Integrative Stakeholder Engagement: Stakeholder-Oriented Partnership Between the Coca-Cola Company and World Wildlife Fund

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement lies at the core of stakeholder theory even though management scholars have not researched engagement thoroughly relative to other aspects of stakeholder theory. In fact, practicing managers, not academics, have led exploration of and innovation in stakeholder engagement. This paper provides scholars with analysis of a practical integrative stakeholder engagement conducted by The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This case is unique in that the analyzed integrative stakeholder engagement was both extremely successful and sustainable by going beyond the original partners and spreading among stakeholders across the entire value chain and beyond. Triggered by community concerns in India, TCCC’s best practices in engaging multiple stakeholders to preserve freshwater spread across all continents and went on to be adopted by other companies and their stakeholders which were outside of TCCC’s direct reach. The analyzed case is also valuable in showing that TCCC, though enjoying the leading position in its industry and having considerable influence over its value chain, chose to engage stakeholders in its freshwater conservation initiative through a collaborative, dialogue-based process, demonstrating a stakeholder mindset both on the part of the company and multiple stakeholders.

The authors contributed equally and are listed alphabetically.

Appendix

Exhibit 15.1: Freshwater Partnership Terms, 2007

Focus area	Initial goal, 2007	Progress achieved, 2011
River basin conservation	In seven river basins: Better governance and management; resource protection; conservation in balance with development; biodiversity protection	Met conservation goals across the seven basins
Plant performance and water stewardship	Improve water efficiency 20% globally	On target for 20% reduction (2004–12)
Climate protection	Stabilize emissions and 5% reduction in developed countries by 2015	11% increase system-wide and 9% reduction in developed countries (2004–11)
Supply chain	Promote sustainable agricultural production	Bonsucro Standard and Coca-Cola principles
Inspire a global movement	Build awareness of partnership and environmental challenges	Local collaborations in nearly 50 countries; Arctic Home campaign

1. Data sources: “2011/2012 Sustainability Report”, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC 2012); “A Transformative Partnership to Conserve Water”, World Wildlife Fund and The Coca-Cola Company (WWF-TCCC 2011)

Exhibit 15.2: Freshwater Partnership Additions, 2010–2011

Focus area	Year implemented	Progress achieved, 2011
Packaging	2010	Gather information and develop strategy
Executive collaboration	2011	Public meetings between TCCC CEO and WWF CEO
Coca-Cola sustainability officer	2011	Create global Office of Sustainability and first chief sustainability officer
Legacy web tool	2011	Provides leading practices for corporate-NGO partnerships centered on river basin conservation
Arctic home	2011	Cause-marketing campaign to raise awareness and funding for polar bear

1. Data sources: “2011/2012 Sustainability Report”, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC 2012); “A Transformative Partnership to Conserve Water”, World Wildlife Fund and The Coca-Cola Company (WWF-TCCC 2011)

Exhibit 15.3: Summary of Main Features of the WWF-TCCC Partnership Renewal Agreement

Because freshwater is of critical importance to both TCCC and WWF, in 2007, we launched a transformational partnership with an ambitious goal to conserve the world’s freshwater. On January 1, 2013, we renewed our global partnership for an additional 8 years, through December 31, 2020.

Building on the strong foundation established in the first phase of joint work, this renewed partnership will build upon our legacy of water conservation. However, we will go even further—extending our reach and influence to more deeply engage the company’s value chain, involving additional partners to achieve greater scale and impact, and sparking commitments from businesses, governments, and consumers that will mobilize action to conserve nature and its freshwater resources. Going beyond water conservation, we call this next phase of work “Water+.”

Through our Water+ commitment, we will:

• + help ensure healthy, resilient river basins in 11 key regions.

WWF and TCC will work together to conserve some of the world’s most important places spanning Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Specifically, these include the river basins of the Amazon, Koshi, Mekong, RG/RB, Yangtze, and Zambezi; the catchments of the GBR and MAR; and key regions in the Amur-Heilong, Atlantic Forests, and NGP.

• + measurably improve environmental performance across the company’s value chain.

We will improve agriculture, climate, packaging, and water efficiency impacts, building a sustainable value chain for the twenty-first century and beyond.

• + work to integrate the value of nature into public and private decision-making processes.

Together, we will advance holistic conservation planning and science to advocate for nature in public and private decision-making processes.

• + convene influential partners to strengthen and amplify our work.

We will convene extraordinary partners from government, academia, industry, civil society, and the public to help solve shared global challenges.

Our goal is to ensure better integration and coordination to maximize our impact. For this reason, work is organized around three integrated work streams:

• Freshwater Conservation: To drive innovative, climate-smart solutions to freshwater challenges though basin-wide engagement and comprehensive policy support.

• Global Value Chains: To improve environmental performance in water efficiency, packaging, climate protection and sustainable agriculture across TCCC’s value chain.

• Valuing Nature: To integrate the value of nature explicitly into public and private policy decisions and enhance our understanding of the dynamics involved in meeting multiple planning objectives in a basin.

This phase of the partnership is focused on enabling action across these partnership work streams, including tracking, reporting, and delivering upon best-in-class environmental performance targets, aligned with the company’s 2020 goals.

To deepen, sustain, and amplify our work beyond our two organizations, a central theme for this phase is leverage—Engaging TCCC’s business partners, industry associations, governments, aid/development agencies, financial and insurance institutions, other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and private foundations to deepen, sustain, and amplify our work.

We will also emphasize engagement, with the aim of mobilizing a global movement for freshwater conservation that will unite TCCC’s marketing strength with WWF’s conservation goals, to make a measurable, global impact.

Source: WWF-TCCC 2013 Annual Partnership Progress Report.

Exhibit 15.4a: Sources of Funding, WWF-TCCC Partnership Priorities, 2007–2012 (in U.S. dollars)

Data source: “Inspiring a Global Movement: TCCC-WWF Global Freshwater Conservation Partnership.” (TCCC-WWF 2012)

Exhibit 15.4b: Third-Party Funding for Partnership Priorities, 2007–12 (in U.S. dollars)

Australia: Government and farmers	6,855,000
Danube: EU floodplains	3,470,000
Danube: Liberty Island EU funds	3,170,000
U.S.: New Mexico state funding for RGRB	2,800,000
Vietnam: Dong Thap Province for Train Chim	1,429,600
U.S.: Elephant Butte irrigation for RGRB	1,250,000
Mekong: German government	1,250,000
U.S.: USFWS for RGBG Pecos River	500,000
Belize and Honduras: SUPSI work on sugarcane	313,000
Mozambique: USAID Lake Niassa	300,000
El Salvador and Guatemala: WADA work on sugarcane	182,000
Honduras: Teculutan match for water fund	125,000
Brazil: Solidaridad	93,800
Honduras: USAID match for water fund	75,000
Mexico: Mexico government RGRB	50,000
Honduras: FIHA	50,000
Honduras: SAB Miller sugarcane	50,000
Mexico: Secretary of environment RGRB	37,000
U.S.: CONANP	35,000
Turkey: UNDP match	26,715
TOTAL	22,062,115

1. Data source: “Inspiring a Global Movement: TCCC-WWF Global Freshwater Conservation Partnership,” appendix I, v. (TCCC-WWF 2012)

Exhibit 15.5: Global Reach of Coca-Cola and WWF, 2012

Source: “Inspiring a Global Movement: TCCC-WWF Global Freshwater Conservation Partnership”. Used with permission (TCCC-WWF 2012: 66)