The coffee business is dependent upon the world’s water supply in an enormous way.  Water hydrates the soil on coffee plantations. It cleans utensils that baristas use to whip up the fancy drinks that hook coffee lovers everywhere.

Starbucks Coffee (Starbucks) is one of the most popular coffee enterprises across the world. Starbucks recognizes the importance of water conservation for the success of its business practices. The company is dedicated to environmental stewardship and is implementing a water conservation program which aims for a 25 percent reduction in water consumption by 2015.

WWW interviewed Dr. Michael Hopkins, C.E.O of MHC International Limited, a social enterprise that concentrates on corporate social responsibility and corporate sustainability, for his expert opinion on the effects of social responsibility on end profits for major corporations.

“[Major corporations] are here to make a profit but they need to pay attention to their bottom line. In the long run, corporate social responsibility will increase their bottom line, ” said Hopkins. Business practices that control the use of finite natural resources should sure that corporations do not deplete the products that yield end profits.

Starbucks has partnered with Conservation International, an organization that uses science, policy and field work to manage conservation development projects of the world’s natural resources. Together with CI, Starbucks monitors its coffee growing locations to use water responsibly, to preserve the natural landscape of these areas, and to sustainably produce the best coffee product.

In cafés, water is wasted in relatively unnoticeable ways if careful and consistent attention is not drawn to water management. For example, using the open tap water process to clean utensils and other coffee equipment requires large amounts of water. If occupied with several tasks at once, a barista could accidentally leave a tap running while tending to a customer. Meanwhile fresh and unused water is poured right down the drain.

To avoid unnecessary water waste, Starbucks has invested in a dipper well system to clean utensils. Starbucks cleans its blenders with a high pressure water system versus the open tap method, another way to preserve water.

The company uses dishwashers that take one less gallon of water per cycle versus the high pressure water sprays that consume much more water.   Espresso machines are pre-programmed to dispense controlled amounts of water when sterilized instead of allowing for an unmonitored flow of water to run.

Imagine every Starbucks location across the world conserving one gallon of water per dishwasher cycle? The average African family consumes just five gallons of water per day. With each washing cycle, Starbucks has conserved enough water to provide several African villages with their daily water supply.

With water saving methods in full throttle at each location, Starbucks will essentially save gallons of water that otherwise would have been mismanaged. The fundamental commitment toward environmental stewardship makes a water world of difference after frenzied coffee fiends swarm Starbucks locations everywhere for their caffeine fix.

Thus far, Starbucks reports being on track with its water conservation goals. The company reduced water consumption by 4.1 percent in 2009. Fulfillment of the 25 percent water usage reduction by 2015 would be a major step toward corporate accountability and environmental stewardship.

Starbucks has the opportunity to exemplify environmental stewardship and corporate social responsibility with its water conservation project. If successful, Starbucks could share best practices in water conservation with other coffee companies also committed to reducing water use.

Water brews the delicious cup of coffee that keeps crowds flocking to the Starbucks’ stands on every major city block. A gallon of water saved is a gallon of water earned. And increasing profit margins and a spike in earning potential is the ultimate goal for coffee distributors and consumer’s, right?



In 2004, in collaboration with various organizations, P&G created the Children’s Safe Drinking Water programs (CSDW), that helps raise awareness around the globe about the importance of having access to quality drinking water. The famous corporation reminded the whole world that often water scarcity is the trigger to a whole set of other problems such as diseases, health problems, malnutrition and agricultural impediments. This initiative is part of P&G’s larger philanthropic program called Live, Learn and Thrive TM initiative.  According to the official website of the initiative, P&G is “committed to improving the lives of people around the globe, saving children’s lives and providing clean drinking water to as many people as possible” (Source: http://www.csdw.org/csdw/csdw_program.shtml). Up to now, the corporation declares it has invested more than $25 million toward clean drinking water. Procter & Gamble has teamed up with organization like the International Council of Nurses or the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs to distribute PUR packets to individuals who need it the most in developing countries or emergency situations.

The PUR packet was developed by P&G in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) and it is “an amazing innovation that quickly turns 10 liters of dirty, potentially deadly water into clean and drinkable water” (Source: http://www.csdw.org/csdw/pur_packet.shtml). The packets contain a powder that is able to remove pathogenic microorganisms in order to render the contaminated water clean. According to the official website, the packets are able to remove more than 99.99999% of bacteria and various types of viruses. This product has been sold to various organization and NGOs, for instance the International Rescue Committee has bought enough PUR packets to deliver close to 3.5. million liters of drinkable water for the people in Iraq. Disaster relief is a very important part of the company’s corporate social responsibility commitment that often start with providing clean water, a basic element for the survival of entire population. According to the official website of the organization, the program has “delivered over 1.6 billion liters of clean drinking water and they are committed to delivering four billion liters by 2012” (Source: http://www.csdw.org/csdw/csdw_program.shtml). In addition to this valid water initiative, P&G has set five strategies for sustainable in order to achieve a list of set goals by 2012.

One of their most ambitious goals so far is to enable 300 million children to have a better life, which starts with preventing around 160 million days of disease and saving 20, 000 lives by delivering 4 billion liters of clean water. This goal seems somewhat outstanding and so far the progress made since 2007 comprehend a total of 135 million children reached and close to 930 million liters of clean water were delivered. (Source: http://www.pg.com/en_US/sustainability/strategy_goals_progress.shtml). These numbers are indicative a successful start only time will tell if such ambitious goals can be reached. The importance and validity of this cause seems to be appreciated at the international level since in 2007, the CSDW received the Ron brown US Presidential Award for Corporate Citizenship, the United Nations Association Global Leadership Award. In addition in 2005, the program was also awarded the Stockholm Industry Water Award.

Reconciling business requirements with corporate social responsibility has become a must for small firms and large corporations.  The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Programs have the ambitious goal to provide clean water to all of them who need it. The innovative PUR packet is able to rapidly transform polluted and often deadly water into clean potable water. This mechanism needs to be promoted at an international level and to be further developed since it could save the life of entire population especially in crisis situation.

In 1993, Deckers Outdoor Corporation acquired Simple Shoes: shoes for a happy planet, founded by Eric Meyer.  Aware of the need to protect the environment, this company is working hard at combining business prerogatives with the creation of shoes using recycled materials. They are strong believers in the fact that business can be done in a sustainable way, on their website the company declares: “HOW we make our shoes is just as important as WHY we make them. That means finding more sustainable ways of doing business so we can make a gazillion more” (Source: http://www.deckers.com/Brands/simpleshoes.aspx). This company seems to declare the need to be coherent by putting into practices the environmental friendly they pretend to embody. The Simple Shoes brand was born in 1991, as a response to a generation of  “over-hyped, over-marketed, and over-teched sneakers” (Source: http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/history.aspx?g=info). After having launched the Green Toe collection, shoes made of natural materials, the company realized that working with raw materials wasn’t enough considering all the waste and pollution that was out there.  For this reason, in 2007, the company decided to introduce recycled products such as plastic bottles and care tires in the manufacturing process of their shoes. In 2008, Simple Shoes decided to introduce brand new materials like hemp, recycled bicycle tires and car tire inner tubes.

The company’s website as a list of all the materials they use for they making of their simple shoes. They use PET (polyethylene terephthalate) the plastic used for water bottles, in order to make some of their shoelaces and in order to make the wrapping around the latex elastic. With a single used care tire they manage to “make the outsoles for six pairs of men’s size 9 shoes, by using recycled car tires” (Source: http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/materials.aspx?g=info). This is an innovative way to give a new life to materials and resources that are considered “dead” and are harmful for the environment. Moreover, the cotton they used is herbicides, pesticides and or chemical fertilizers free. They are proud to use cotton that hasn’t been sprayed with chemicals substances that too often end up in the water that citizens use for their daily choirs and even more dangerously the water they drink. One of their most innovative materials they use for their shoes is bamboo, one of the fastest growing plants on the face of earth.

These eco-green shoes are working and sales seem to demonstrate it. Yet, according to Brad Little, national sales manager, seems to think that there is much more than eco-friendly materials behind the company’s success. Brad Little says that “only 10% to 15% of its customers are green buyers” and adds that the shoes are “sufficiently good-looking that customers will pull them off a store shelf to begin with” (Source: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/sep2009/id20090928_302174.htm). The shoes are competing against standard shoes that are over-marketed over-technological and often anything but simple. Being green, has become a trend in most States, yet the shoes sell also thanks to their young and fresh esthetics and their comfort value. The timing is perfect, Simple Shoes has started to get noticed at a time where there is a growing important share in the fashion market for eco-friendly clothing and accessories.

Part of its 2010 collection, Simple has also launched bold new bags, sporty and made of Recycled PET ripstop nylon. The bags are light, ready for a life on the go, they also have a custom made space for your mp3 player or ipod. The latest shoe collection has introduced the trendiest styles with leopard prints and light pastel colors in order to catch the heart and the eye of even the trendiest customers.

Reviews have been great and the shoes seem to be a crowd pleaser amongst customers from all ages. In 2005, eco-friendly fashion debuted at the New York fashion week. This marked the beginning of a new era and signaled the need to stop ignoring environmental problems. Fashion designers launch clothing trends and lifestyles that are followed by thousands. Mixing style, elegance and innovation with recycled materials and a greener lifestyle is a trend that will and needs to come back every season.

On the United States’ version of the website, Yves Rocher clearly states its five of Botanical Beauty, principles that are according to them the outcome of their researching and investing in plan research. Their first active principle consists in basing their behaviour on the plant world while always putting plants at the centre of all their products. The cosmetic company reminds us that they “select amongst 1, 100 ingredients of plant origin, those that are best adapted to the cosmetic benefit of each product” (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/control/dynpage/~struct=about/~page=botanical_beauty/).  Considering that the flora is the crucial element at the centre of Yves Rocher’s production, the international firm seems to have quickly realized that nature is a golden mine that needs to be protect and conserved.  Endangered species and the destruction of the flora could have direct repercussions on the financial balance of the company. In coherence with this mental framework, the forth active principle of the Botanical Beauty guideline is to protect the planet world by what they call “Actively defending the environment” (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/control/dynpage/~struct=about/~page=botanical_beauty/).  On the website, Yves Rocher states the importance of verifying the status of a plant before using it, in order to avoid using endangered species. In order to limit their impact on the environment, the company declares that they have committed to planting 3 million trees in five years.  For instance, the company realized the scarcity of Arnica Montana, in order to protect the specie; they have decided to replace it with Arnica Chamissonis, cultivated directly on Yves Rocher’s fields.  The firm’s plant Charter also specifies that they forbid the use of GMO botanical ingredients, forbid animal testing and refuse to use animal ingredients, favor cultivated plants and give priority to organic supplies (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/images/templates/article/cosmetique_vegetale/GUIDE-COSM-GB.pdf). In addition, Yves Rocher also created the Vegetarium, the first museum in Europe totally dedicated to the world of plants. This museum located at La Gacilly (France), is a valid initiative in order to inform public and raise awareness about the need to protect nature.

In order to bring their environmental commitment to the next step and testify their long-term commitment to green causes, in 1991, Yves Rocher founded the Yves Rocher Foundation, under the wing of “Institut de France”, the foundation is “committed to nurturing and protecting nature and humanity” (Source: http://www.yves-rocher-fondation.org/ca/en/foundation/mission/). In order to directly instigate citizens to launch sustainable initiatives at the local level, since 2001, the foundation launched the Women of the Earth Award who celebrates women in 11 countries who are striving to protect nature. The winning recipients receive consistent bursaries that can amount up to seven thousand dollars. In addition to this award, the foundation also directly supports other green initiatives like the restoration of historical gardens or activities to raise awareness on environmentalist issues in schools. In 2007, the Kai Makana project (which can be translated into ”Gift from the Sea”) was awarded $ 7,000, a project “dedicated to the education of the local population to preserve the ocean and marine life” (Source: http://www.kaimakana.org/docs/02282007.pdf).

Based on the firm’s self-corporate presentation, Yves Rocher pushes forward the importance of giving back to the nature constructing “a beauty that uses the regenerative power of plants its vital energy, resistance and longevity” (Source: http://www.yvesrocherusa.com/control/dynpage/~struct=about/~page=50_years/). This cosmetic leader firm has focused its brand identity and marketing strategy on the production of natural botanic products that reflect the natural beauty of nature. It is logical for this corporation to try to preserve and conserve nature, the most important resource and centre piece of their whole business. The seem to demand an ethical respect towards beauty in all its facets: the beauty of a woman should be praised and respected just as much as the beauty of nature!

On its official website, The Body Shop tells customers that beauty “is a feeling, a natural way of being, where character, self-esteem and humor are freely expressed and celebrated” (Source: http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/beauty/values?cm_re=Tyra_SummerSale_Anon-_-Navigation-_-values ).  According to them the notion of beauty is closely and directly associated with nature and respecting and appreciating the way nature made us. For this reason the Body Shops’ s core values are the protection of our planet, the support of community trade, the defense of human rights, the promoting of self-esteem and finally fighting against animal testing. According to the website, “being a green retailer is in the company’s DNA” and their policy is “ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” (Source: http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/beauty/protect-our-planet). In the section of the planet protection core value, the company states only three initiatives: soap made of palm oil from sustainable sources, the use of hemp, grown free of pesticides with little fertilizer, a key ingredient for the skin care line and finally reusable bags sold in their stores. In supporting community trade, The Body Shop has stated on their community support page that they “actively seek out small-scale farmers, traditional craftspeople, rural cooperatives and tribal villages, all of them highly skilled experts at their work” (Source: http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/beauty/community-trade ). With stores all over the world, it is inevitable to wonder how can “small-scale farmers” be part of a large-scale production. The website fails to explain in great detail how exactly are the local farmers involved in the production process of the company. Yet, articles on the web appear to give some concrete examples of The Body Shop’s commitment to the local communities, for example the company’s “moisturizing socks are produced by Community Trade Supplier, Craft Aid in Mauritius, and are providing employment to 160 people, 40% of which have disabilities” (Source: http://social-corporate-responsibility.suite101.com/article.cfm/corporate-social-responsibility-at-the-body-shop). Reconciling business with corporate citizenship is not always the easiest and most obvious thing to do for any firm; especially when a company is trying to expand and grown internationally.

Since 2006, the year of its sale to one of the world’s largest cosmetic brands L’Oreal, the Body Shop’s reputation and sales have suffered greatly.  A lot of customers saw this move as a complete sell-out of ethical values and beliefs to a giant profit-driven cosmetics brand. Pro animal organizations started organizing protests asking consumers to boycott the Body Shop since it was not part of a L’Oreal, a firm that tests on animals and has been at the centre of controversies for not bringing about any concrete change to this policy.  “Animal welfare organisations are currently reviewing their endorsement of The Body Shop’s cruelty-free policy. Naturewatch has already removed the company from its cruelty free list because, as part of its endorsement criteria, it includes the record of the parent company” ( Source: http://www.naturewatch.org/news/docs/Naturewatch_protest_against_Body_Shop.pdf). Despite the fact that L’Oreal has declared it has stopped animal testing, activists are not convinced and they demand major proof and transparency on the issue.

Right from the start, the mission of The Body Shop appeared to be much more than selling cosmetics and doing business. As early as 1985, the company allied with Green Peace on a save the whales campaign. Anita Roddick, founder of the brand, has always been involved in development programs, coming against the global trade system more than once. Yet as The Body Shop continued to grow and expand all over the world, her founder started struggling in order to comply with suppliers, investors and business demands, without putting aside the firm’s values and core beliefs. The cosmetics brand has been involved in many controversies and accused of not truly endorsing the company’s “green values”. In today’s business world, in order to be successful, firm need to reconcile business with corporate citizenship. Yet, most importantly in order to be credible they need to truly endorse in an authentic fashion the causes they are representing.

Commitment to Conservation

Johnson & Johnson is publicly commitment to environmental issues in order to achieve long-term sustainability for a healthy planet. Every five years, the company establishes new long-term goals in order to help reduce environmental damages.  The J&J family group started setting environmental goals in 1990 and has managed to accomplish some considerable results: since then, they have “reduce waste, water and energy use, raw material and packaging in order to adopt a more eco-friendly stance on their production. Their environmental goals include the reduction of carbon dioxide and water use. Their goal for 2010 is the “absolute reduction in CO₂ emissions of 7%”.  When it comes to water use, J&J’s goal is the reduction of 10% in water use compared to the 2005 baseline. So far, they have managed to reduce water use by 6% from 2005 to 2007″ (Source: http://www.jnj.com/connect/caring/environment-protection/environment-performance). New goals will go into effect in 2011.

Water scarcity is increasingly all around the world: the demand surpasses the available resource in an alarming manner.
Even India, where social and religious traditions have always held a great respect and reverence for water as a source of life, is now suffering from water-scarcity.
Achal is Manager of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) at the Johnson & Johnson Consumer manufacturing facility in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh-region of India. Part of the activities he oversees, include a zero-discharge wastewater treatment facility: every drop of treated water is recuperated for irrigation and toilet flushing. Another very interesting initiative supported and applied by the company in India is rain harvesting (read our special post on rain harvesting and learn more: /rainwater-harvesting.html). Water is collected from the rooftops in order to be reused afterward. “The huge amount of water during monsoon season was going directly to the storm drain and was wasted,” says Achal. “So we decided to make us of it.
A tremendous effort made within these regions in order to share and exchange knowledge with the scope of spreading the word about the methods and importance of conserving water. Local initiatives and training on the field need to be done in order to assure that these strategies for water conservation become long-term sustainable projects. On a regular basis, training lectures are put together for the staff. A water storage tank was installed along with piping modification, at an Ethicon facility in Aurangabad, western India, in order to lower the overall water consumption.

Sustainable Report form 2008

Every annual report begins with an introduction of Johnson& Johnson about their corporate identity and their “credo”.  This last report put emphasis on transparency in order to achieve a greater level of trust and commitment towards customers and various stakeholders.  This reports highlights the importance and the difference that an eco-friendly packaging of products can do for the environment. Increasing recycled content, reducing packaging weight and eliminating materials like PVC (polyvinyl chloride) are just a few on the many favorable changes the company has managed to adopted in its packaging.

It is also important to mention that the report presents a special focus on water conservation. “In 2008, Johnson & Johnson used approximately 3 billion gallons of water-enough to fill 4, 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools- in our manufacturing process and our office facilities”

(Source: http://www.jnj.com/wps/wcm/connect/ad9170804f55661a9ec3be1bb31559c7/2008+Sustainability+Report.pdf?MOD=AJPERES).

According to their website, their goal is to reduce absolute water use by 10 percent from 2005-to 2010. Progress has been made in the water consumption went from 12,6% in 2005 to 11,5% in 2008.

Controversy from the past

Not long ago Johnson & Johnson had to recall a considerable amount of painkillers such as Tylenol and Motrin from pharmacies due to an “odor problem for some kinds of Tylenol” (Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/01/johnson_johnson_recalls_more_m_1.html) and because in various cases patients had developed secondary effects like nausea and vomiting after taking the medicines. The situation only got worst when associations of worried mothers publicly declared the presence of carcinogens (like formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane) in baby bath’s products (Source: http://www.thegreenparent.com/2009/04/02/johnson-johson-responds-to-criticism/). In a certain sense it appears that the famous company has refused to fully respond to criticism replying that the traces of carcinogens are in such small quantity that they wouldn’t be harmful for any baby. Yet, the question still remains unanswered as to why a child’s baby shower needs to contain even small traces of carcinogens. Without neglecting their cause for environmental conservation, perhaps, the company should focus priorly on their customers that put all their trust into their products. It yet appears that things are looking up again for this world-know company, as it made it on Fortune 500’s list of top companies to be admired and even managed to rank number 4 in the over all category and number 2 in the pharmaceutical companies category. (Source: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2010/snapshots/235.html)

Johnson & Johnson’s environmental accomplishments help to confirm their commitment to their Credo that states that we must “maintain in good order the property we are privileged to use, protecting the environment and natural resources.” With the situation of the environment today, corporations have no choice but to pay attention to environmental problematic in order to assure the survival of their company and to respect their raw resources they so desperately need in order to produce their goods and services.