Corporate Social Responsibility at Coca Cola and Burberry - Case Study Example

?Research Project – Corporate Social Responsibility INTRODUCTION Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is regarded as widely known approach and incorporated in different companies throughout the globe. It is viewed to be one of the imperative aspects influencing the business of diverse companies by a greater level. The term CSR can be defined as the adoption as well as the execution of different sorts of initiatives by organizations in order to deal with the issues related to environment. It has been apparently observed in this similar background that business operations of different companies release harmful chemicals as well as gases to the environment resulting in affecting the health of the people living around at large. In this regard, it can be instructed to the companies regarding performing effectual responsibilities to limit their operations in a way that would create less harm to the environment. This particular approach or responsibility of companies throughout the entire planet is prevalently acknowledged as CSR (Bacher 2-5; David and Rayman-Bacchus 40-50). THESIS STATEMENT This paper intends to compare and contrast CSR related activities of two companies that comprise Coca Cola and Burberry. Based on this research, the later part of the paper will analyse whether a business in order to act successfully in a socially responsible manner is mainly determined by the products it produces. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF COCA COLA Coca Cola is regarded as amid the major soft drink companies of the world that operates in this current competitive financial landscape. It has been viewed that the company operates in almost every regions and corners of the planet. It employs thousands of people under its operations and is quite successful all over the world. However, like any other company, the operations of Coca Cola cause certain harm to the environment. In this context, the company has its own set of responsibility towards causing lesser harm to the environment as well as the society. In this similar concern, it has been apparently observed that climate change is duly considered to be one of the serious environmental issues. Emission of carbon to the environment is also quite harmful. Coca Cola has reduced it carbon emission quite considerably. The company has also continuously strived to use less amount of water in its operations. The energy management system implemented by the company in all its plants consumes 35% less energy for it. In addition, most of its plants use LED lighting which saves large amount of energy. It has been noted that since the year 2007, the water use of the company has reduced by 11.7 % which is quite commendable. Moreover the company also incorporates several water protection programs that show its responsibility towards protecting the society from being adversely affected. It is worth mentioning that the company closely monitors its water usage and provides strict instructions to employees about not wasting water. The most imperative aspect of the operations of the company is that 99.9 % of the wastes produce by it at the time when the products of the company get recycled. Apart from this, the company also conducts frequent programs where it encourages the customers along with the suppliers to take the responsibility of preserving a healthy environment and society. Employees are also of great priority for the company. The company has been viewed to treat each of its working staff as a vital asset. Female employees are given utmost respect in the workplace and set a positive example for the society. Moreover, the company also seeks to sustain a healthy as well as a safer workplace for its employees. Overall, the CSR approach of the company seeks to deal with all variable features of its business at large (The Coca Cola Company, “Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 2010/11”; The Coca Cola Company, “Our Company”). CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BURBERRY Burberry Group plc is regarded as a well-known company dealing with the products like fashion accessories, clothing and perfumes among others which operates in Britain along with other regions throughout the globe. Similar to Coca Cola, the operation of the company also causes certain damage to the environment and the society. In this regard the company has made certain commitment towards providing greater benefits to the environment as well as the society. The CSR approach of the company is seen to be quite simple and it considers the welfare of all stakeholders associated with it. The approach of the company towards the environment depicts by the fact that it set targets to reduce energy consumption while performing its different operations. The waste management system of the company has also been recognised to be quite simplified and effective. In regard to perform its responsibility towards the partners and suppliers, the company maintains a healthy relationship with them and also expect high loyalty and social responsibility from the partners along with the suppliers. It is worth mentioning that the company aims at providing high quality as well as different range of products to the customers that can satisfy their needs and expectations by a greater level. Responsibility of the company towards its employees is a critical point of discussion. Employees within Burberry are noted to be judged on the basis of their performance and not on their race or gender. Each and every employee of the company is provided with equal opportunity to develop their operational performance in order to raise organisational effectiveness. Overall, it can be affirmed that the CSR approach of the company considers every aspect of the social responsibility of its operations (Burberry, “Burberry Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2002/03”, Burberry, “Company History”). COMPARE AND CONTRAST CSR APPROACH OF COCA COLA AND BURBERRY After acquiring a brief idea about the CSR approaches that prevail in Coca Cola and Burberry, it can be stated from a broader perspective that both the company are quite concerned about performing their respective responsibilities towards supporting the environment, society and other stakeholders associated with the company. Both the companies strive to earn maximum success for themselves without harming the people and the environment associated with their operations. Coca Cola intends to reduce negative impacts from its operations towards the environment and the society. Similarly, Burberry also has the same sort of perception for the welfare of the environment and the society. Both the companies have equal responsibility towards conserving energy. Furthermore, it has also been noted that both the companies have equal sort of responsibility towards the community. Specially mentioning, both are actively involved in conducting charity work (Burberry, “Burberry Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2002/03”; The Coca Cola Company, “Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 2010/11”). However apart from the similarities, the CSR approach of both the companies also possesses certain significant differences. With regard to employee, Coca Cola bears a different perception especially for women employees and treats them with high respect. They also are more concerned about providing a safer and healthier workplace for its employees. Conversely, Burberrys’ approach towards its employees is more concentrated on providing them with equal chances to prove their skills. The company normally avoids partiality prevailing in the workplace. In addition, it can be affirmed that the environmental concern of Coca Cola is more as compared to Burberry mainly because of the difference in products that they produce. Coca Cola’s approach towards environmental issues is quite high in comparison with Burberry. Overall, it can be affirmed that the CSR approach of both the companies have intended to fulfil maximum responsibility towards different aspects of their business and this can also be considered as one of the prime reasons for their immense success in their respective industries (The Coca Cola Company, “Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 2010/11”; Burberry, “Burberry Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2002/03”). EVALUATION OF WHETHER CSR IS DETERMINED BY THE PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED BY COMPANIES From the above discussion, it can be observed that the CSR approach of both Burberry and Coca Cola has certain differences as well as similarities. Both the company is equally aware and concerned about their responsibility towards providing greater benefits to the society as well as the environment. However, it can be clearly viewed that the difference especially in CSR approach between the two companies is mainly due to the products they produce. The CSR approach of Coca Cola can be considered as a product oriented i.e. determined by the product they produce while that of Burberry can be taken as more of stakeholder oriented i.e. more concerned about the stakeholder’s interest of the company. It can be understood that the products of Coca Cola generates more threat to the environment as compared to the products belonging to Burberry. So, the company i.e. Coca Cola is much more concerned about the impact of its products to the environment along with the society than Burberry. On the other hand, the CSR approach of Burberry is viewed to be less concerned for the environmental impact as production of its products cause minimal harm to the environment as well as the society. Burberry’s CSR approach is more determined towards the interest of its different stakeholders. The company seeks to preserve better affiliation with its different partners on a contractual basis. Moreover, the company desires to satisfy its customers by providing quality products to them. However, the CSR approach of Coca Cola shows less concern toward its stakeholder’s. It has been apparently observed in this similar background that the company is more concerned on conserving water and wastes because these are considered to be the major constituents for manufacturing different products of the company. Moreover, the approach of the company towards its customers is more about raising awareness in regard to their responsibility for the society as well as the environment. Overall from the analysis of both the CSR approaches, it has been learnt that the CSR is highly determined by the products that are produced by the companies. It changes in accordance with the type and impact of the products to the society. However, the respective CSR approaches of Coca Cola and Burberry are not fixed for a longer time period and hence change in accordance with the social and environmental requires considerably (Burberry, “Burberry Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2002/03”; The Coca Cola Company, “Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 2010/11”). CONCLUSION On the basis of the above discussion, it can be summarised that CSR is regarded as one of the major and vital aspects of business in the modern day scenario that should not be ignored or overlooked by the companies belonging to this modern day context. The CSR approach of both the company seeks to consider every aspect of their business. It has been further learnt that the CSR approach of Coca Cola is more product oriented as its product offerings have considerable impact to the environment and the society, while the CSR approach of Burberry is more concerned about the interest of its stakeholders. Overall, it can be concluded that the CSR approach is quite a vital prospect in context of the modern day scenario and plays a vital role in shaping better image of modern companies by a greater level. Works Cited Bacher, Christian. Corporate Social Responsibility. Munich: GRIN Verlag, 2007. Print. Burberry. Company History, 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. < http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/company_history> Burberry. Burberry Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2002/03, 2003. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. < http://www.zonebourse.com/BURBERRY-GROUP-PLC-4003938/pdf/8226/Burberry%20Group%20plc_Rapport-annuel.pdf> Crowthere, David, and Lez Rayman-Bacchus. Perspectives on corporate social responsibility. England: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2004. Print. The Coca Cola Company. Our Company, 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. The Coca Cola Company. Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report 2010/11, 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. < http://assets.coca-colacompany.com/7e/7c/19de6c5f485b889796bcb59c98f0/2010-2011_great_britain.pdf> Read More