MHR

Group Report Template, Fall 2021

1 First Person’s Name: Peter Garcia

2 Company’s Formal Name: The Coca Cola Company

3 Company Overview (Use 1-2 sentences for each subheading below and need one source in footnote for 3.1-3.8.)

3.1. Founding year (and founder if any):

Coca Cola Company was founded by Dr. John Pemberton in 1886.

3.2. Headquarter location (city and state):

The headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia.

3.3. Most recent annual revenue (sales):

Coca Cola annual revenue reached $37.266 billion in 2019.

3.4. Number of employees:

There are 700,000+ employees across the company and bottling partners in Coca Cola Company.

3.5. Number of stores/locations if apply: n/a

3.6. Stock price on a specific date and stock market name if it is publicly traded:

Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (KO $48.48 as of Feb. 1, 2021) and is part of Dow Jones Industries Average and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.

3.7. Main product lines and industries:

The Coca-Cola Company is a multinational beverage corporation and manufactures and markets nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups.

3.8. Business in foreign countries if any:

Coca Cola is present in over 200 countries.

4 Company’s Strengths (Total of 20-25 lines for three strengths below)

4.1. First Strength:

Coca Cola has a global presence and brand image. According to Forbes’ annual list of the World’s Most Valuable Brands in 2020, Coca Cola is ranked #6 with brand value $61.3 billion, right after Big Five technology firms: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook. As a total beverage company, it offers a wide variety of differentiated products, including juices, enhanced waters, energy and sport drinks, ready-to-drink coffees and teas, which enables Coca Cola to enter different markets for global expansion.

4.2. Second Strength:

Coca Cola Company has strong distribution networks. It has one of the world’s largest distribution systems, including 225 independent bottling partners worldwide, company-owned bottling and distribution operations, wholesalers and retailers. The Company supplies several products directly to retailers such as restaurants, supermarkets, and cinema halls. It also uses the indirect selling method to get into partnership with independent bottling partners. The bottling partners manufacture, package, merchandise, and distribute final branded beverages to customers and vending partners, who then sell the products to consumers. The distribution system is so well planned and executed that Coca Cola is able to create global reach with local focus.

4.3. Third Strength:

Coca Cola has innovative and unique marketing strategy. The Coca Cola Company considers marketing as key to influence consumer behavior. It has used every possible medium for carrying out promotional and advertisement activities such as television, internet, social media, radio, and billboards. It hires renowned sportsperson and celebrities such as movie stars and top models to endorse the brand and promote it to the market. The Coca-Cola positions itself as the thirst quenching, refreshing drink. It has effectively launched various ad campaigns such as “Have a coke and smile” and “The Coke adds life”. The brand has long been associated with international sporting events such as the Football World Cup and the Olympics to allow the company to gain business opportunities from the most celebrated sport events in the world.

5 Second Person’s Name: Carol Smith

6 Issue (choose only one issue and state it in one sentence of 1 to 3 lines):

A problem that Coca Cola is facing in India is the accusations of their excess water usage and inappropriate disposition of water waste, which leads to water depletion and environmental pollution.

7 Analysis (Total of 20-25 lines for 7.1 and 7.2 below)

7.1. Discuss the issue’s what, when, and why with relevant facts and/or statistics:

Coca Cola’s water usage and disposition has been an ongoing issue of concern. It is being accused of extracting too much of groundwater and handling sludge and waste inappropriately. There has been a continuing drought that threatens groundwater supplies across India. Coca-Cola operates 58 bottling plants in India that use huge amount of water. Many farmers and villagers who are living in these rural areas of India are blaming Coca Cola for aggravating the problem. The way Coca Cola discarded water also causes controversy. The water waste turns into “sludge” filled with hazardous materials. Coca Cola offloaded the cadmium-laden waste sludge as “free fertilizer” to local farmers. An Indian nonprofit group, the Center for Science and Environment tested 57 carbonated beverages made by Coca Cola and Pepsi at 25 bottling plants and found a “cocktail of between three to five different pesticides in all samples.”

7.2. Discuss the issue’s how (such as the consequences or impact, implications, and the company’s response and actions):

Persistent droughts have dried up groundwater and local wells. Local women have to travel three miles to obtain drinkable water, during which time soft drinks would come out of the Coca-Cola plant by the truckload. In some states of India, farming is the primary industry. Water is needed not only for drinking but also for farming. Drinking Coke is like drinking farmer’s blood in India. Coca-Cola is creating thirst in India and is directly responsible for the loss of livelihood, said protest organizer Nandlal Master, who represents the India Resource Center in the campaign against Coca Cola.

Coca Cola denies that its actions in India have contributed to depleting local aquifers, and calls allegations “without any scientific basis.” It says that “a small number of politically motivated groups” are going after the company for “their own anti-multinational agenda”. After being forced to shup down some of its plants, Coca Cola has undertaken a water replacement program to deal with the water shortage problem. Facing social and environmental challenges regarding its water stewardship in India and elsewhere, Coca-Cola initiated a risk assessment, which considers water quality and water infrastructure in communities.

8 Advice (Total of 10-15 lines for 8.1 and 8.2 below)

8.1. First Advice:

Coca Cola Company needs engage and educate its bottlers and associates in India. This will help increase the awareness of the importance of water conservation for their sustainable operations. The smart water management strategy should be implemented in all local bottling firms through workshops and training. The Indian bottlers can be incentivized to reduce the amount of water used, recycle the water, and replenish the water for its finished beverages by recognition and rewards for strong sustainability performance.

8.2. Second Advice:

Coca Cola should reexamine and improve its processes and practices at their bottling plants in India. It can make more investment to find better ways to prevent water pollution and dispose toxic water waste. The Company needs to fulfill its social responsibility to do more for the society in which they operate. They can help local farmers to maintain clean freshwater supply and fight against the droughts occurring in India by providing technical and financial support.

� “Our Company” at the Coca-Cola Company’s website, Sept., 2020,

www.coca-colacompany.com/company.

� Marty Swant, “The World’s Most Valuable Brands”, July 28, 2020, Forbes.

www.forbes.com/the-worlds-most-valuable-brands/#c73c98f119c0

� Earth Talk, “Coca-Cola Charged With Groundwater Depletion and Pollution in India”, ThoughtCo, July 17, 2019. www.thoughtco.com/coca-cola-groundwater-depletion-in-india-1204204.

� Id. Earth Talk.

� Barie Carmichael and Brian Moriarty, “How Coca-Cola came to terms with its own water crisis”, The Washington Post, May 31, 2018.