CSR sweetens Pepsi and Coke – A Tale of Two Colas (Part 2 Pepsi)

In my initial post I continued looking at the different levels of commitments some of our largest corporations are making in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and turned the spotlight on the two giant soft drink corporations Pepsi and Coke. It is also interesting to see how both companies are incorporating social media in their current campaigns, in the case of Pepsi at least partially in place of ‘traditional’ advertising methods and budgets.

Pepsi have displayed a long-term commitment to CSR, most specifically in the last 10 years. This stems all the way back to 1990 when Pepsi were part of a consortium who agreed to reduce the level of plastics used in their bottles (by 25%) and to achieve an 80% recycling rate within 20 years. As of 2005 it seems that Pepsi were falling short of both targets although significant inroads had been made. Pepsi have also risen up the rankings in recent years in terms of America’s greenest energy producers with the summit being reached with the 2008 award of ‘Energy Star Partner of The Year’. Pepsi were rightly proud of this award which followed years of programs that help address the global climate crisis,and include improvements in efficient use of energy, encouragement of renewable sources of energy and water reduction and reuse programs. Key actions include:

• PepsiCo’s landmark purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates.
• PepsiCo facilities are increasingly putting in place measures to reduce the amount of energy used to produce food and beverage products. These measures include the installation of Energy Star rated equipment, energy efficient motors and energy efficient windows and skylights to enhance natural lighting.
• PepsiCo facilities have installed variable frequency drive systems, which allow efficient energy use and thermal regeneration systems to capture waste heat. The company performs periodic energy audits to find opportunities to continuously improve its energy efficiency.
• By adhering to EPA’s Guidelines for Energy Management, all manufacturing facilities are accountable for contributing to the overall corporate energy goal.

In recent years the momentum has continued with recognition and awards which culminated in a rather stunning and innovative project that was announced at the end of last year. Pepsi made the bold move of forgoing Super Bowl ads in favor of a $20 million social media campaign centered around the Refresh Project. Tellingly the Refresh Project is centred around their Facebook campaign to spread the word about the project and seeks personal interaction from the public to make the project live and responsive. So what is the project all about?

Pepsi have committed up to $20 million for the duration of the 12 month campaign. They have appointed ‘ambassadors’ of Health, Arts, The Planet, Food & Shelter and Neighbourhoods to oversee the project. The ideas (missions) are submitted by the public to be voted on and can range from cookies being sent to humanitarian workers to replacing the roof of an elementary school’s greenhouse. The projects are divided into each of the areas noted above as represented by the ‘ambassadors’ and then filtered into thresholds based on the fiscal donation. These projects range from fairly small local ideas with a ceiling of $5,000 to large regional or international concepts with a ceiling of $250,000. The process is quite simple, via the main site you can search projects based on size, type or location and then vote on your top choice. The program has earmarked $1.3 million per month to be awarded to the winners in each category.

The most refreshing parts of the whole strategy (pun not intended) I think are threefold. Firstly there are naturally a huge cross-section of causes and ideas that will hugely benefit from the cash injection to help the environment, students, communities and more avenues than I can list. Secondly there are all the project that even if they don’t win will appear on the radar for many thousands of people who otherwise might not be aware of them. Finally there is the thinking outside of conventional ways that Pepsi are embracing, some are showing cynicism about the voting methods and the net worth of the project – I think it shows what size difference a giant corporation can and should be giving back to the community. It certainly profiles a broader vision than simply signing up a pop singer to sing about how Pepsi makes you younger or better – I’m quite partial to the new tagline of “Every Pepsi refreshes the world” its definitely ambitious but why not?

In part three we’ll see if Coke really are the real thing when it comes to CSR.