Corporate Social Responsibility

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Individual Assignment

MARTINEZ SALAS Lizbeth Carolina

December 9th, 2019
 1. The Lego company produces and sells plastic bricks since 1958 and has become
one of the largest toy company in the world.

Describe the main environmental challenges that may affect its business model and formulate
strategic recommendations to its management (/10).
Each year, the Lego company emits approximately one million tons of carbon dioxide
with the production of its plastic bricks of which three quarters of the carbon emission
corresponds to the raw materials that the company acquires for the manufacture of its toys. In
addition, it is important to mention that for the manufacture of plastic materials, the use of
non-renewable resources, mainly oil, is required. Because of this, the company has been
forced to face a series of environmental challenges that affect its business model, which
encompass the three main pillars for sustainable development: social, economic and
environmental (climate change, pollution, energy, water supplies, biodiversity, raw materials,
healthcare, social equity, demography and urbanization). Since each of the challenges are
linked to form and develop a better sustainable environment, the loss of some of them
triggers the loss of others as problems generated or related to environmental pollution, in turn
generates social problems with the discontent of a community, as well as economic for the
loss of income of the company.

In order to have a better management of the Lego business model, it is recommended to carry
out the planning of strategies that allow working properly to make sustainable efforts and turn
the company into a company with greater social responsibility. These strategies can be the
following:
● Replace the plastic materials currently used with sustainable materials to counteract
environmental damage such as global warming, the emission of carbon dioxide and
waste of non-renewable resources such as water and oil caused by the burning of
various fuels that are required for Production of materials and toys.
● Increase the use of renewable energies within the LEGO facilities in its different
cities, which allow to produce the energy that the company needs to carry out its
production, administration and sales activities.
● Develop a mostly sustainable supply chain through the search for suppliers that
contribute to the care of the environment and also provide the company with
 resources with a lower level of pollution, as well as involve other users within the
supply chain, such as customers, for climate change.
● Involve other members of the company to carry out actions that reduce the
environmental impact generated by the activities in the production and administration
of LEGO, such as employees, shareholders, among others.

2. Social and environmental impacts of a product are often related to customer

behavior, therefore sustainable innovation inevitably concerns marketing.
Choose and describe one good or service which social and environmental impacts
are mainly during use phase and propose a brief marketing plan to minimize
them. (/5)
A good example of a product related to consumer behavior that often generates a greater
environmental impact is the sale and consumption of tobacco cigarettes, since it not only
generates consequences for human beings in their health, but also has a great impact in the
environment by the amount of toxins that are released with the residues of cigarettes and also
the carcinogenic smoke. WHO reports say that per year, tobacco use causes the death of more
than 7 million people; It also mentions that tobacco waste contains more than 7,000 toxic
chemicals that affect not only the atmosphere and health of people, but also, these pollutants
spread to seas and soils, considering that about 40% of waste which are normally collected in
cities correspond to tobacco waste. In addition, it is important to mention that not only the use
of tobacco consumption generates a severe impact on the environment, but also the use of
plastics and cardboard packaging that are used for the distribution and sale of cigarettes. (Efe,
2017).

With the above, the marketing strategy that I propose to minimize the environmental impact
generated by the consumption of cigarettes is mainly to replace elements of the product with
sustainable or biodegradable elements that do not cause environmental damage when they are
discarded in the streets. The second strategy is to promote change by influencing the public
through promotional strategies through influencers and social media campaigns that can
encourage others to collaborate with the environment and not only reduce tobacco
consumption for health reasons but also for issues. environmental and, finally, create specific
containers or separators for the disposal of these products, with a design that is visibly
attractive to the public that prevents waste toxins from being released and remain in the
containers to reduce the emission of pollutants.

3. HSBC is thinking of collaborating with a NGO. Which one would you

recommend and why? Explain briefly which actions they could develop together
(/5)
Currently, HSBC develops social responsibility programs that are mainly dedicated to the
financing and growth of the economy in the world, as well as developing programs that are
responsible for managing the supply chains of various companies around the world in order
to reduce the environmental impact that these generate, in addition to developing programs
that support the poorest communities on the planet for the administration of their resources,
such as water. Given the programs currently developed by the company, my proposal to
develop a new social responsibility program is one based on education. Although there are
still millions of people in the world living in poverty levels because they do not have the
necessary financial education to help them have a better administration of their money, that is
why they work on programs for Better quality education is what I would recommend doing.
The foregoing would be through collaboration with the Organization of United Nations and
United Hands, an organization that is dedicated to supporting more than 600 educational
projects in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Development of actions to carry out the project:

● Scholarship program that allows children and young people to have access to
education at different levels of schooling, through exams that allow them to assess
their ability and motivation for learning.
● Scholarship programs for the realization of exchange programs at the higher level
that support young people to study at a foreign university by offering economic
opportunities through various investment funds of other people who wish to support
the various causes, ensuring student commitment so you can get the best results
during your international student experience.
● Financial education teaching programs in poorer communities or with less resources
to older people who are in charge of offering the best alternatives for effective cash
management
The foregoing can also be carried out by the secretaries of public education of the various
countries in which the project will be carried out.

References

Tabbaco not only impacts health but also the environment. (2017). E. El tiempo. Retrieved
from:
https://www.eltiempo.com/vida/medio-ambiente/impactos-del-tabaco-en-el-medio-ambiente-
93866

HSBC. ​https://www.hsbc.com/our-approach/building-a-sustainable-future