University of Sunderland: Coda Plastics Limited Management Report 2019

This management report, prepared for the University of Sunderland, analyzes Coda Plastics Limited, a UK-based plastic packaging manufacturer. It begins with a company profile and an introduction that outlines the report's objectives. The report then provides a literature background, discussing frameworks like PESTLE, SWOT, and Porter's Five Forces, used to assess external factors affecting the company. Task 1 focuses on external factors, including political (Brexit), economic (exchange rates, interest rates), social (environmental awareness), technological, and environmental factors, alongside competition within the industry. Task 2 delves into corporate social responsibility and sustainability, examining Coda Plastics' policies on recycling, quality control, and eco-friendly products. The report evaluates the effectiveness of these policies and provides recommendations for improvement, such as increased use of recycled materials and public-private partnerships. The report concludes with a bibliography and an executive summary that encapsulates the key findings and recommendations.

MANAGEMENT REPORT- CODA PLASTICS LIMITED
By [Name of Student]
Contemporary Developments in Business and Management Assessment 2019
[Professor]
University of Sunderland
London
[Word Count: ]
October 08, 2019

Management Report 2
Contents
Company Profile:.........................................................................................................................................4
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................4
Literature Background:................................................................................................................................4
Task 1- External Factors Affecting Coda Plastics Limited:............................................................................6
Political Factors:......................................................................................................................................6
Economic Factors:...................................................................................................................................7
Social Factors:..........................................................................................................................................7
Technological Factors..............................................................................................................................7
Environmental Factors:............................................................................................................................7
Competition:............................................................................................................................................8
Task 2- Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability:.........................................................................8
2.1 Coda Plastics’ Policies and Operations Concerning Social Responsibility and Sustainability:................9
2.2 Effectiveness of Organizational Response:..........................................................................................12
Recycling:...............................................................................................................................................12
Quality Controls:....................................................................................................................................12
Environment Friendly Products:............................................................................................................13
Market Position:....................................................................................................................................13
Recommendations:....................................................................................................................................14
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................................15

Management Report 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report basically applies the theoretical knowledge of business management to the operations
of Coda Plastics limited organization in order to assess its performance and recommend some
better operational options. Coda Plastics Limited is a UK based private limited company that
produces a wide range of plastic packaging products. The report in first place gives a theoretical
background of the frameworks that may be used to assess all the possible external factors that
may have an impact on the operations and performance of an organization. These frameworks
include Pestle analysis, SWOT analysis and the Porter’s five forces analysis. When applied these
frameworks on the Coda Plastics organization, they helped to identify that the external factors
that hold an impact on its operations include uncertain political conditions due to brexit deal,
falling exchange rates and slightly rising interest rates, increasing public awareness regarding
going green, dynamic technological requirements and the imminent threats of climate change.
Next section of the report deals with the theme of social responsibility and sustainability and its
relevance to the operations of Coda Plastics limited. Coda plastics have implied the policy of
recycling its entire plastic wastes, using compostable raw material for its major products and
high quality controls to make itself socially and environmentally more responsible. At
organizational level its policies seem very effective but it can further enhance its role in
maintaining sustainability at a larger scale by further increasing its use of recycled material in
production, private- government partnership to ensure better tax legislation to promote recycling
at national level and investing in better waste collection and management technologies.

Management Report 4
CODA PLASTICS LIMITED- MANAGEMENT REPORT
Company Profile:
Coda Plastics limited is one of the top plastic manufacturers of United Kingdom that has been
remarkably serving the market since 40 years. It is a globally recognized and award winner
organization that is producing a variety of plastic packaging products including plastic caps and
closures, plastic bottles, specialty plastics and standard plastic packaging. The Coda Plastics ltd.
carries on all the activities ranging from product design to the creation of final product on a
global scale. It has worked in collaboration with large international organizations e.g. Bob
Martin, Revlon, Cussons Carex and ST. Tropez etc.(Coda Plastics, 2019).
Introduction:
This report will highlight all primary external business environment factors that cast an impact
on the organizational policies and performance and then it will followup with the theme of
corporate social responsibility and sustainability and their relevance to the operations of Coda
plastics limited. It will also explain that how effectively these policies have been applied by the
company and what impact they have had on the surrounding environment.
Literature Background:
Before proceeding towards all the external business environment factors that may have an impact
on the policies and decisions of Coda Plastics Ltd, it is necessary to go through a theoretical
background of all the relevant frameworks of management theory that have been given by the

Management Report 5
scholars to analyze all the possible external factors that affect any business organization. All
business organizations operate in a highly dynamic environment in which a number of elements
keep on changing that are beyond the control of any single business organization. All those
things in this environment that cannot be held under control by any organization but it have to
respond to those changes are considered as external factors. These changes can either be positive
and can be considered as opportunities or negative that can be considered as threats. The
framework of SWOT analysis given by Albert Humphrey is partially functional to analyze these
external factors categorizing as opportunities and threats.
But more comprehensive and workable framework that was designed to provide a holistic picture
of the external business environment is PESTLE analysis framework given by Francis Aguilar. It
explains in details all the possibly affecting political, economic, social, technological, and
legislative as well as ecological elements present in the business environment. In PESTLE,
political factors include all the conditions that are produced by the government regarding tax,
laws and political stability. The economic factors include all the possible changes in the interest
rates, exchange rates, growth rate, inflation and unemployment. Social factors will include the
tastes and trends of the population surrounding the business organization, their lifestyles and the
demographics. Technological factors comprise any changes in the pace of research and
development, Information and Communication technologies, automation and e-
commerce.Ecological/Environmental factors that may affect the operations of any organization
include two aspects i.e. the physical conditions with which a business organization is supposed to
deal for example the climate change or weather and the green credentials that are pollution and
recycling(J. and Paul, 2014).

Management Report 6
Another important aspect of the external business environment that possesses a challenging
effect on any business’s operations is the “Competitiveness”. To detect the level of competition
in any industry, M. Porter in 1979 presented a five forces model that provides a clear picture of
the extent of competition that a business will have to face the expected level of profitability for
the business organization in that environment. These five forces include; threat of new entrants
in industry, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitutes and
the rivalry among existing competitors(Grundy, 2006).
Now all these theoretical frameworks will be collectively considered to analyze all the existing
external factors that may have an impact on the performance of Coda Plastics limited so that a
clear picture of the organization’s position in the industry may be interpreted in the industry of
rubber and plastic products.
Task 1- External Factors Affecting Coda Plastics Limited:
In this section, only the major factors that significantly impact the Coda Plastics’ policies and
performance will be discussed in detail:
Political Factors:
Currently, the most important ongoing political scenario that will impact the organization’s
performance and operations is the uncertain conditions of Brexit deal that is being negotiated
between UK and the EU. The Coda Plastics ltd is UK based and imports its materials from
Europe and around the world. The possible changes in tariffs will affect the cost of production of
the company. In case of no Brexit deal, the fees and tariffs of World Trade organizations will be
applicable to the entire plastic import and export of the company with EU(Brexit and the plastics
industry, 2018). Another important political factor in the legislation of UK that have had a sharp

Management Report 7
impact on UK’s plastic manufacturers is the tax levies on the use of single use non-
biodegradable plastic packages has also lowered the demand of plastic manufacturer’s products.
Economic Factors:
Due to the political and legislative uncertainty, the projected economic conditions and their
impact on Coda Plastics is also marred by unpredictability. However in past few years the UK’s
economy showed a slight slump from 2013 to 2017 and consumption showed a dynamic pattern
of rise and fall respectively increasing and decreasing the sales revenue of the company. The
exchange rates also fell making the plastic exports cheaper hence lowering the organization’s
profits. The interest rates surged slightly after 2017 adding to the cost of capital of Coda plastics.
Social Factors:
In past few years, the imminent threats of climate change and awareness campaigns have
triggered a social outcry for clean and green products and production processes. Recyclable
packaging is being preferred over environment degrading non-recyclable plastics. Due to which
Coda Plastics had to make major changes in their production processes and waste handling to
achieve the target of almost 0% wastes in their production processes.
Technological Factors:
Due to a quick shift towards energy efficient and environmental friendly plastic products, the
company had to invest heavy amounts in compatible new machinery to compete in the global
market. These changes are likely to continue at a faster pace in the future as well hence a
continuous technological upgrade process is mandatory.
Environmental Factors:
On 26th April, 2019, a UK plastic pact was established that aimed to eliminate the use of
unnecessary one time plastic packaging by the year 2025. It is likely that this pact will trigger

Management Report 8
new and unique business models in UK and the plastic industry will be completely transformed
in coming years as it will not only lessen the environmental footprint of the industry but will also
bring some economic opportunities with it. Following the environmental requirements of the
pact the Coda Plastics Limited company has labeled itself as an environmentally responsible
organization. It started a sophisticated recycling system. The rising water pollution has also
obligated the plastic businesses to be cautious of keeping the oceans plastic free(Cotter, 2019).
Competition:
Currently, the UK’s plastic industry is the global leader due to which it has made the competition
and innovation fierce. There are almost 5200 plastic manufacturing firms. The supply chain is
complex hence reducing the bargaining power of suppliers. Due to these industry conditions,
despite of being a leading plastic manufacturer, the Coda Plastics Ltd is required to play actively
in the market and bring continuous innovations keeping in view the changing trends both in the
product design and the production process in order to sustain its position.
Task 2- Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability:
In this age of imminent climate change threat, social responsibility and sustainability has become
a vital area to work on for all large business entities. Social responsibility means that any
organization that works in a social environment must consider vigilantly the rights and welfare of
its surrounding society while performing its business activities. It also implies that the business
should maintain a smooth balance between its economy and the ecosystem. It should try its best
that the welfare of the society and environment is not compromised while struggling to achieve
economic prosperity. Sustainability is a slightly different term. It ensures that the needs of
current generation are not being fulfilled at the cost of the needs of future generations(Orlitzky,
M. and D.A., 2011).

Management Report 9
Here, the plastic industry is one of the most affected areas. If the plastic packaging is properly
disposed of or recycled, its impact on environmental degrading can be mitigated to a large
extent.Plastic pollution is rapidly afflicting the land and most importantly the oceans. The
chemical structure of some of the plastic packaging also makes them non-biodegradable and they
are stuck in our natural environment, stifling the wildlife of oceans as well as the human life.
However, most of the UK firms are vigilant in their social obligations including Coda Plastics
Limited. A testimony to this fact is that almost 98% of the plastic waste that is stuck in the
oceans comes from outside the UK.
Hence the increasing public awareness among general public about environmental degradation
has limited the demand of plastic products. Moreover, the taxlevies on the use of one time use
plastic bags have further stalled the demand of plastic sacks and bags.
In order to combat this falling demand of the plastic packaging products, Coda Plastics Limited
has adopted a very comprehensive policy of saving the environment from the ills of plastic
waste. In these policies, the company sounds very socially responsible and follows a clear cut
sustainability plan.
2.1 Coda Plastics’ Policies and Operations Concerning Social Responsibility and
Sustainability:
Coda Plastics Limited has been acting socially responsible since a long ago. It has achieved the
target of almost 0% waste in its production process by reusing its own plastic waste in its
products. Not only this, Coda Plastics also buys wastes of other companies in order to recycle it
in their own PCR production process. The sustainability policy of Coda Plastics is very clear
with a goal of minimizing the impact of plastic on the environment. Not only this, Coda Plastics

Management Report 10
is also striving to be energy efficient by the use of solar panels in the office facilities. In a word,
they aim to be as green as possible in their production processes. The company is pursuing
following four environmental and sustainability goals in its operations.
1. The use of solar energy in production
2. Use of hybrid and electric cars to minimize carbon emissions
3. Zero percent waste in manufacturing process
4. Lightweight and practical product design
Coda plastics produce high quality healthcare plastic products e.g. white room injection
moulding due to which it is rated AA Accelerated Facility by the BRC in East Anglia. All the
hygiene standards are strictly being followed. The plastic assembly is completely robotic and
automated hence hygiene is not compromised at any stage. This high consideration given to
hygiene in its production process delineates its social responsibility with regard to public health.
According to the statistics collected by the Coda Plastics, UK annually uses almost 5 million tons
of plastic. And 29% of this consumption is recycled by the plastic industry overall. To give a
boost to this percentage, Coda Plastics is efficiently playing its part. It recycles the plastic waste
in three stages. In first stage, all the plastics are separated according to the type of polymers.
Secondly, the sorted plastics are cleaned and shredded. In the final step, the shredded plastic is
converted into the liquid by heating and then converted into the plastic pellets. Coda Plastics see
the issue of plastic pollution as a matter of improper disposal rather than the plastic itself. Last
year when the government announced a war on the plastic wastes followed by Theresa May’s
anti-plastic speech, Coda Plastics called the entire plastic waste related reporting ill-informed
and misjudged. It called for the elimination of littering and a holistic national action plan to put

Management Report 11
in place for proper recycling and disposal of plastic wastes. It also promulgated through its
official blogs that more sophisticated recycling infrastructure should be kept in place at a
national level to combat the overall environmental issues. Taking the lead in this stance, Coda
plastics produce its standard “Of the Shelf” packaging from the recyclable plastics that are also
extracted out of the company’s own PCR or recycled wastes.
The company also uses four basic tips to produce more environmental friendly packaging that
meticulously tackle all the possible harm that may be cast an impact in the environment. These
include:
1. Uses of the right material i.e. easily recyclable
2. Reducing the product weight as it will require less resources and lesser amounts of
carbon will be produced while transporting the products for distribution.
3. Reducing the components of plastics to make them easily recyclable
4. Proper labeling to spread a general awareness of recycling process and minimize the
practice of littering.
The Coda plastics also launched Compostable Coffee Capsules in collaboration with CCC in the
current year that are totally compostable in high quality soil within the short time period of 6
months without contaminating it with micro plastic particles. This launch will change the picture
of single serving coffee market. According to the statistics gathered, 60 billion coffee cups are
utilized every year out of which a miniscule of less than 1 billion is recycled every year. 25% of
these products use poisonous aluminum materials. Coda Plastics Limited has taken a total shift
from these materials to game changer compostable plastics. The material used in their production
are home compostable, vegan as well as competitive in their price and design(Coda Blog, 2018).

Management Report 12
The company’s operational and product outlook clearly shows its commitment to the social
responsibility and sustainability requirements. However it still acknowledges that there is still
more to be done to fight the plastic pollution at national and international level as well.
2.2 Effectiveness of Organizational Response:
The effectiveness of Coda Plastics Limited policies and procedures with respect to fulfilling its
social responsibility and sustainability can be analyzed clearly by several aspects. Major
achievements in this regard are as follows:
Recycling:
In Coda plastics, the entire wastes of the manufacturing process are recycled and they achieve
almost 0% waste level. Moreover, 30% of the production of company is already made out of the
recycled material. Not only this, they are also purchasing the waste materials from other
companies to play a greater role in saving the environment. Not only this, but it also ensures cost
of production in long run as the investments in new and innovative recycling technologies is
already made. These activities are though very much affective at the corporate level and are
required to be followed by other plastic and rubber industry firms as well. But there is still a need
to curb the menace of plastic pollution at a bigger scale i.e. national and international. Because in
2017, when china imposed a banon the import of certain types of plastic waste, it created a havoc
in the UK plastic industry as it had no other options to get rid of huge amounts of plastic wastes.
Quality Controls:
The effectiveness of high quality controls of the company in order to ensure safer products can
be ascertained by the BRC ratings of the Coda Plastics Limited. BRC sets the global standards
for quality products and it has accredited the Coda Plastics with AA ratings with respect to