POLAR BEARS TO BENEFIT FROM CSR PARTNERSHIP
It’s one thing to feature polar bears in adverts and Christmas campaigns. It’s quite another to actually try and protect polar bears from the perils of global warming.
Coca-Cola is teaming up with the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) in a push to protect polar bears’ Arctic environments. The CSR effort will see 1.4 million square kilometres in Greenland and Canada protected as a wildlife conservation area.
Polar bears have been the unofficial mascots of Coca-Cola for nearly a century, but this partnership is built on more than the desire to help the environment. For major brands, corporate social responsibility leads to a tangible increase in reputation. The Reputation Institute found that 65% of the public would recommend brands that rank highly for CSR compared to just 26% of people recommending the 20 worst companies.
Coca-Cola, which topped Interbrand’s Best Global Brands report in 2012, has a history of reinforcing its brand image with CSR efforts, primarily through its longstanding sponsorship of the Olympics. It has also worked with WWF for the past five years on a water conservation project.
GB marketing director of Coca-Cola, Zoe Howorth, says “Polar bears have been a much-loved part of Coca-Cola's advertising for over 90 years. We want to help create a future for them and their Arctic home.”
The company will donate $2 million to WWF and match consumer donations up to an additional $1 million.