Write up for the Session 19

Shaklee Corporation Corporate Social Responsibility The consumers are becoming more discerning and the general awareness about environmental degradation is increasing. As a result the marketers need to behave more responsibly. Marketers must work closely with R&D early in the product development process, and later with the sales force to develop and sell products that fully satisfy customer needs and wants. In light of the increasing consumer sensitivity and government regulations, smart companies are designing creative products keeping energy efficiency, carbon footprints, toxicity, and disposability in mind. One such company is Shaklee Corporation. It is an environmentally responsible company which makes natural nutrition and health products. Since becoming the CEO, Roger Barnett has undertaken several new initiatives at the company. He believes that the private sector has some responsibilities towards the society and should help in creating a better life for everyone. Some of the recent events have made him think about how the company can have more impact in the world. The company has decided to take the route of Social Marketing. Since its founding in 1956, Shaklee has been developing environment friendly products and supporting various initiatives to help the environment. Some of their notable projects included the adoption of Shaklee by the Wild Dolphin project and Cousteau Society, funding of polar expeditions etc. They continued to develop environment-friendly products which resulted in the selection of their cleaning product as an official Earth Day product. They also won several awards for being a company with a conscience. They continued with these initiatives through the 1990s. In 1992, they founded a non-profit arm, Shaklee Cares. Shaklee Cares worked to help those affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes, by donating money as well distributors time. Such initiatives by Shaklee to help the environment and society have resulted in it being widely recognized. Not only this, Shaklee has worked hard to make the company environment friendly. In 2007, they became the first consumer products company to use 100% green power and to offset 100% of its greenhouse emissions. Roger Barnett believes that sustainable business will very soon turn from a point of differentiation to a necessity. Keeping in mind the mission and values of the company, he wanted to launch a new initiative. He wanted to use his products to alleviate the problem of malnutrition in the developing countries. Since Shaklees strategy is built on social marketing, such an initiative would be beneficial both for the company and the society. The nutritional supplements of Shaklee would help in solving the malnutrition problem and at the same time generate new revenue streams for the company. The

word of mouth publicity would be especially beneficial for the company. Thus, such initiatives are a win-win both for the companies and the society.