Question 1. Outline a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of your choice, and say why you think it is successful.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been made conventional for organization undertakings such that multiple groups rate businesses depending on the success of their CSR undertakings and the classifications are considered of communal benefits. Thus CSR is currently perceived as an unavoidable apprehension for organization management in each nation. Having the required resources to implement the CSR initiatives, the management of organizations should make sure that the initiatives are implemented successfully to contribute to the target group. The Sustainability Development Goals introduced by the United Nations consider distinct significant themes as a uniform dream for affluence and sustainable livings in the future. Among the significant goals include ending poverty, preserving the environment by reducing carbon emissions, zero hunger levels, good health and well-being of life, gender equality, and providing detailed and quality education for everyone.
Coca-Cola among the leading drink corporations in India recognizes that CSR is a fundamental unit of its commercial goal. The Company is thus recognizes the environmental, social, and economic effects produced by a company of its level and hence the company made a decision to consider several initiatives of enhancing the quality of life of its consumers, employees, and the community as a whole (Pradhan and Ranjan, 2011, p.141). The Company has continuously campaigned for various sustainability initiatives such as rainwater harvesting, going for sustainable packaging, and recycling. The main goal of Coca-Cola Company India has been ensuring it contributes positively to society by carrying out various CSR initiatives. As the company utilizes large amounts of water and energy in the production of its beverages and huge amounts of the packaging material for its products, it has embraced various creativities of making it an accountable organization and minimize the ecological effect (Chaklader and Gautam, 2013, p. 99). Environmental responsibility has been the key concern for the Company’s CSR initiatives because the Company is involved in the production of beverages and its activities have impacted the environment in various means including excessive use of water, discharge of wastewater, effluents release, emissions of greenhouse gases due to the use of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. Therefore, the Company has been working together with other government and non-government institutions to fund multiple water conservation initiatives that target poor societies and those in most need of aid. The Company utilizes an open-source plan for opinions to practice sustainability in homes. To avoid affecting the environment negatively further, the Company sources finish products such as sugar, juice, and water. Besides, since the packaging of the Company’s products contributes to a large amount of carbon effect, the Company is continuously working together with its packaging distributors and manufacturers to decrease its carbon footprint. The company plans to grow its business by making a difference and the sustainability f the Company’s business relies on the health of the people they serve (Sharma and Kiran, 2012, p. 98). Despite numerous critics, the company has continued to champion various initiatives toward sustainability and through its numerous strategies, it has become successful in its initiatives.
The sustainability initiative adopted by Coca-Cola India has been successful due to various reasons. For effective enactment of the CSR activities, it is vital to embrace the ideologies of CSR in the calculated scheduling of the company. The top administration of the company and the workforce need to accommodate and embrace the ideologies and the beliefs (Radzi et al., 2018, p.81). First, the company decided to partner with the government and other non-governmental organizations in educating the public on different water harvesting and recycling methods, and developing more water sources in the country has contributed to the success of the initiative. This is because partnering with them helped the company to raise adequate funds to implement the sustainability plans with effectiveness (Seides, 2015). Partnering with others was a critical factor the company considered since the CSR activity is affected directly by the financial status and performance of a company.
Additionally, the background environment can affect the CSR activity of the organization. Failing to comprehend the undeviating impacts of the environmental factors hinders the successful enactment of the initiative. Therefore, it is important for every company to comprehend the unpredictable environment and meet its requirements, for smooth operations and performance. To ensure the success of its initiatives, Coca-Cola Company has conducted an analysis of its internal and external environment (Seides, 2015). Through the internal environment analysis, the company was able to identify its strengths and weaknesses. Through the weaknesses, the company developed strategies that would make it stronger and contribute to society positively. For instance, the Company was accused of polluting water bodies with its wastewater, and through the critics which is a weakness, the company was able to identify an opportunity of ensuring sustainability by recycling wastewater.
References
Chaklader, B. and Gautam, N., 2013. Efficient water management through public-private partnership model: An experiment in CSR by Coca-Cola India. Vikalpa, 38(4), pp.97-104.
Pradhan, S. and Ranjan, A., 2011. Corporate social responsibility in rural development sector: Evidences from India. School of Doctoral Studies (European Union) Journal, 2, pp.139-147.
Radzi, N.A.M., Lee, K.E., Halim, S.A. and Siwar, C., 2018. An empirical study of critical success factors and challenges in corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation: The case of selected corporate foundations in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(3), pp.70-90.
Seides, J., 2015. 4 tactics to ensure a successful Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Business 2 Community. Available at: https://www.business2community.com/social-business/4-tactics-ensure-successful-corporate-social-responsibility-initiative-01156620
Sharma, A. and Kiran, R., 2012. Corporate social responsibility initiatives of major companies of India with focus on health, education and environment. African Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 4(3), pp.95-105.
write