Coca-Cola recognized for innovation in business ethics

On May 21, the first annual Pollard Award for Innovation in Business Ethics was awarded to The Coca-Cola Company by The Executives Breakfast Club, a Chicago-based non-profit organization made up of more than 100 members, from a mix of international and local companies, dedicated to advancing ethical business practices.

“The Pollard Award recognizes businesses that are leading the way in embedding ethics in their organizations, and, this year, we are proud to honor Cola-Cola,” said Donald Clark, chairman of the award committee and president of Micron Industries. “The company has demonstrated its commitment by having local ethics officers in each business unit, enforcing ethical expectations with its business partners and conducting anti-bribery audits across its global operations.”

Coca-Cola is also leveraging its resources to conserve and protect natural resources throughout the world. For example, through its partnership with the World Wildlife Federation, Coca-Cola is working to measurably conserve seven key watersheds; improve the efficiency of the its water use, including its agricultural supply chain; decrease its carbon dioxide emissions and energy use; and inspire a global movement by uniting industries, conservation organizations and others in the conservation and protection of freshwater resources around the world. By reducing and recycling the water used in manufacturing — and replenishing water as a vital resource — these efforts are yielding important social, environmental and economic benefits.

"It is an honor to accept this recognition on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company,” said Kevin P. Morris, vice president of public affairs and communications, Coca-Cola Enterprises. “We are committed to the highest standards of ethics and moral responsibility. Our business depends on consumers choosing to invite us into their lives, and we understand that consumers only issue those invitations to companies and brands they trust and respect.”

The company also recently expanded its earlier goal to recycle or reuse the equivalent of 100 percent of its plastic bottles to include aluminum cans. It has invested in recycling initiatives, including curbside collection programs and the world’s largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, S.C.

Named after C. William Pollard, the former CEO of ServiceMaster and a highly respected leader in the area of business ethics, the Pollard Award recognizes an entire U.S. based company, rather than an individual. There are no maximum or minimum criteria for the company’s number of employees, operating budget, yearly profit margin, etc.

Select U.S. institutes dedicated to the study of business ethics submitted nominees to a nine-person panel composed of leading academics in the field, prominent members of the business media and select members of The Executives Breakfast Club. Then the general membership of the Executives Breakfast Club voted to choose the final recipient.

Nominees for this year’s award included Anglo American, General Electric, Starbucks, Target, USAA and Xerox. Of those, Anglo American and General Electric were chosen as finalists, along with Coca-Cola. Each of these companies was chosen based on an innovative model, practice, service or product that has demonstrated originality, viability and broad applicability.