This report is about the milk product company, Fonterra, and details the various facets of the organization including how it handles its corporate communications manages its corporate image, and implements CSR policies. There is also mention of whether the company engages in so-called “Green Washing” practices.
Corporate Communications
Corporate communications are essential for maintaining the brand image of the company and Fonterra takes its brand image very seriously. This is evident from the fact that the company avoided the bad press that other milk product-based companies got from the “tainted milk food scandal” (Anon, 2008). The way in which the company managed the fallout from this crisis is proof of the fact that the company has a very effective corporate communications system in place.
As the website puts it, “The Way We Work also provides very clear policies on the relationships we have with significant stakeholders including employees, customers, shareholders, business partners and suppliers, and communities. Our Code of Business Conduct has a global reach and is not limited to any particular country or community” (Fonterra.com, 2009). It is evident from this approach that the company has strong internal mechanisms in place that react quickly and decisively in case of a crisis.
Corporate Image
Corporate Image is essential to any company that is in the business of making consumer goods or goods that reach a wide target market. In Fonterra’s case, its milk-based products are sold all over the world and hence it has to be doubly conscious of the fact that its corporate image has to be squeaky clean. This is reinforced by its advertising and brand campaign that targets its audience with a message of Fonterra being a trustworthy company and one that keeps the interests of the consumers in mind.
To quote from the website, “Our ingredients are used in a huge variety of dairy products around the world. Our brands are enjoyed by consumers all over the world. Fonterra’s Board is committed to the ethical conduct of our business around the world. We have published The Way We Work – Fonterra’s Code of Business Conduct to reinforce this commitment” (Fonterra.com, 2009). The corporate image that is being portrayed here is of a company that puts its consumers before profit. In other words, a people-first policy that has the interests of the consumers at heart.
Corporate Identity
The corporate identity of Fonterra is to project itself as a leading producer of milk-based products that is not only the market leader in revenues and sales but also a proponent of ethical and people-friendly business practices. The way in which a company shapes its corporate identity is very crucial to the perceptions that the company has among its consumers and shareholders not to leave out the employees as well. In this respect, the corporate identity of a consumer-based company like Fonterra would go a long way in reinforcing the brand image and the corporate image as well.
According to theory, Perceptions matter a lot more than the actual performance. It has been found in Marketing studies, that a way in which a company might be perceived would make the difference in the way in which it succeeds in the marketplace (Kotler, 2008). Further, if there is a gap between perception and actual practice, the gap quickly closes and the perceptions are altered. Hence, the company has to be on the lookout always to “walk the talk” and be honest with its consumers.
CSR Programme
In recent years, CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility has become the latest buzzword among companies. This refers to the practice of the corporates in “giving back” to society in the form of programs that benefit the less privileged members of society. They can take the form of outreach programs that adopt schools; communities, etc, and provide funds for their upkeep as well as promote socially conscious business practices that lead to the betterment of society.
Fonterra takes its CSR program very seriously by promoting programs like
Kick Start Breakfast, Rural Maternity, Osteoporosis Foundation, etc. “Every week, KickStart Breakfast provides Anchor Mega Milk and Sanitarium Weet-Bix to 300 low-decile schools, with the aim of educating children about the difference a nutritious breakfast can make. The schools participating to date are approximately 80% primary and 20% secondary schools, with around 80% of the schools located in the North Island” (Fonterra.com, 2009).
Green Washing
Green Washing refers to the practice of the corporate spin employed by a company in declaring itself to promoting environmentally-friendly policies whereas, in reality, the company does not live up to the rhetoric (Terrachoice.com, 2009). This is a practice that should be avoided and as noted in the above sections, Fonterra usually “walks the talk” and there have been no instances of the company indulging in practices that it otherwise repudiates in public. As the Corporate governance council is responsible for overseeing the activities of its CSR and ethical standard compliance, it is the nodal committee for ensuring that there is no “spin” on the business practices.
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