Apple's CSR and Financial Performance: A Strategic Management Report

This report provides a critical evaluation of Apple's corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives, alongside its financial performance. It begins by introducing CSR and sustainable development, exploring the triple bottom line (TBL) framework, and then delves into Apple's specific CSR programs, including employee support, environmental efforts, and supplier responsibility. The report analyzes Apple's financial performance, including revenue, gross margin, and future projections. It also examines the impact of its CSR and sustainability practices on its financial standing, including a decrease in revenue and the company's strategic response. The analysis concludes with a summary of the key findings, emphasizing the importance of CSR and sustainability for competitive advantage and financial stability. The report also incorporates references to relevant literature and appendices with supporting data, like charts showing carbon footprint reduction.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FOR COMPETITIEV ADVANTAGE
Strategic Management for Competitive Advantage
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 3
2. CSR and Sustainable Development.........................................................................................4
3. Triple Bottom Line (TBL)..........................................................................................................5
4. Apple’s CSR and Sustainability...............................................................................................6
5. Financial Performance of Apple and Future Impacts...............................................................7
6. Conclusion............................................................................................................................... 9
7. References............................................................................................................................ 10
8. Appendices............................................................................................................................ 12

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1. Introduction
Corporations are competing in a competitive environment. CSR and sustainable development
are now widely employed as part of the strategies for a competitive edge in the market. The
report examines CSR and sustainable progress, the triple-bottom-line, Apple’s CSR as well as
sustainability, the fiscal performance of apple and future impact and end with a conclusion.

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2. CSR and Sustainable Development
In the present competitive global arena, CSR has become one of the strategies employed by
organizations as part of the aspects of their business operations. This is because the present
society is informed of the rights and roles of an organization in fostering a healthy society
(Visser, & Tolhurst, 2017). As a result, businesses are challenged because they risk losing
clients if they do not be part of society. CSR has gone not only beyond the normal goal of
getting profit and creating a good relationship in the society but also to change the environment,
transform lives of the people and create an amble environment (Montiel, Delgado-Ceballos,
Ortiz-de-Mandojana, & Antolin-Lopez, 2018). In the process of CSR, values get impacted to the
people and society.
It is with this view that the concept of sustainability emerges. Sustainability hence is a way of
creating a mutual lasting relationship within the environment. It is making and keeping systems
together (Strand, Freeman, & Hockerts, (2015). Sustainable development, therefore, is an
endeavor undertaken to meet the needs of the present generation while considering that of the
future generation by conserving the resources. In an organization, it almost means the same,
only that there is a need for an organization to meets its needs by using acceptable standards
that do not harm the environment (Bhamra, & Lofthouse, 2016).
Therefore, corporations have adopted sustainable leadership as a means of coordinating CSR
and sustainability in business. Marshall, Coleman, & Reason (2017) emphasized that
sustainability in an organization with no proper leadership is prone to fail. Therefore
organizations that succeed in realizing CSR and sustainability have to ensure that sustainable
leadership is in operation (Epstein, M. J. (2018).

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3. Triple Bottom Line (TBL)
According to Żak (2015), the concept of Triple-Bottom-Line gives a wider perspective to the
business on a financial base and incorporates the environment and the social factors as the
deliverables to be taken into consideration. The TBL has the ability to measure to company’s
scope on social responsibility, the financial role, and the environment role. Park & Kim, (2016)
asserts that the concept as introduced by John Elkington in 1994 is a vital tool in ensuring that
all the elements are working in harmony for sustainable each other. The challenges of the
concept are the difficulty in getting the measurements of social and environmental factors and
the connected factors that affect them (Shnayder, Van Rijnsoever, & Hekkert, 2015)
In looking at the TBL concept, it starts with the financial aspect; it is the profits earned by the
organization. These are the finances used to advance the entire objective of the business with
consideration of sustainability. The focus goes beyond sales, profits and touches on social and
environmental situations so as to give the entire price of the business. The concept implies that
the society, the environment, and the finances which are simple terms are the people, the earth
and the business work together in harmony there is going to be sustainability. This then implies
that there is just and fairness in all corners while doing business (Żak (2015).
Therefore in using the TBL, organization have to take into consideration all the three factors in
investment and strategic decisions (Saeed, 2017). When the three factors are taken into
consideration, the end result is environmental sustainability. Even though a balance of the three
factors appears to be difficult, a business that succeeds in implementing is prone to create a
sustainable business, enjoy more profits and become successful in the competitive market. It
has to be recognized that social and environmental objectives need not be at the expenses of
financial objectives. The financial aspect gets utilized only to reinforce these other factors when
necessary (Tatari, Kucukvar, & Onat, 2015).

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4. Apple’s CSR and Sustainability
The organization under current CEO embraces CSR and sustainability as one of the ways of
leadership strategies as well as ensuring the stakeholders; the employees and the society have
mutual benefits from the organization. The company has put in place a number of programs as
well as initiatives that promote CSR. The company is supporting the local people through
volunteering program where the employees have to leave work and work in the community in
selected projects. Additionally, respond to disasters, the company donates $1 million to help
Hurricane Maria victims, $ 2 million for Hurricane Harvey as well as Hurricane Irma victims in
Puerto Rico. As a way of going green, the company powers all its offices in China with solar
power (Bamforth, 2019).
The organization gives opportunities to its employees by educating as well as empowering
them. The employee programs were expanded and give expectant mother off of four weeks
before birth and 14 weeks after birth. The fathers are entitled to parental leave of six weeks
(Apple, 2019).
On the other hand, it has provided over 3.6 million suppliers with education since 2008 as well
as training people on the development of Apps and swift course and in 2018 it trained
approximately 68%. These among other programs such human rights, safety and health of
workers, gender equality, energy and water consumption, as well as supplier responsibility are
in the core strategies of Apple’s business strategy (Bamforth, 2019).
The company has increased its recycling programs by four times the initial previous point last
year. They have managed to reduce carbon by 35% footprint in the last three years and this
indicates the progress of moving to a free future (Apple, 2019). In achieving this, the
organization employs similar innovation in the development of their products starting right from
the first stage to the final stage of product creation (Staub, 2019). They are incognizant with the
fact that without the efforts of all, the world’s problems will not be solved. They show this by
taking an important role and demonstrating businesses have a critical role to play. The chart in
the appendix 2 shows the efforts the company has done in the endeavor to reduce carbon
footprint. It apparent since 2011, there has been significant reduction each year. This implies
that the company is using sustainable practices in its business operations (Staub, 2019).

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5. Financial Performance of Apple and Future Impacts
The organization on 30th April 2019 posted $58 billion in revenue. This shows a decrease of 5%
from the previous quarter. The deals globally accounted for 61% of the revenue of that quarter.
The decline is attributed to the heavy investment the company has engaged in. The CEO
asserts that there is going to be a boost when they will be launching a number of different
products portfolios in June this year (Huguet, 2019). They generated $11.2 billion. As a result of
the future of the company and the value of its stock, the board authorized more $75 billion for
the repurchase of shares as well as increasing quarterly dividend and hence cash of $0.77$ in a
share as well a 5% increase (Wolverton, 2019). As per Salinas, S. (2019), the decreases in the
performance of the company get attributed also to the low revenue in China where the
establishment got less by $5-billion from the previous year.
The following if provided for third quarter 2019 fiscal year:
Ranges from To
Revenue $52.5 billion $54.5 billion
Gross Margin 37% 38%
Operating Expenditures $8.7 billion $8.8 billion
Others (income and expenses) $250 million
Duty Rate 16.5%
The company in line with its sustainability leadership provides information to its investors
through the company website and comprises of the press releases, reports of performance,
corporate governance, and any other related information necessary for its stakeholders
(Huguet, 2019).

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Chart 1: Apple’s Income Statement
From the income statement, it is evident that the company show a downward fall from the
previous year which has been attributed to declining in performance in China and the
investments that the company made on the products yet to be released. As a result of the
strong confidence by investors and the top management, the company is projected to increase
its revenue earnings once they get to launch its new products. Therefore, the future of the
company is bright (Huguet, 2019).

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6. Conclusion
In the analysis, it is established that CSR and sustainable development plays a critical role both
in society and the business as an entity. This is augmented by the triple bottom line that all
factors must work in tandem so that there is sustainability in the environment. Apple as a
competitive organization has followed suit in ensuring that there is sustainability within the
organization. Moreover, the organization has initiated numerous programs and initiatives that
promote CSR. The financial status of the company is still stable despite a decrease in revenue
in its 2019 quarter financial statements. The decrease in revenue is being attributed to China
market performance and investments on other portfolios. The board and the investors have
confidence and are optimistic that the performance of the company will rise steadily. Therefore
the financial impact of the company is strong.

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7. References
Apple, (2019). Conserving mangroves, a lifeline for the world. Available from:
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/04/conserving-mangroves-a-lifeline-for-the-
world/
Bamforth, E. (2019). Apple executive to speak at Oberlin College commencement. Available
from: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/05/apple-executive-to-speak-at-oberlin-
college-commencement.html
Bhamra, T., & Lofthouse, V. (2016). Design for sustainability: a practical approach. Routledge.
Epstein, M. J. (2018). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring
corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. Routledge.
Huguet, K. (2019). Apple Reports Second Quarter Results. Available from:
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/04/apple-reports-second-quarter-results/
Lozanova, S. (2019). Sustainable Smartphones. Available from: https://earth911.com/eco-
tech/sustainable-smartphones/
Marshall, J., Coleman, G., & Reason, P. (2017). Leadership for sustainability: An action
research approach. Routledge.
Montiel, I., Delgado-Ceballos, J., Ortiz-de-Mandojana, N., & Antolin-Lopez, R. (2018). There is
an App for that! The Use of New Technologies in Ethics, CSR and Corporate
Sustainability Education. Journal of Business Ethics.
Park, H., & Kim, Y. K. (2016). An empirical test of the triple bottom line of customer-centric
sustainability: The case of fast fashion. Fashion and Textiles, 3(1), 25.
Saeed, A. (2017). A'green'Strategy for Triple Bottom Line Corporate Sustainability: A Case
Study of a Major Manufacturer in the UAE (Doctoral dissertation, University of Liverpool).
Salinas, S. (2019). Apple shares jump after barely beating on earnings, and iPhone sales drop
15% from last year. Available from: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/29/apple-q1-2019-
earnings.html
Shnayder, L., Van Rijnsoever, F. J., & Hekkert, M. P. (2015). Putting your money where your
mouth is: Why sustainability reporting based on the triple bottom line can be misleading.
PloS one, 10(3), e0119036.
Staub, C. (2019). Recycling takeaways from Apple’s sustainability report. Available from:
https://resource-recycling.com/e-scrap/2019/04/25/recycling-takeaways-from-apples-
sustainability-report/
Strand, R., Freeman, R. E., & Hockerts, K. (2015). Corporate social responsibility and
sustainability in Scandinavia: An overview. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(1), 1-15.

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Tatari, O., Kucukvar, M., & Onat, N. C. (2015, February). Towards a triple bottom line life cycle
sustainability assessment of buildings. In Science for Sustainable Construction and
Manufacturing Workshop (Vol. 1, p. 226).
Visser, W., & Tolhurst, N. (2017). The world guide to CSR: A country-by-country analysis of
corporate sustainability and responsibility. Routledge.
Wolverton, T. (2019). Here comes Apple's Q1 earnings (AAPL) . Available from:
https://www.pulse.com.gh/bi/tech/live-here-comes-apples-q1-earnings-aapl/t472edv
Żak, A. (2015). Triple Bottom Line Concept an Theory and Practice. Research Papers of The
Wroclaw University of Economics/Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego We
Wroclawiu, (387).

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8. Appendices
1. Apple’s Sustainability Strategy