Corporate social responsibility projects aren't just things you do to be nice, but things you invest in because they are crucial to your long-term business interests, Coca-Cola Chairman Neville Isdel told a recent seminar in Tokyo.
"They are nice things to do, but if that is the only reason that we're doing them, they would be cut out of the budget when the business is tight," Isdel said. "If we're only doing them because they are nice, they should be cut in the first place."
Speaking at a Keizai Koho Center- organized event on Aug. 27 on "The 21st century corporation: a new model for a true sustainable growth," Isdel said businesses back efforts to support the sustainability of the communities they serve "because they are essential to the future of our business and to our ability to earn a profit in the 21st century."