Corporate Social Responsibility Efforts And Ethics At Coca Cola (Essay Sample)

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Corporate Social Responsibility Efforts and Ethics at COCA-COLA
Introduction
Ethics refers to moral principles based on beliefs of what is right and what is wrong, which is crucial in conducting business (Cragg 2). On the other hand, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the call for a business to be a good corporate citizen by going beyond the scope of law requirements in protecting the environment and adding value to social welfare (Schwartz 19).
Ethics
The company’s code of business conduct mandates honesty and integrity. It is a requirement that all company associates and directors understand and abide by in the place of work and community at large.
The company also has a designated phone line through which the company partners, customers and consumers can raise questions related to ethics compliance and report violations.
Anti-Corruption
To ensure that the company business is conducted with high levels of honesty and integrity, first there must be compliance with anti-corruption laws of member countries. The anti-corruption program of the company is dedicated towards ensuring that all businesses conducted in accordance with fairness, ethics, and legality.
Payment of taxes
In compliance with the laws of the countries of operation, the Coca-Cola Company has to pay taxes and file annual income reports.
Performance appraisal
The company appraises parties who have interests in its operations: business partners, customers, suppliers, employees, and investors.
Empowering Women
The company facilitates capacity building education programs for women on how to save finances, rights and laws related to lands, domestic violence, and basic entrepreneurial skills.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Making Sustainable Sourcing Progress
Almost half of Coca-Cola products are made from agricultural produce and, therefore, the company has the responsibility of positive contribution to sustainable agriculture practices.
The company engages suppliers of the agricultural ingredients (fruits, sweeteners, coffee, and tea) through the Supplier Engagement program to ensure that all supplies are entirely audited. In 2016, a notable progress was made in the sustainable sourcing of the ingredients.
Environmental Protection
The company is partnering with governments, civil society organizations, and other businesses to phase out the climate change, which is evidently a major challenge (Fredrick 2).
In 2013, Coca-Cola targeted to mitigate carbon footprint of the Coca-Cola drink by 25% within a period of seven years. To achieve this, it is required to reduce emissions of factory operations and supply chain. The company is also motivated to reduce emissions due to manufacturing, growing ingredients, packaging, distributing, and refrigerating the products.
Embracing Renewable Energy
The company has dedicated a good portion of its investment to renewable energy technologies. The efforts have included the creation of a Clean Energy Toolkit and establishment of global support for renewable energy initiatives. By 2016, the company had 81 renewable energy completed projects in 25 countries. The projects were majorly solar, biomass, fuel cells, and natural gas.
Human and Workplace Rights
The company holds great value for human rights as this is an essential part of the organizational culture. It guides interaction among the staff members, suppliers, partners, customers, consumers, and the community at large (Jackson 3). This is demonstrated by the way customers and suppliers are treated. Respect for human rights also requires collaboration within the company and across the business globe. In addition, the company implements HR decisions in the management of employees in the best ways that meet all the set regulations.
Packaging & Recycling
At Coca-Cola, packaging materials as well as recycled materials are often encouraged. They have to be protected during delivery and use. The company works to avoid packaging materials, such as glass from turning into waste through recycling. This increases packaging efficiency. In addition, the company supports recycling systems and promotes the innovative use of renewable and environment-friendly materials.
These efforts do face a number of challenges including economic problems, regulatory crises, inadequate infrastructure, and collaboration requirements. The Coca-Cola system has made a global investment in modern recycling technologies. In Mexico, this company is the largest recycler o...