Review of the 2014/15 Coca Cola Sustainability Report
Part 1 – Report Analysis
1.
Coca Cola’s sustainability strategy is aligned rather than being just an afterthought. That is, the sustainability strategy is effectively aligned with the company’s strategic objective. As
Coca Cola endeavors to refresh the world, the company and its local bottling partners strive at creating new value for their customers. The management is also committed not only on effectively implementing the strategy, but also keeping it aligned with the general strategic objective (Coca Cola, 2015).
2.
The company’s sustainability report follows Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and the goals also reflect the TBL. The TBL is a framework that integrates three
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Furthermore, the report follows other international frameworks. For instance, the report follows the United Nations Global
Compact LEAD Program and it also satisfies the United Nations Global Compact
Communication on Progress standards.
5.
Apart from internal verification, the report is also verified by third parties. For instance,
Coca Cola permitted their independent accountants, Ernst & Young LLP to conduct review-level assurance on sustainability indicators associated with health living programs, Plant Bottle packaging, greenhouse gas emissions, No or Low-calorie beverages, and front-of-pack labeling, among others (Coca Cola, 2015). Other third parties also offered more external assurance of non-financial metrics.
6.
Additionally, the report encompasses bad news, good news, challenges and opportunities.
As far as good news is concerned, the report explains the company’s success in their top three sustainability priorities including support of well-being, water, and women. In terms of bad news, the report informs that the company is not contended with not only their sustainability progress, but also the milestones they have accomplished (Coca Cola, 2015). The report also informs that the company faces critical challenges when sourcing more sustainable products especially HFC-free coolers. The company also faces challenges
When Coca cola bring refreshment, value, joy and fun to their stakeholders, then they successfully nurture and protect their brands, particularly Coca-Cola that is the key to fulfilling our ultimate obligation to provide consistently attractive returns to the owners of our business. Marketing positioning Local marketing strategy enables Coke to listen to all the voices around the world asking for beverage that span the entire spectrum of tastes and occasions. What people want in a beverage is a reflection of who they are, where they live, how they work and play, and how they relax and recharge. Whether you’re a student in the United States enjoying are freshing Coca –Cola a woman in Italy taking a tea break , a child in Peru asking for a juices drink, or a couple in Korea buying bottled water after a run together, “Coca cola is there for you. Coca cola are determined not only to make great drinks, but also to contribute to communities around the world through our commitments to education, health, well ness, and diversity. Coke Strives to be a good neighbor, consistently shaping business decisions to improve the quality of life in the communities in which coke does business. It’s a special thing to have billions of friends around the world, and coke never forgets it.
Humankind’s progress was hindered by the availability of safe drinking water. Over the past ten thousand years, alternatives to drinking disease-filled water have arose, and these beverages have shaped world history. Wine was a large part of Mediterranean culture, it being used in Greek rituals, such as symposia, where participants shared diluted wine from a large bowl, and the use of wine in rituals continued under Roman rule. The main drink of the Age of Reason was coffee, and it promoted clarity of thought and was favored by scientists, philosophers, and businessmen. Coffeehouses led to new financial institutions, newspapers, and revolutionary thought. Coca-Cola became America’s national drink and helped turn the United States into a superpower. These beverages had a very major impact on world history, and their effects can be seen today.
Beer: “Whether in Stone-Age villages, Mesopotamian banqueting halls, or modern pubs and bars, beer has brought people together since the dawn of civilization.
Coca-Cola Company also has a company focus on sustainability. Live Positively is Coca-Cola’s platform for sustainability and is Coca-Cola’s “commitment to make a positive difference in the world by redesigning the way we work and live so sustainability is part of everything we do”. Coca-Cola is reaching across borders through collaboration and partnership to connect and change, is using optimism to stir hope, build solutions, create possibilities, and touch communities across the globe, and with their actions change can be inspired in the world now and in the next generation.
“Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism” by Bartow J. Elmore tells a story of how Coca- Cola have changed its industry as well as the globe by utilizing natural resources. To start on his journey about Coca-Cola, Elmore questions the success of the company behind selling Coke, a low-priced mixture of “sugar, water, and caffeine, packed in glass, plastic, or aluminum” (Elmore 8). Elmore discovers that even though advertising plays an essential key in selling products, Coca-Cola is mostly profitable from outsourcing the supply (Elmore 9). Besides explaining his research on the Coca-Cola capitalism, Elmore also emphasizes on the ecological evidences that support it, which make this book an environmental history of Coca-Cola capitalism (Elmore 14).
The company known as Coca-Cola today was started in September of 1919, but the first Coke brand was served as early as 1886. Since that time it has grown to be one of the most globally recognized brand names with a stock value of $167 billion. Coke’s plan has always been developed with the future in mind. Right away the company realized that it was more profitable to manufacture the concentrate used to make carbonated drinks than to bottle it. From that point on they saw the entire world, not simply the originating country, as their desired market. It seems only practical that the company should pursue this agenda until conquered then focus the effort on expanding into different product lines. This logical
Coca Cola has differentiated its product and services that are valued by its customer. Its product are based on customer’s preferences, with affordable price and made easily accessible.
As a newly established area in accounting, sustainability accounting and reporting extends the traditional model of financial and non-financial reporting to incorporate the company’s operational information, social and environmental activities, and their ability to deal with related risks. Not only do these acts have effects on society and the environment, but they also directly impact company’s financial statements. The most widely accepted definition of sustainability that has emerged over time is the “triple bottom-line”, which incorporates three key elements of performance: financial, social, and environmental viability (Slaper). These three aspects of sustainability reporting are also commonly referred to as the triple P’s: people, planet, and profit. Although sustainability has often been mentioned as the goal of many businesses, nonprofits and governments over the past decade (and studies have shown that an increasing number of companies and organizations are striving to make their operations more sustainable), determining how sustainable an organization is can become difficult and also raises many questions within this sub-group of accounting.
As the Coca Cola company has come a long way from advertising a few servings of sparkling drinks in a pharmacy, to a worldwide business. Coca Cola’s loyalty to remain at the front of the shifting public values in increasing their promotion tactics has confirmed to their plus. Without any confusion The Coca Cola Company has developed all the basics necessary to run a multimillion, worldwide venture and it refreshes all the people that come in contact their
The Coca Cola Company is very cautious and responsive to change; they act with urgency and have the courage to discourse when needed to work more efficiently. Coke’s focus is to administer its system assets to build values and rewards for the people who take risks by finding better ways to solve problems. Coca Cola Company feels they are accountable for their actions and inactions and hence answerable to the people. They learn from their outcomes and understand what works or what doesn’t for them.
Coca-Cola is the result of a patent medicine formulated in a small southern pharmacy over a hundred years ago. It has grown into a multibillion dollar international company. It also owns one of the most valuable brands in the world. Their Coca-Cola banner has won the world’s top brand 13 times on brand c-consulting firm Interbrand’s annual list (Fraser, 2012). In addition to its main product, Coke, the company owns over 3500 beverages. One of its core competencies is brand building. They have built their brand to have respectability and dependability. Their brand and logo are recognized all around the globe. It has actually become a new known on almost all households worldwide (RNWILKIN, 2009).
The Coca plant has been cultivated in the Bolivian Andes since at least the time of the Inca Empire. Its cultivation expanded in the 1980s feeding into the international cocaine market. In response to U.S.-funded attempts to eradicate and fumigate coca crops in the Chapare region of Bolivia, the indigenous organizations that grow the plant joined together to contest the government in what is known as the cocalero movement. Evo Morales, who became president of Bolivia in 2006, is a leader of this movement. The United States’ desire to suppress cultivation of the Coca plant due to its role in making Cocaine does not serve as a suitable rationale of eradicating its production and use as it yields many different kinds of benefits.
The Coca-Cola Company is a leader in the beverage industry with a reputable brand and strong global presence. According to the Coca-Cola Company’s mission statement and 2020 vision, some of its goals include:
The Coca Cola company has promoted a new campaign launch to help catch consumer’s attention. From 1886 to 2016 Coca Cola has been a well-known soft drink. The campaign launch “Share a Coke with a Friend” that was released in 2014 had grabbed consumer’s attention tremendously. The new campaign was targeting everyone. The Coca Cola company knew they needed to create a campaign that would make an impression on the newer generation. The “Share a Coke with a Friend” Campaign was an interesting approach that made a tremendous change in the Coca Cola advertisement industry. The new ad had drawn in even more consumers.
Coca-Cola is a well-known global soft drink brand that has been around for over 130 years. Its distinguished taste, unique ingredients, and famous contour bottle is not recognized internationally but throughout various countries around the world. The company’s business level strategy is differentiation/ low cost strategy. This strategy is important for the long term success of the company because it allows for the company improve to adapting to environmental changes, learn and teach new skills, and gain leverage over core competencies which in turns increases its value. Coca-Cola does not have an issue with introducing and innovating products to its