Abstract
Making soft drinks requires fresh water – lots of it, and not only for the bottled content but more for the industrial production process. Water sourcing has become a critical issue for The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s leading beverage manufacturer, particularly for its India subsidiary. Coca-Cola India has come under intense criticism for competing for ground water with agriculture and household use in water-deprived regions. For some ten years, its bottling plants have been accused of stealing water from surrounding villages. Evidence suggests the company has indeed been somewhat responsible for water shortages, and Indian courts have held the firm liable, even going so far as closing a plant and demanding millions of dollars in compensation for damages. Not only Coca-Cola India but also its parent, The Coca-Cola Company based in Atlanta, have recognized the water issue as a major social and environmental CSR challenge with the potential to harm the international reputation and the internation-al brand. Coca-Cola has been investing in innovative technology to reduce its water use and is engaging in community outreach campaign to repair and improve its stakeholder relations. The article outlines the water dilemma and analyzes the firms’ global and local responses. Keywords: community relations, corporate social responsibility, water management, stewardship, India, food and drink industry DIESER TEXT IST NUR AUF ENGLISCH VERFUGBAR. Bitte wechseln Sie die Sprachanzeige (rechts oben), um das PDF anzuzeigen.
Highlights
India is not generally a country with water scarcity
It is reasonable that the presence of a multinational enterprise which operates 57 bottling plants in India comes under criticism when it becomes clear that it effectively competes with farming and households for water resources in water-poor regions
Coca-Cola committed to better dialogue with local communities and water experts, financing rural water management and investing in innovations like advanced rainwater harvesting technology; it promised to become “a net contributor of water”
Summary
India is not generally a country with water scarcity. It has areas with no scarcity problem and areas where the problem is large. Coca-Cola committed to better dialogue with local communities and water experts, financing rural water management and investing in innovations like advanced rainwater harvesting technology; it promised to become “a net contributor of water” These initiatives did not quite get the echo the company had wanted; after escalation of the conflicts, NGOs seemed unwilling to communicate with managers (Hills & Welford, 2005, p.168-170). One has to keep in mind that CCI recognized the economic incentive of better sustainability and stewardship: Water shortages can dry up the plants It remains unclear how much water the Coca-Cola plants really use; scientific estimates by experts and critical NGOs vary greatly, and company representatives, in defense, have usually presented much lower consumption data than what their accusants have claimed. This is unlikely to go away, as the plants do draw enormous volumes of groundwater from local wells
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