Environmental Disclosures in Food and Drink Industry - Coursework Example

Environmental Disclosures in Food and Drink Industry 1. Executive Summary: Issues related to environmental concerns as well as the various benefits, costs and revenues associated with it, are of grave concern for various organizations across the globe. However, there is an increasing apprehension regarding the ability of the conventional accounting practices that strives to deliver satisfactory evidence for environmental management practices adopted by organizations especially in the Food and Beverage Industry. This paper seeks to investigate into the various environmental management practices and policies adopted and implemented by four different firms; namely Nestle, McDonalds, Pepsi and Unilever in the Food & Drink Industry and analyze the policies and procedures followed by them regarding environmental disclosures. 2. Introduction: The aim of this report is to analyze and investigate the various policies and practices adopted by some of the major companies in the Food & Drink Industry. For the purpose of this study, the environmental accounting practices, adopted and followed by Nestle, Pepsi, McDonalds and Unilever have been taken into consideration. The U.K government has set up taken several initiatives to encourage the companies to adopt sustainable management practices as a move to ensure conservation of natural resources, waste reduction and cost saving through environmental reporting procedures. Such measures are implemented and encouraged by the Department of Environment, Transport and Regions (DETR) as well as the Department of Trade and Industry. The concept of environmental reporting is growing increasing significance in both private as well as public sectors in the U.K. whereby, personnel at the managerial level are seeking new ways to reduce their costs of raw materials, production, as well as waste management. Such a move is likely to improve the productivity of the organizations and enhance their overall corporate image. This report contains the information on the initiatives taken for sustainable development adopted and implemented by the U.K government and the subsequent implementation of the same by the four major companies discussed in the next sections. The report is divided into several sections which include Methodology, Result & Findings, Analysis and Discussion and Conclusion. In the methodology section, the various methods used for the purpose of this report shall be included; the results and findings section includes the results and conclusions derived from the findings of the study, a detailed analysis of the data so collected. The analysis and discussion section shall include the interpretation of the results and a brief comparison of other researches conducted in the past and lastly the conclusion section contains the major findings of the study. 3. Methodology: For the purpose of this study the documentary research method has been chosen as a primary research methodology. This method includes use of secondary sources of information for gathering essential data pertaining to the area of study and to support the perspectives and contradictions encountered during the course of this research. The documents so collected are reviewed and analyzed both quantitatively as well as qualitatively and presented in the form of graphs and bar charts to facilitate clear interpretation. The range of documents that were reviewed includes government websites, newspapers, journals and books. The basic reason behind using this methodology of research is - information is readily available which makes the process of analyzing and interpreting results faster and credible. It is relatively inexpensive and consumes less time. A wide range of material is available such as government websites which offer all the required information regarding the topic under study and in certain situations, this is the only method available for instance for gathering information about the various policies adopted by the government regarding sustainable reporting practices and ascertaining whether the companies in various sectors across the industry are implementing it diligently the researcher has to rely on the websites and reports published by the original sources. 4. Result / Findings: The Environmental Accounting System (EAS) has played a significant role in reducing the negative environmental impacts and improve the productivity of the employees in the organizations. Nestle The environmental index model deals with the overarching approaches that together constitute a company’s environmental strategy (Nestle, 2007). Environmental Performance and Impact: Employee Environment Program Company Sector Overall Index I. Provides internal communication of environmental issues to ensure general environmental awareness 100% 100% 96% II. Assigns people with specific environmental responsibilities 100% 100% 95% III. Provides relevant environmental training to those with specific environmental responsibilities 100% 95% 92% IV. Consults employees (as internal stakeholders) on environmental issues 100% 60% 84% McDonalds McDonalds has been taking active measures towards sustainable development and reduce its environmental footprints since over thirty years now. As a serious step towards improving and increasing awareness about the noble cause the company initiated its Global Environmental Commitment in association with the Environmental Defense Fund and as an outcome managed to successfully eliminated 300 million pounds of product packaging by redesigning items and reducing the overall quantity of materials used (McDonalds, 2008). In the U.S. the company purchased recycled materials amounting to over $530 million for packaging its products. Its environmental scorecard framework focuses on minimizing weight, increasing the use of recycled materials, minimizing the amount of harmful chemicals used in production, Co2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, and opts for renewable materials. Pepsi PepsiCo U.K. strives to reduce its environmental impact on global warming by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. This is evident from the fact that the company has successfully managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 33% during the period 2000 – 2006 and an additional 4.3% in the year 2007. For the year 2008, PepsiCo intends to commit itself towards reducing its waste and has pledged to reduce it’s the waste – to – landfill contribution by 20%. The company uses its misprinted labels / packaging materials / pre production waste for recycling whereby the plastic pellets are used for making furniture and flowerpots. It has pledged to convert all its materials used for production into reusable, renewable and recyclable products in the coming 10 years (PepsiCo, 2008). 4.4 Unilever Unilever’s green initiatives includes reducing its carbon footprints, conservation of water, Packaging reduction, and spreading general awareness about the grave consequences of climate change. During the year 2006, the company successfully reduced the amount of diesel consumption used for transportation of products and other materials by 1.4 million gallons eliminated the use of 10 million pounds of plastic resin and 81.6 million square feet of paperboard. It reduced water consumption used in production by almost 70%, saved 12 million bottles from being wasted, and reduced plastic consumption of over 260 tonnes in the year 2007. 5. Analysis & Discussion On the basis of the above discussion and results of the four companies it could be safely assumed that the companies are in the Food and Drink industry are increasingly becoming more aware and concerned about their share in reducing the environmental impact in all aspects from production to transportation of materials and finished products as well as reducing wastage. According to the data provided in their reports on environmental practices, and procedures it is certain that the companies are contributing immensely towards environmental causes by diverting their funds to more suitable means and recycling their materials. The growing trend towards reducing use of plastic and opting for more environmentally friendly resources for packaging their materials is impressive. Bibliography Nestle, (2007). Nestle UK Ltd., Environment Index Model, viewed: November 21, 2008, from: McDonalds, (2008). McDonalds 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report, viewed: November 21,2008, from: PepsiCo, (2008). PepsiCo Environment Sustainability Report 2008, viewed: November 21, 2008, from: Unilever, (2008). Unilever Environmental Disclosure Report, U.K, viewed: November 21, 2008, from: Read More