FINAL ASSESSMENT— Case Analysis: The Coca-Cola Company
Kindly read the attached file and answer the requirements below. Thanks!
REQUIREMENTS:
What are the key economic concepts that are illustrated in the following projects:(a) water conservation in China, (b) livelihood projects in Vietnam, (c) assistance
to basic education in the Philippines, (d) use of alternative fuel in Brazil’s fleet delivery, and (e) recycled packaging in Australia.
What are the economic benefits accruing to Coca-Cola for sponsoring the above-mentioned projects?
Is Coca-Cola a profit-maximizing firm?Elaborate on your answer.
How can you reconcile the conflicting objectives of corporate social responsibility and profit maximization (or maximizing shareholder’s value)?
What is the economic theory behind corporate social responsibility?
FINAL ASSESSMENT— Case Analysis: The Coca-Cola Company THE COCA-COLA COMPANY PLEDGES TO REPLACE THE WATER IT USES IN ITS
BEVERAGES AND THEIR PRODUCTION Multi-year Partnership Announced with WWF to Conserve and Protect Freshwater Resources BEIJING, June 5, 2007 – The Coca-Cola Company
(TCCC) today pledged to lead its global beverage
operations, including those of its franchise bottlers, to replace the water it uses in its beverages and their
production. The Company will focus its actions in three core areas: 1) reducing the water used to produce its
beverages, 2) recycling water used for beverage manufacturing processes, and 3) replenishing water in
communities and nature. The pledge was announced at the annual meeting of WWF in Beijing, where the Company launched a multi—
year partnership with WWF to conserve and protect freshwater resources. This $20 million (US) commitment
from The Coca—Cola Company to WWF will be used to help conserve seven of the world’s most important
freshwater river basins, support more ef?cient water management in its operations and global supply chain, and
reduce the Company‘s carbon footprint. "We are focusing on water because this is where The Coca-Cola Company can have a real and positive
impact, " said E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO of The Coca—Cola Company. "Our goal is to replace every
drop of water we use in our beverages and their production. For us, that means reducing the amount of water
used to produce our beverages, recycling water used for manufacturing processes so it can be returned safely
to the environment, and replenishing water in communities and nature through locally relevant projects." "The Coca—Cola Company is answering the call to help
solve the global freshwater crisis through this bold
partnership, " said James Leape, Director General of WWF International. "The Company is stepping into a new
and uncharted territory, and we look forward to working together to meet the bold commitments they have
made to water stewardship." In 2006, The Coca—Cola Company and its franchised bottlers used approximately 290 billion liters of water for
beverage production. Of that amount, approximately 114 billion liters were contained in the Company‘s broad
portfolio of beverages sold in markets around the world, and another 176 billion liters were used in beverage
manufacturing processes such as rinsing, cleaning, heating and cooling. The Company’s pledge to replace the water it uses has three core components: reduce, recycle
and replenish. Reduce: The Coca-Cola Company will set speci?c water ef?ciency targets for global operations by 2008 to
be the most ef?cient user of water within peer companies. These targets will build on improvements
already made by The Coca—Cola Company and its bottlers in water—use ef?ciency over the past ?ve
years, a period where total water use has decreased by 5.6% while sales volume has increased by
14.6%. In that same period, water ef?ciency improved 18.6%.
