Fiji Water

Nova School of Business and Economics 2nd Semester 2011/2012 Marta André Lopes nº10265 International Management – 4th Case Study Summary – Fiji Water and Corporate Social Responsibility: Green Makeover or”Greenwashing”? 1. Introducing the Case The case traces the establishment and subsequent operation of FIJI Water LLC and its bottling subsidiary, Natural Waters of Viti Limited, the first company in Fiji extracting, bottling and marketing, both domestically and internationally, artesian water coming from a untouched ecosystem in the main of Fiji Islands. It takes us through the growth and market expansion of this highly successful company. The company has grown rapidly over the past decade and a half, and now exports bottled water into many countries in the world from its production plant located in the Fiji Islands. In 2008, FIJI Water was the leading imported bottled water brand in the United States. Despite of a great marketing success of the FIJI brand, particularly in the U.S. market, the case shows us how the company has responded to a number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues, including measuring and reducing its carbon footprint, responsibilities to key stakeholders, and concerns of the Fiji government with regard to taxation and transfer pricing issues. It also leads us to think of CSR challenges that may jeopardize the sustainability of a great marketing strategy. In this case, FIJI Water faces CSR issues such as the carbon footprint on its production, responsibilities to stakeholders, relations and legal issues with the Fiji authorities on tax incentives, export duty claims and transfer price that may jeopardize an otherwise successful marketing strategy. 2. Challenges Ahead The firms’ strategies should not only focus on the stakeholders’ or the employees’ interests, they should also take care of the outsiders’ interests affected by the firms’ business since every firm, irrespective of its business or size, must have an obligation to satisfy