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2c This case is about Coca-Cola's corporate social responsibility (CSR)

initiatives in India. It details the activities taken up by Coca -Cola India's
management and employees to contribute to the society and community
in which the company operates.

2c Coca-Cola India being one of the largest beverage companies in India,

realized that CSR had to be an integral part of its corporate agenda.
According to the company, it wa s aware of the environmental, social, and
economic impact caused by a business of its scale and therefore it had
decided to implement a wide range of initiatives to improve the quality of
life of its customers, the workforce, and society at large.

2c ºowever, the company came in for severe criticism from activists and
environmental experts who charged it with depleting groundwater
resources in the areas in which its bottling plants were located, thereby
affecting the livelihood of poor farmers, dumping toxic and hazardous
waste materials near its bottling facilities, and discharging waste water
into the agricultural lands of farmers.

2c Moreover, its allegedly unethical business practices in developing

countries led to its becoming one of the most boycotted companies in the
world.

2c !otwithstanding the criticisms, the company continued to champion

various initiatives such as rainwater ha rvesting, restoring groundwater
resources, going in for sustainable packaging and recycling, and serving
the communities where it operated.

2c Coca-Cola planned to become water neutral in India by 2009 as part of

its global strategy of achieving water neutr ality. ºowever, criticism
against the company refused to die down.
 2c Critics felt that Coca-Cola was spending millions of dollars to project a
'green' and 'environment -friendly' image of itself, while failing to make
any change in its operations.

2c They said this was an attempt at greenwashing as Coca-Cola's business

practices in India had tarnished its brand image not only in India but also
globally. The case discusses the likely challenges for Coca -Cola India as
it prepares to implement its new CSR strate gy in the country.



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2c n February 18, 2008, leading beverage company in India, The
ºindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd (Coca-Cola India), was
awarded the Golden Peacock award for Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) for the several community initiatives it had taken and its efforts
toward conservation of water.

2c The award recognizes companies for their commitment toward business,

their employees, local communities, and the society. Atul Singh (Singh),
CE, Coca-Cola India, said, "Coca-Cola India has always placed high
value on good citizenship and has undertaken several initiatives for
community development and inclusive growth .

2c Coca-Cola India was established as the Indian subsidiary of the US -based

Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola) in 1993. As of 2008, Coca-Cola India
had 24 bottling operations of its own and 25 bottling operations owned by
its franchisees.In addition to beverage brands like Coke, Fanta, Sprite, etc

2c Coca-Cola India had a strong local cola brand Thums Up, the Kinley
brand of mineral water, energy drinks, and powdered concentrates.
2c Keeping in mind the fact that it was one of the largest beverage
companies in India, Coca-Cola India said it had made CSR an integral
part of its corporate agenda.

2c According to the company, it was aware of the environmental, social, and

economic impact caused by a business of its scale and therefore it had
taken up a wide range of initiatives to improve the quality of life of its
customers, the workforce, and society at large.

2c Since the company used large amounts of water and energy in its
beverage production and tons of packaging material for its products, it
had taken up several initiatives to act as a responsible company and
reduce its environmental impact, it said. In addition to water, ener gy, and
sustainable packaging, Coca -Cola India also focused on several
community initiatives in India as part of its social responsibility
initiatives
 2c The Coca-Cola drink, popularly referred to as 'Coke', is a kind of cola, a
sweet carbonated drink containing caramel and other flavoring agents. It
was invented by Dr. John Smith Pemberton (Pemberton) on May 8, 1886,
at Atlanta, Georgia, in USA. The beverage was named Coca -Cola
because at that time it contained extracts of Coca leaves and Kola nuts.

2c Pemberton later sold the business to a group of businessmen, one of

whom was Griggs Candler (Candler). By 1888, several cola brands were
in the market competing against each other. Candler acquired these
businesses from the other businessmen and established in 1982.

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Corporate Social Responsibility is the action taken by a firm that appear to
further some social causes beyond the interest of the firm and that which is
required by law and ethics.

2c 

  

  
 (CSR), also known as corporate
responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable
responsible business(SRB), or corporate social performance , is a form
of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model.

2c Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating

mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to
law, ethical standards, and international norms.

2c Consequently, business would embrace responsibility for the impact of its

activities on the environment, consumers, employees,
communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.

2c Furthermore, CSR-focused businesses would proactively promote

the public interest by encouraging community growth and development,
and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere,
regardless of legality.

2c Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into

corporate decision-making, and the honouring of a triple bottom line:

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2c The term "CSR" came in to common use in the early 1970s, after many
multinational corporations formed, although it was seldom abbreviated.

2c The term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organization's

activities have an impact, was used to describe corporate owners.
( 
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2c An approach for CSR that is becoming more widely accepted is


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 .

2c In this approach, corporations work with local communities to better

themselves. For example, the Shell Foundation has involvement in
the Flower Valley, South Africa.

2c In Flower Valley they set up an Early Learning Centre to help educate

the community's children as well as develop new skills for the adults.
2c A more common approach of CSR is  
. This includes
monetary donations and aid given to local organizations and
impoverished communities in developing countries.
2c Some organizations do not like this approach as it does not help build on
the skills of the local people, whereas community -based development
generally leads to more sustainable development.
2c Another approach to CSR is to incorporate the CSR strategy directly into
the business strategy of an organization. For instance, procurement
of Fair Trade tea and coffee has been adopted by various businesses.
2c Another approach is garnering increasing corporate responsibility
interest. This is called Creating Shared Value, or CSV.
2c The shared value model is based on the idea that corporate success and
social welfare are interdependent. A business needs a healthy, e ducated
workforce, sustainable resources and adept government to compete
effectively.
c
 Analysis of CSR

2c The scale and nature of the benefits of CSR for an organization can vary
depending on the nature of the enterprise, and are difficult to quantify,
though there is a large body of literature exhorting business to adopt
measures beyond financial ones.

2c The business case for CSR within a company will likely rest on one or
more of these arguments:

ºc 
 : A CSR programme can be an aid

to recruitment and retention, the competitive graduate student market.
Potential recruits often ask about a firm's CSR policy during an interview,
and having a comprehensive policy can give an advantage. CSR can also
help improve the perception of a company a mong its staff, particularly
can become involved through payroll giving, fundraising activities or
community volunteering.

 &c  : Managing risk is a central part of many corporate

strategies. Reputations that take decades to build up can be ruined in
hours through incidents such as corruption scandals or environmental
accidents. These can also draw unwanted attention from regulators,
courts, governments and media. Building a genuine culture of 'doing the
right thing' within a corporation can offset these risks.cc

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c   
 : In crowded marketplaces, companies strive for

a unique selling proposition that can separate them from the competition
in the minds of consumers. CSR can play a role in building customer
loyalty based on distinctive ethical values.
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2c The Company provides direct and indirect employment to more than
2500 people in its five bottling plants in Andhra Pradesh situated in
Ameenpur, Moula Ali (near ºyderabad), Vizag, Vijayawada, and
!ellore.

2c The Company has been recognized for Best ºR prac tices like K Role
Model -Deferred Rewards program, reinforce performance and behavior,
K Key Contributor - Cash reward for superlative performance (CE &
Solid Citizens) with citation & a gold pin, K Vacations - A program to
include the associate's family in celebrating his professional success by
sending them on a vacation, motivational programs like Surg e Beyond
100%.

2c In addition to the professional growth of the employees, the Company

also focuses on personal and social growth by involving employees i n
various corporate social responsibility projects undertaken in Andhra
Pradesh.

2c These include blood donation camps, health camps for local communities
around the bottling plant, education support to local community, etc in
association with !Gs like Red Cross and ºyderabad Round Table.

2c In addition to the above, the Andhra Pradesh team came forward to

donate generously to Chief Minister's Relief Fund during the tsunami
tragedy besides working on location to help the victims.


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2c The Company employs 88 people with hearing and speaking disability,

who work as ³Special Inspectors´ at its !emam plant near Chennai.

2c They have been trained by the Company to observe the bottles and check
for any foreign particles during quality.

2c The ‰(c 
1‰ (Systematic on-the-job training) in particular,

undertaken with the objective of enhancing technical skills of casual
workers and as well as consistent harmonious industrial relations
displayed by the workers as well a s the management also helped the
company

2c The Coca-Cola plant in Kerala has been providing commercial waste to

local farmers as fertiliser which has proved to be contaminated with toxic
substances.

2c The programme said it had discovered dangerous levels of cadmium and

lead in the sludge produced by the plant which was lying on the fields of
local farmers.

2c It was alleged that the substance was actually useless as a fertiliser. BBC
reporters also said they had seen waste leaving the factory to be dumped
directly into a local river.

2c ºowever, Professor John ºenry, consultant at St Mary's ºospital in

London, said that the levels of toxins found in water samples taken near
to the plant would cause serious problems of pollution hat could have
"devastating consequences".
2c n January 20, 2009 SS Children¶s Villages of India, The Coca-Cola
Foundation and Coca-Cola India announced a partnership to implement
water conservation projects for a better life for children.

2c This partnership will collaborate to ensure sustainable wa ter resources by

undertaking rainwater harvesting (RWº) projects at 39 SS locations
spread across the country. The partnership will also support creating or
improving the awareness on Water conservation and artificial recharge.

2c In the beginning of 2008, a pilot project was initiated in SS Children¶s

Village, Bawana, to collect rain water to replenish ground water by using
funds from SS-India budget.

2c Coca-Cola India stepped in to fund this project and helped SS save
funds from its budget for other use. The success of the project in terms of
professional implementation and impact on quality of life of SS
children prompted The Coca -Cola Foundation and Coca-Cola India to
join hands with SS for undertaking RWº projects in the remaining 39
SS locations.

2c Further, The Coca-Cola Company in India has been recognized for its
community programs and environmental practices by prominent global
organizations such as the Red Cross and has won prestigious Indian
environmental awards for environmental practices.The rainwater
harvesting technology it has established at many locations (including the
plants at Plachimada in Kerala, Kaledera in Rajasthan and Varanassi in
Uttar Pradesh).

2c State Government figures have confirmed that since a Coca -Cola plant
has been built, in some areas (including Kaladera in Rajasthan)
groundwater levels have shown lower levels of depletion than other areas
and in some areas (including Varanassi in UP) water levels have actually
risen since the plants were built. We believe this is due, in part, to the
rainwater harvesting technology employed at these plants .
2c In Kerala, where ground water levels have certainly decreased, the
rainfall has been well below average for several years. The Kerala State
Ground Water Department has said that any depletion in ground water
was due to poor rainfall and could not be attributed to the plant.

2c The Central Ground Water Authorities have also confirmed there were
no abnormal changes in groundwater levels around the plant that can be
attributed to the Coca-Cola operation. Most recently the interim report of
the Centre for Water Resources Development & Management (CWRDM)
groundwater depletion and the Coca -Cola plant in Kerala.

2c Coca-Cola is one of the few companies in India to have made any

contribution to recharging groundwater in India and uses less water, more
efficiently, than many other industries in India and yet a small number of
politically motivated groups have still chosen to target just The Coca -
Cola Company, using the Coca-Cola brand name for the furtherance of
their own anti-multi-national agendas.



2c The Coca cola maintains a considerable involvement in philanthropy and
in volunteering. It is considered to be an active participant in the Indian
Corporate Social Responsibility field and received Award for CSR in
2007.

2c When you¶re serious about social change, the numbers speak for
themselves. For the Coca Cola, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is
not just a duty. It's the unique way we work and live.

2c The Coca cola focuses on the environment issues. Th ey have taken

several steps in its efforts to be an environment-friendly organisation.