I.

Summary
The topic revolves around the Food and Beverage industry where the
business is nuanced and there are a lot of problems that need to be solved. One
of them is the massive impact on the environment.
The case study focuses on the responsibilities that FnB companies should
have taken to prevent the negative outcomes of the industry to the environment.
Specifically, the coffee industry has many troubles dealing with the amount of
undisposed trash that is thrown into the environment and used daily.
This analysis relies on two fundamental elements, namely the costs
involved in the CSR activities and their outcomes, which are measured in the
social, environmental, or economic benefits. The study emphasizes on
HighLands Coffee problems and recommends some solutions.
II. Introduction
Problems with the FnB industry nowadays are they have to serve a
massive amount of customers. Companies are dealing with thrown away food,
ingredients, sanitization and most importantly, the unsolved plastic waste.
HighLands Coffee in Vietnam is facing the same situation when consumers are
more conscious about how companies react to environmental factors.
A recent survey by Nielsen Vietnam shows that 80% of Vietnamese
consumers are ready to pay more for clean, green products and those which are
produced with environment-friendly materials. Since “Go green” is now a
supported way of lifestyle. More organizations are encouraged to show
responsibilities to their customers, as well as, the society and the community.
HighLands Coffee has definitely tried to run campaigns in order to
promote the “Green” lifestyle to its customers. However, it is reported that those
campaigns were made just for media and marketing purposes but do not actually
understand the true act of protecting the environment..
III. Findings

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 Carroll first presented his CSR model as a pyramid. In this pyramid,
economic responsibility is the basic foundation. Without the fulfillment of the
basic foundation, the upper category cannot be carried out. In other words,
philanthropic responsibility practices without the successful fulfillment of
economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities will be doubted in terms of their
integrity, thus failing to incur a positive result.
Organizations increasingly use CSR activities to position their corporate
brand in the eyes of consumers and other stakeholders, such as through their
annual reports (Sweeney and Coughlan 2008). Plenty of studies show that there
is a connection between companies perform CSR and customers loyaty.
Therefore, it might be the motivation for companies to be involved in CSR
activities. If it is done right, CSR serves a good purpose, however, some use
CSR as a cover for the marketing and create a good image in front of the media.
After being complained about the unnecessary amount of plastic usage,
HighLands made a move of creating “Go Green” promotions to show their
attention to the environment and customers’ concern, but HighLands Coffee had
contributed to many campaigns which were said to serve only for marketing
purposes.

Source: Highlands Coffee Official

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 The “ Green Arms” campaign encouraged customers to bring their own
cups or personal bottles to receive an upsize for free. It was a short-term success
when HighLand Coffee was approved by many customers as they believed the
company finally showed some attention to the environment. It lasted for a while
when the amount of plastic waste did not decrease and customers realized it was
not enough to improve the situation.
My, 23, an office worker in Phu Nhuan District, recalls an experience
when a coffee shop in the southern metropolis refused to sell her a drink in a
reusable cup she had brought along, insisting instead on using plastic cups
available at the store.
In addition to the “Green Arms” campaign to reduce single-use plastic
products and switching to stainless steel spoons at the store, Highlands Coffee
also uses compostable plastic bags which are made from corn starch for take-
away drinks and delivery orders.
Despite these promotions, they only attracted customers’ attention for a
short period of time when users recognized there was not any major change in
the plastic-abuse behavior from the brand. One take-way cup contains 5
different pieces of plastic: Cup, Cup holder, Straw, Straw wrapping, Plastic tote
carrier, and if the drink is ordered to be shipped, there will be an additional
plastic bag to prevent spilling.
It is said in one of HighLands Coffee’s campaigns that the company
changed its Plastic bags into compostable bags made from cornstarch, however,
other parts are still made from plastic and it does not make much difference.
Therefore, it raises questions among customers, whether HighLands Coffee is
serious in the act of preventing plastic waste or it is just a false act to lure the
media and the customers.

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 HighLands Coffee also had a campaign that encouraged customers to act
toward Green life. After 30 days performing a chain of challenges and earning
points, consumers will be given a special bottle as a reward.

Source: HighLands Coffee Official

According to some customers' feedback, they were not able to exchange
the gifts even though they had earned enough points at any store among the
whole cafe chain. This was the missing part of HighLands Coffee’s management
and customer service activities when they slipped out a lot of consumers’
reflections.
Moreover, consumers, who are sensitive about environmental problems,
gave out negative reviews about employees’ behaviors or the shop policies
about using plastic cups. Many customers had an unpleasant experience with
HighLands Coffee when they noticed the employees failed to use other products
besides plastic cups. Customers had raised questions why HighLands did not use
ceramic cups or glass for in-store guests but kept on serving plastic cups.

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 HighLands Coffee is abusing the act of showing “CSR responsibilities” in
front of social media but not actually understanding and implying it into the
business process.
IV. Discussion
As mentioned, HighLands Coffee is causing controversy for using CSR
activities as a shield for what is lying under - profit. With plenty of campaigns
and promotions aim to support the green lifestyle.
The problems with the brands is that, even though there was a certain
amount of support from customers, the promise of reducing plastic waste was
still on-hold. To solve the problems, HighLands Coffee can consider investing
in a better choice of alternatives for plastic gadgets and rebuilding employee
training systems. The most important factor starts from the company itself as it
is essential to fully understand the implication of CSR activities is necessary and
needs to be done properly.
1. Alternatives
HighLands Coffee needs to offer incentives for customers to bring their
own cups. One of the options is to offer a small discount to those who bring
their own mug; prize draws are also another way to help drive this change. The
brand had run this campaign once, however, the outcome was not very
promising due to the lack of training from the staff members.
This option should be carefully reconsidered and applied on to the cafe
chain again. Both consumers and the suppliers need to wean themselves off
relying on plastic cups. It is the matter of time for both the company and
customers having a sense of familiarity with the appearance and application of
personal or reusable bottles.
Another option is to change into different materials. This will fully
change the whole supply chain and customers’ perspective, however, this option

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will lead to a massive amount of investment in order to create a difference
throughout its stores.
2. Employee training systems
HighLands Coffee is having problems with the staff members as they
receive negative reviews about attitudes, as well as, service.
It is reported that many customers are dissatisfied with employees’
attitude when they were asked about the usage of plastic cups. Some reflect that
the employees lack experience on handling guests’ personal bottles and still
have to use plastic cups as measurement. Therefore make no change in the effort
of cutting down plastic waste.
Another problem is in-shop customers are refused to have other choices
besides plastic cups. Only hot drinks are served in ceramic cups in a limited
amount. The reason for this is HighLands Coffee is understaffed and unable to
provide enough cups for customers. Many people think
V. Conclusion
The study emphasizes on the amount of plastic waste that is thrown into
the environment, especially the FnB industry and how companies carry out
solutions to solve this crisis. Moreover, it also mentions the abuse of CSR
activities in some organizations so that they can gain profits on behalf of
environmental acts. HighLands Coffee is taking advantage of CSR activities as
the cover for its lack of responsibility. There is a huge amount of plastic waste
that is dumped into the environment daily and the FnB industry plays a big part
of it.
Many solutions were proposed from finding alternatives products to
changing the organization mindset about the true purposes and true meaning of
protecting the environment and the way of applying CSR onto business’s
operation.
VI. Recommendations

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 HighLands Coffee should consider to perform a combination between
lowering the amount of plastic usage and slowly changing into alternative
products like paper straws or bamboo cups which are more environmentally
friendly. This is a risky move but a claim for the community about HighLands
Coffee pays attention and actually, makes a move to head for a greener business.
There was a successful startup project in 2019 called “AYA Cup - lending
cup network for take-outs” by founder Le Thuy Linh. Her idea was accepted and
supported by coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh city.
Normally, customers who buy take-away drinks have no choice but to use
plastic cups. The project allows buyers to lend cups made from sugarcane or
bamboo with an affordable price and there is no additional fee for the customers.
This kind of project has been launched in other developed countries like
Germany and she brought this idea back to Vietnam.
HighLands Coffee should bring out more choices of cups for customers,
as well as create a training system for the staff to adapt with various orders.
Compared to the option of changing the whole chain of products, creating a right
mindset and a green way of thinking is more economical. The purpose is to
bring out a long-term result for the company when more and more people are
getting conscious about what they consume.
VII. References
1. Bianco, G. B. (2020). Climate change adaptation, coffee, and corporate
social responsibility: challenges and opportunities. International Journal
of Corporate Social Responsibility
2. Carroll (1991), A.B. The pyramid of corporate social responsibility:
Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Bus.
Horiz. 1991, 34, 39–48.

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3. Cha, J. B., & Jo, M. N. (2019). The effect of the corporate social
responsibility of franchise coffee shops on corporate image and
behavioral intention. Sustainability, 11(23), 6849.
4. Klemeš, J. J., & Van Fan, Y. (2020). Plastic Replacements: Win or Loss?.
In 2020 5th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable
Technologies (SpliTech)
5. Thi Cam Tu MAI. et al, (2022). Impacts of Corporate Social
Responsibility and Authenticity on Brand Loyalty: Evidence from the
Chain Coffee Shop Industry in Vietnam. The Journal of Asian Finance,
Economics and Business
6. Tran, T. T. H., & Kauma, C. (2020). The importance of CSR in
developing the reputation of coffee shop companies in Vietnam.
7. Vuong, Q. H. Et al, (2021). Identifying the moral–practical gaps in
corporate social responsibility missions of Vietnamese firms: An event‐
based analysis of sustainability feasibility. Corporate Social
Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(1), 30-41.