Corporate Social Responsibility
1.0 Executive Summary
While there is no universally accepted definition of Corporate Social Responsibility, it is usually described in terms of a company considering, managing and balancing the economic, social and environmental impacts of its activities. The notion of corporate social responsibility should be a part of the core business operations of a company, rather than a separate ‘add on’.[2]
Given that socially responsible organizations should seek ‘minimize their negative impacts and maximize their positive impacts’, the fast food industry provides an important context in which to debate the issue of corporate social responsibility. While the influence of myriad factors, including increasing sedentary lifestyles, on obesity is acknowledged by some researchers some argue that rising obesity can also be linked to the fast food industry.[1]
Generally speaking, obesity is an increasingly major health problem, both in terms of patient numbers and severity. Since most of the people perceive the consumption of certain food and beverage products leads to obesity, there are potential risks identified relate to changes in the regulatory environment, litigation and consumer resistance, which have turned the issue into a serious business concern.
Food and beverage producers, who view that their marketing activities can only influence decisions and that it is the customer who makes the decision to drive to a fast food restaurant, to purchase, and consume a fast food meal, are failing to respond to the obesity issue, risking a negative impact on sales.
Due to the advantageous position that fast food restaurants gained from contemporary lifestyle factors, such as increasing usage of technology, and workforce changes resulting in a consumer focus on time saving in a time constrained world; fast food marketers have successfully normalized unhealthy foods (low in nutritional value and high in fat, sugar, salt) into everyday lives ', by offering these
While there is no universally accepted definition of Corporate Social Responsibility, it is usually described in terms of a company considering, managing and balancing the economic, social and environmental impacts of its activities. The notion of corporate social responsibility should be a part of the core business operations of a company, rather than a separate ‘add on’.[2]
Given that socially responsible organizations should seek ‘minimize their negative impacts and maximize their positive impacts’, the fast food industry provides an important context in which to debate the issue of corporate social responsibility. While the influence of myriad factors, including increasing sedentary lifestyles, on obesity is acknowledged by some researchers some argue that rising obesity can also be linked to the fast food industry.[1]
Generally speaking, obesity is an increasingly major health problem, both in terms of patient numbers and severity. Since most of the people perceive the consumption of certain food and beverage products leads to obesity, there are potential risks identified relate to changes in the regulatory environment, litigation and consumer resistance, which have turned the issue into a serious business concern.
Food and beverage producers, who view that their marketing activities can only influence decisions and that it is the customer who makes the decision to drive to a fast food restaurant, to purchase, and consume a fast food meal, are failing to respond to the obesity issue, risking a negative impact on sales.
Due to the advantageous position that fast food restaurants gained from contemporary lifestyle factors, such as increasing usage of technology, and workforce changes resulting in a consumer focus on time saving in a time constrained world; fast food marketers have successfully normalized unhealthy foods (low in nutritional value and high in fat, sugar, salt) into everyday lives ', by offering these
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