Reference no: EM132733764

The world of water, though it remains an ambiguous terrain for companies.

While implementing fairly wide-ranging measures around the conversation and accessibility of water, even the best-managed companies continue to demand more water ever as their markets grow. Moreover, beverage companies have raised further criticism for their massive investment in another increasingly contentious bsuiness, bottled water.

For Nestle, for example, its main beverage business is in bottled water, and the firm markets more than 70 brands globally. The main ethical concerns faced by companies such as Nestle in the marketing of bottled water center around issues of wastefulness, packaging, transport costs, the exploitation of non-renewable aquifers (such as the water from the Fiji Islands), and more generally, the fact that in most developed countries where bottled water is sold, tap water is a perfectly healthy and adequate alternative.

Nestle, which has instituted a range of water conservation initiatives across its global businesses, nonetheless reacted rather aggressively to the new hardline direction of regulators. Not only did they hire lobbyists to manipulate the municipal bans, but the firm also placed contentious advertisements in the Canadian press which raised widespread allegations of greenwash. Perhaps this was not so surprising given that among the claims panned by the critics was Nestle's contention that "bottled water is the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world".

Further embarrassments ensured for the company in 2008 when a Swiss television station revealed that Nestle had hired a security firm to spy on the NGO ATTAC, with a particular focus on a Brazilian activist who had targeted the company's bottled water operations in Brazil.

Q1: Who are the main stakeholders of Nestle in this case? How would you prioritize their stakes and how legitimate are the different stakes.

Q2: Think of the role of Nestle in this case in terms of Carroll's pyramid of CSR. Which responsibilities does it live up to, and where would you see space for improvement?

Q3: How do you evaluate the growing expectations and the changing role of companies in the arena of water management?

Q4: What are the consequences for accountability, transparency, and participation of stakeholders?

Q5: Discuss the potential and the limits of what corporations can ultimately achieve in the business of water.