Coca Cola India- Respònsabilidad Social

ocialoikos Global Case Writing Competition 2009

Corporate Sustainability Track

Finalist
Coca-Cola India’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy
Hadiya Faheem, ICMR Center for Management Research, Hyderabad, India

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Copyright © 2009 by the Author. All rights reserved. Thiscase was prepared by Hadiya Faheem as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate the effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form by any means without permission. To order copies, call 0091-40-2343-0462/63 or write to ICMR, Plot # 49,Nagarjuna Hills, Hyderabad 500 082, India or email info@icmrindia.org

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oikos Global Case Writing Competition 2009

Finalist

“Coca-Cola India undertakes a diverse range of activities for the benefit of the community across the country. As part of our CSR strategy, sustainable water management remains our toppriority.”1 Deepak Kaul, Regional Vice-President, South, The Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., in 2007. “It is in India where the company’s abuse of water resources have been challenged vociferously, and communities across India living around Coca-Cola’s bottling plants have organized in large numbers to demand an end to the mismanagement of water…. In response to the growing Indian campaignsagainst Coca-Cola, the company has decided to promote rainwater harvesting — a traditional Indian practice — in and around its bottling plants in India. Touting rainwater harvesting initiatives is now central to Coca-Cola’s public relations strategy in India.”2 Amit Srivastava, Coordinator of India Resource Center3, in 2007.

INTRODUCTION
On February 18, 2008, leading beverage company inIndia, The Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd (Coca-Cola India), was awarded the Golden Peacock award4 for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the several community initiatives it had taken and its efforts toward conservation of water. The award recognizes companies for their commitment toward business, their employees, local communities, and the society. Atul Singh (Singh), CEO, Coca-ColaIndia, said, “Coca-Cola India has always placed high value on good citizenship and has undertaken several initiatives for community development and inclusive growth. We are gratified to receive this global award and are humbled at being recognized for the little contributions that we have been able to make to preserve and protect the environment and toward community development.”5 Coca-Cola Indiawas 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.6 In addition to beverage brands like Coke, Fanta, Sprite, etc., Coca-Cola India had a strong local cola brand Thums Up, the Kinley brand of mineral water, energy drinks, and powderedconcentrates. Keeping in mind the fact that it was one of the largest beverage companies in India, CocaCola India said it had made CSR an integral part of its corporate agenda. According to the

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“Coca-Cola Reaffirms its Commitment to Water Stewardship and Community Development in India,” www.thecoca-colacompany.com, October 6, 2007. Amit Srivastava, “Indian CampaignForces Coca-Cola to Announce Ambitious Water Conservation Project,” www.indiaresource.org, July 30, 2007. India Resource Center is an organization that keeps track of activities related to corporate globalization in India. As of 2008, Amit Srivastava is the director of IRC. The Golden Peacock Awards were instituted by the Institute of Directors (a non-profit association of company directors) in...