by the
customers, stakeholders, employees or suppliers. This has led Coca Cola to adopt a socially
responsible model (Flammer 2015). The main operation of Coca Cola is in America and it has
been shown in one of the surveys that over one-quarter of the shares owned by the Americans
was purchased after analyzing their ethical values
Corporate Social Responsibility Model by Coca-Cola:
The corporate social responsibility model of Coca-cola company had been designed
considering the chief components of concern as follows:
People: Coca-cola has committed itself to cater to the fair as well as dignified treatment of the
people who are working for the company. The company also assures more than 90 percent of
production by the local people with the aid of local resources.
Partners: the company has made it an aim to strive for the engagement with the partners and the
stakeholders effectively and cooperatively.
Portfolio- the coca-cola company has to offer the highest variety of beverages. The company at
present produces over 2,600 beverages.

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Profit- the company with its policies seeks to maximize its value for shareowners mad at the
same time keeping in mind their responsibilities.
Planet: must strive to work as the leaders in responsible water use and other sustainability
issues.
Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives of Coca Cola:
It is generally considered that the high value of a brand is a crucial factor in the company for the
successful operation of a business. Moreover, it has also been analyzed that customers have been
forming a positive image of a company if the company has taken some responsibilities in making
the world a better place. In the event of exposure to the pollution issue by coca-cola, the ignoring
of the fact and taking no action against the situation enraged the customers and made them form
a negative image of the company (de Sá 2014). Under this circumstance, the company had to
consider a series of sustainable issues to revive the brand image. Besides, when the reputation of
the company significantly suffered in America as well as in India, the societal and economical
factors continued to influence the development of the company. It was now that the company
recognized the need of handling the environmental and social problems and enhancing the
reputation is significant for their success. They decided to plan for corporate social
responsibilities as an integral part of the developmental strategy for the long term.
It was after 2001 that Coca Cola decided to incorporate the corporate social responsibility
initiatives as a main part of development. Since it countered quite a considerable amount of
dissatisfaction from the media; it had to adopt some protections to rescue its brand image.

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Thirdly, with the company’s joining into WWF as a member, it could achieve the improvement
of the usage of water required for their operation and developmental frame working. Thus, the
company went keen on investing in the long term and in-depth processes to reflect its social
responsibilities. Coca Cola Company maintains a corporate social responsibility policy in three
levels: harm minimization, compliance and value creation. By minimizing the ill effects on the
environment, the company aimed at the maximization of value creation.
The company of coca-cola established its Corporate social responsibilities with the core concept
of “Live Positively” that has in it, the seven most core values- the beverage benefit, healthy and
active living, the community, climate and energy, the water stewardship, sustainable packaging,
and the workplace.
As per the Coca Cola Corporate Social Responsibility Report (2015), the CSR program of the
organization is the accompanying:
The main goal that the company aims to achieve through its CSR program is sustainability.
Keeping in mind this aspect, the company uses the technique in the following ways and areas
which are- the well being of the customers, packaging and the recycling of their products, water
stewardship, advancement and well being of their employees, the contribution of the
stakeholders and creating an environment-friendly atmosphere(Uhrich, Koenigstorfer and
Groeppel-Klein 2014).
Regarding looking after the health of the consumer, the company has made the aim of meeting
the trends of the normal life of the consumers. In order to achieve this, the company has
developed the portfolio of the product and has diversified to a large extent. It has also effectively
reduced the number of calories in their beverages by 88 percent. In this respect they are on the
same plain of Michel Obama’s campaign, let’s move to clear on calories.

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Concerning the aspect of Packaging Recycling, the organization presented “PlantBottle” which is
a "completely recyclable PET jug produced using a mix of oil-based materials and up to 30
percent of plant-based materials” (Coca Cola CSR 2015). The company, in addition to this, has
also achieved successfully a considerably high recycling rate of its bottles.
As to Stewardship, the Coca Cola Company endeavors to make a mark on the proficiency in
their usage of water. It has been able to improve the utilization of water by 3.5 percent since
2008.
The improvement of employees is a further goal of the CSR of the organization. The
organization accepts that workers are the establishment for progress. The company had been
trying it’s level best to develop the competencies and skills. They arrange for various programs
that are specially designed for attracting, retaining and developing the key employees and
improving their abilities. The programs are aimed at the development of leadership skills among
the workers that will be needed by the company in all countries. The current CSR policies of the
company is aimed at the training in adjusting to a diverse culture.
Finally, in their concern about the vitality and the environment, the organization co-marked the
Copenhagen Communiqué. It has focused largely on the environmental hazards around the globe
It is for the second time that they had been able to reduce the carbon emission to a considerable
height.
Evaluation of the CSR:
Viewing from Carroll’s three domain approach of CSR, as viewed in the three-domain
approach (Mark S. Schwartz and Archie B. Carroll from week 3.) it can be said the social
responsibilities taken by the company are taking a turn in the economic, legal and ethical

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domain. At the economic domain, the company is trying to ensure its profit, after the various
conflicting issues it made the Aqueduct Alliance. This was done by the company as the first step
in reviving its strong image. The addressing to the ecological issues and the preservation of water
was a step initiated for resonating the expectations of the stakeholders concerned in the business
(Wang, Tong, Takeuchi and George 2016). In moving towards a more ethical domain according
to the pyramid, the company is maintaining its strategy of lowering down its transaction cost
(Carroll, 2003.). With the actions taken by the company in providing the necessities of life,
various factors were resolved. The medical checkups and the facilities in the health sectors
helped Coca Cola to remain in the limelight of media. In turn, their economic growth also started
to increase, which according to Carroll is the basis of any business. The lower transaction cost
was also another means of the company to make a considerable amount of profit. This also
promised a stable manufacturing process that resulted in higher profitability. In the legal domain
the company has been adhering the concerned environmental rule regarding the water usage,
labor laws, wage laws and protection of environment. The company is thus not directed any
either of the pure economic, legal or ethical approach. It has resorted to the balanced domain of
both the three approaches.
The stakeholder theory (Freeman 2015) (Module BUMS 4690 week 5), is directly related to
the corporate social responsibilities of the company. The Coca Cola Company has been able to
achieve significant growth in recent years after the initiation of corporate social responsibility
policies. It has expanded its business, catering to the needs of customers of over 200 countries
and having a product portfolio of 400 non-alcoholic beverages. The basic demand of the
customer is the value for money. The considerable attention by the company in their research and
development has made Coca Cola able to produce products that will meet the demand of the

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changing market. It is of the philosophy that the trust of the customer is crucial for the success of
the company. In the national as well as the international level Coca Cola can meet the regulatory
and legal requirements. In any business, the government is always an important stakeholder since
it holds a considerable amount of power to disrupt the plans of the organization. In taking
measures against the water pollution and creation of water shortage in Kerala the company did
not only revived their reputation but also aimed at complying with the laws and regulations.
Another major stakeholder of the company is the employees of the organization (Grayson and
Hodges 2017. ). The company has set up strategies for developing its employees to use their
potentials to the fullest extent. The company has developed programs that ensure a higher range
of employee engagements. Another noble attitude taken by the company, particularly in India is
to empower women from the lower strata of society. In India, the company takes as laborers the
women from the underprivileged class and has special reservations for them (Schwartz and
Carroll 2003).
The GRI standard(Foster, 2014) (Module BUSM 4690 Week 11) of reporting is one of the
useful tools of viewing and assessing the impacts of the company on the environmental contexts.
Though the GRI report is not universally acclaimed, the coca cola company, however, maintains
a standard report according to their own. (coca cola official website). The company at present is
following the evaluation based on the ISO26000. Analyzing the economic performances of the
company in 2018 in relation to the ISO26000, it is evident that the company had been
consistently creating what they called a “top down bottom up approach” for the effective
management of any emerging risks in the context of climate change and the environmental
hazards at both the management and the operational level (Foster 2014). In 2018, the company
has been successful in the opening up of 19 recovery packaging schemes owned by the industry.

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The recycling targets are purposefully for the lowering down of the environmental hazards. The
company also keeps a separate report of all kinds of energy used in their plants..
According to the Stakeholder’s theory of ethics (Freeman, 2014), as mentioned in Module
BUMS 4690 week 5 and week 10, any action can be defined to b ethically correct when it has the
ability for yielding maximum benefit for the maximum number of people. The theory is
primarily based on the outcomes of action that aims at assessing the moral aspects of a business
on the scale of its rendering of fairness and justice to the maximum number of people. The
theory also focuses on the incoming of increased profits by the business without being engaged
in fraudulent activities. In the case of Coca Cola, the operations and neglect towards the
environmental hazards caused damage to the natural resources including the pollution of water,
air, and land (Irefin and Mechani 2014). The company has also been accused of using pesticides
in their products that caused detrimental effects. These activities were carried out to incur a
maximum profit. However, after the setbacks, the company expertly crafted out the sustainability
and the CSR policies. It responded to the criticism brought against them using publishing
supportive research reports. This impact of green washing though was beneficial to the company
but since it disregarded the impacts created on the customer it suffered the loss of reputation.
Recommendation:
It is held by early philosophers, as discussed in the dignity of the human and respect towards
the right of every human being is the ultimate means as well as the ending. The ethics setter of
the past proposed ways that talks about the deontological ethics, which are of the view that
morality is essentially a matter of duty and is likely to be not dependent on the consequences
(Cheng, Ioannou, and Serafeim 2014). This theory must be the guiding principle of any business.

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The company can take the initiative in their approach to developing social responsibilities by
making the consumers aware of the ill effects of too much consumption of caffeine. In the
process, the company can also aim at the reduction of the amount of caffeine in the beverages
and promote or produce other portfolios that do not contain caffeine.
Another initiative that the company can take is the effective involvement of the stakeholders
in the operation. While the involvement of the government will ensure the proper function and
adhering to the legal regulations, the tie ups with the NGOs will serve t the social causes (Austin
and Gaither 20160. Their sponsorships in various programs done for the social causes can
enhance their reputation.
In catering to the needs of the employees, the company can arrange for special pieces of
training that will enhance their abilities to make a more sustainable package and bottling of the
beverages. This will help the company to reduce the environmental hazards as well.
` the company must also need to disclose their data regarding sustainability and lay down a full
proof chalked out plan in order to prove their transparency.
In the end, it is recommended that Coca Cola Company must carry on with its long term
corporate social responsibility plans for the sake of the company benefits.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be said that the Coca Cola company, being a globally reputed one and
having a strong brand image cannot neglect its social responsibilities. Initially, in denying their
responsibilities and looking after the well beings of the stakeholders, it suffered a loss in
economic terms as well as in the section of brand image. It revived their responsibility policies
and made a full proofed model of CSR that is really commendable.

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