Coca Cola’s CSR Initiative with a Twist

As the world's largest beverage company, in 2009 Coca Cola developed a set of goals and targets to achieve by the year 2020 – known as "Commitment 2020" in five key areas.

Coca Cola’s launch of an eco-friendly lightweight bottle for its drinking water brand, Ice Dew.

The new bottle is the lightest of its size on the Chinese beverage market, and reduces the carbon footprint by 35%. What’s more interesting, the bottle is designed to be easily twisted and compressed after consumption, thereby saving more than 70% of the space needed while the bottle makes it way to recycling.(Similar concept as shown in the above video.)

A fun video was played to explain how the new design exactly helps the environment. Then an exciting competition between the brands ambassador-the world famous hurdler -- Liu Xiang and three volunteers was held to see who can twist more bottles in a certain time.

After the launch, media had access to interview both the ambassador as well as marketing director and product development manager of the company.

I was really impressed by this CSR initiative of Coca Cola, as it is truly embedded into various aspect of its business and integral to the future success of the business. It is ‘part of the mix which includes Strategy, Product Development, Marketing, Finance, etc.’ the company positions commitment to sustainability as a long-term strategy and develop products under this principle. It helps to better market the product as eco-friendly, as well as to reduces cost of production by decreasing packaging usage. Then the PR professionals devise lively and effective communication activities to communicate the messages to media and then the public.

I believe that a genuine CSR should not only be corporate giving to the society, that would only be hot air, as Stefan Stern describes. As the quote goes, the only business of business is business. A genuine CSR that can be sustainable should be something that creates mutual benefits and win-win situation. PR does not ,should not, and could not own CSR. If CSR is owned purely by PR, then it is not far away from green washing and being spotted and later ruining its own reputation.