Pugal, Micah Leal N.

August 20, 2019

EE31FB1 – IE001 Engr. Rosalia F. Gabuya

Assignment #1 (Midterm)

Find at least 10 examples of socially responsible businesses in newspapers, business journals or other
sources. Explain why you believe their actions are socially responsible. Why do you think the companies
chose to act as they did?

1. The Walt Disney Company largely focuses on a few areas of social responsibility, namely
community, the environment, and volunteerism. Disney has been a major provider of aid after
natural disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The company also takes an interest in
protecting the environment, giving proceeds from nature films to plant trees in the rain forest and
protect thousands of acres of coral reef.

2. Microsoft is another major company that takes great effort in giving back. The company was even
named the best at Corporate Social Responsibility by the Reputation Institute. One way Microsoft
is helping out is through its annual Employee Giving Campaign, where employees attend
fundraising events for nonprofit organizations. The campaign has been held every year since 1983
and has raised more than $1 billion in contributions to more than 31,000 organizations.

3. Starbucks has been around for more than four decades, and from the very beginning it has
worked hard to operate in an ethical manner. Starbucks ranked as Fortune Magazine’s fifth most
socially responsible company in 2012. There are a number of good reasons for the high ranking.
The company looks for better ways to develop sustainable production of its coffee. It has set in
place some guidelines it calls C.A.F.E Practices, ensuring environmental leadership, economic
accountability, and product quality. Starbucks also supports Ethos Water, which provides clean
water to more than a billion people.

4. NuSkin is a personal care company with a big focus on helping communities around the world.
One of the company’s major initiatives is called Nourish the Children. The program was started in
2002 and allows company sales leaders, employees, and customers to donate nutrient-rich meals
to needy children. In March 2014, NuSkin announced that it had surpassed 350 million donated
meals. The company also operates the Force For Good Foundation, which works to offer children
relief from illiteracy, disease, and poverty.

5. TOMS Shoes might not be as well known as some of the other companies on this list, but its
charity work is still impressive. The entire company was founded on the idea of giving back. For
every pair of shoes sold, another pair is donated to a child in need. More than 10 million pairs of
shoes have been donated, and that charitable effort has now extended to vision care for kids.

6. Pedigree dog food built its brand by focusing on the need for people to adopt homeless dogs.
Funding the support and care of these animals and sponsoring a national adoption drive,
Pedigree's 2009 goal was to distribute $1.5 million in grants to 1,000 shelters and breed rescues.
Pedigree donates one bowl of food to animal shelters every time it gets a Facebook fan, and it did
 the same when the company's 2009 Super Bowl commercial was viewed online. Pedigree's goal is
to donate 4 million bowls of dog food, enough to feed every shelter dog in America for one day.

7. Ben & Jerry 's founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have infused the company with the
notions of giving back in every way possible, as well as "linked prosperity" between the company,
its employees and the community. They started the Ben & Jerry 's Foundation, were founding
members of the Business for Social Responsibility organization and set an extraordinary rate of
giving to charitable organizations in the corporate world, donating a full 7.5% of pretax profits. In
their own words, they "strive to show a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our
company and for the communities in which they live." Unilever bought Ben & Jerry 's in 2000 and
continues to support the foundation; it donated $2 million in 2009.

8. Kenneth Cole has been openly involved in publicly supporting AIDS awareness and research. He
uses fashion to promote awareness of, and help fight, various social issues. After 25 years of
addressing meaningful social issues, Kenneth Cole established the Awareness Fund, a not-for-
profit initiative that uses partnerships, merchandise, events and its blog to celebrate, encourage
and empower acts of service volunteerism and social change. A full 100% of net proceeds of the
Awearness products go toward the fund. These efforts have helped fuel the success of the
Kenneth Cole brand, a company with nearly $500 million in sales.

9. Whole Foods supports sustainable agriculture, promotes the reduction of waste and consumption
of nonrenewable resources and encourages environmentally sound cleaning and store-
maintenance programs. The company created the Local Producer Loan program, which provides
up to $10 million in low-interest loans to small local producers to help grow their businesses. Whole
Foods has also created Whole Planet Foundation, which fights poverty through micro-lending in
rural communities around the world. The foundation has raised $1.5 million to help 40,000 women
lift themselves out of poverty by empowering micro-entrepreneurs.

10. The Body Shop is regarded as a pioneer of modern corporate social responsibility as one of the
first companies to publish a full report on its efforts and initiatives. Founder Anita Roddick led her
company to stand up for its beliefs and champion causes such as self-esteem, environmental
protection, animal rights, community trade and human rights. From sponsoring posters in 1985 for
Greenpeace to presenting a petition against animal testing to the European Union with 4,000,000
signatures, The Body Shop has contributed significantly to the causes it supports, and exemplifies
how other companies can do the same.