Stonyfield: Corporate Social Responsibility

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Table of Contents

Introduction
PLA Cup Decision
Powdered Milk Decision
Gary Hirshberg’s Conclusion
Stonyfield’s Corporate Citizenship
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The Stonyfield deal is one of the contributing factors to the firm’s success. In 2001, the company merged with Danone, the biggest dairy firm globally (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Danone acquired 85% of Stonyfield shares without attaining the same proportion of voting rights (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Gary remained the organization’s chief executive officer, retaining high power in decision-making with 60% of the voting shares (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). The acquisition supplied the initial owners with a suitable withdrawal plan while giving Gary a chance to maintain his control (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). The strategic relationship gave Stonyfield access to information on growth and expansion in the global market.

The company’s differentiation and expansion strategy are responsible for its success. Stonyfield has categorized its product according to sex, age, socio-demographic and psychographic elements (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). The firm has different lines of yogurts like breakfast, dessert, and frozen, among others (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Danone and Stonyfield have expanded into the global market through several subsidiaries like Stonyfield Europe, France, and Canada (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Stonyfield Europe increased the firm’s sales by more than 10% in 2005, while France is an attractive market since it has the highest yogurt consumption rate worldwide (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Market segmentation and diversification are crucial to increasing consumer base and loyalty.

The firm’s mission of “healthy food, healthy people, a healthy planet, and a healthy business” is a causal factor in Stonyfield’s accomplishment. The firm produces organic products with no harmful ingredients and healthful options for customers’ well-being (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). The product is biodegradable, enhancing environmental conservation by reducing pollution. The company has initiatives that inform sustainable farming techniques, a clean environment, and the significance of backing family farmers, promoting healthy profits and hence a healthy business.

Stonyfield’s deal, mission, growth, and differentiation strategies have the greatest potential for transferability to other businesses. Other businesses, such as small and medium undertakings, can maximize tactical relationships with larger firms to help them navigate financial turbulence and source knowledge for growth. The companies can adopt growth strategies to venture into newer markets. Other firms can additionally focus on innovation to produce unique commodities to give them an edge over their competitors. Different organizations can develop sustainable mission statements to guide their production, distribution, and operational activities.

PLA Cup Decision

In 2010, Stonyfield shifted from using multipack to plant-based plastic (PLA) cups for packaging its products. The multipack cups are of petroleum-based plastic, an inorganic material. NatureWorks, the company manufacturing the PLA cups, employs corn in its production, provoking other green concerns (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). First, corn is for human consumption, and its usage in manufacturing could result in its scarcity, increasing its price (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Stonyfield chose the cups as NatureWorks utilizes a small proportion of the US corn with negligible impact on demand hence minimal effect on price.

Secondly, farmers can use chemicals to produce inorganic corn, therefore, synthetic cups. The company considers PLA a temporary solution toward sustainable packaging and buys offsets that fund farmers who adhere to sustainable production caliber. Thirdly, PLA is reprocessable and biodegradable, but the available version is not (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Stonyfield established that the production components have a more substantial effect than discarding the finished good. Fourthly, safety concern is a consideration to choosing PLA cups (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). PLA has the state certification, and Stonyfield has a contractual agreement with its PLA distributors to produce sustainable packages.

Powdered Milk Decision

The firm had to decide whether to get milk from large-scale cattle keepers where cows grow under immense pressure and poses an environmental hazard or increase family farmers’ support (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Stonyfield chose to establish initiatives to aid local farmers raise their production and give up on higher profits. However, the US organic milk production is inadequate, necessitating an extensive supply chain (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Stonyfield sources milk from New Zealand and other states and converts it into powder form to ease transportation. Monitoring suppliers from different continents is difficult as there is no guarantee that the production process without forced or underpaid labor. The company only gets its powdered milk from certified farmers and evaluates the product for fitness on delivery (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). Additionally, there is no lactose-free powdered milk, limiting the market reach. The company opts for low-lactose powdered milk and produces lactose-free yogurt using milk from US borders.

Gary Hirshberg’s Conclusion

Gary Hirshberg’s conclusions are hard-earned, practical, positive, and normative lessons on scaling sustainable products that benefit the planet, people, and profits. Stonyfield’s path to sustainability took more than sticking to morals, as the firm had to compromise its quality by using natural instead of organic milk at some point (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). If they had stuck to their hardheaded ways, they would have shut down and not retrace their steps to 100% organic yogurt. Commercial enterprises contribute significantly to environmental pollution and unhealthy eating habits, and only they can revert those negative impacts. The first step to reversing the adverse effects is their recognition and formulation of strategies to solve them in the way Stonyfield addresses organic farming and pollution. Lastly, Stonyfield has been able to get support to develop sustainable farming practices after developing a unique product and mission that guides its course.

Nestle Waters is a division of Nestle, the worldwide recognized beverage company. Nestle ventured into mineral water through the acquisition of various firms and used Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) bottles for packaging. PVC is not compostable and contributes to environmental contamination during and after production (Bulcke et al., 2020). The firm founded Valvert mineral waters, with which it adopted sustainable packaging using Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) products. Valvert started by using 50% recyclable PET (rPET) and achieved 100% rPET in 2019, being the pioneer of using 100% recycled plastic in Europe (Bulcke et al., 2020). The company does not need to produce new bottles as it reprocesses the used bottle, saving energy and promoting a bottle-to-bottle circular production towards the green movement globally.

Starbucks, a global coffee brand, started as a small store in Seattle to provide its residents with the best coffee. The firm offers a unique product as it focuses on whole-bean coffee. The firm’s uniqueness and expansion led to its acquisition by Giornale in 1982 (Azriuddin et al., 2020). The company sources Arabica beans from trusted suppliers such as Ethiopia and Sumatra. However, its expansion shifted the focus from consumers to products to satisfy the growing customer base. The firm faced various hurdles while holding on to its vision of providing quality organic coffee, like coffee spoiling during transit but adopted strategies to overcome them (Azriuddin et al., 2020). The firm compromised its tradition of serving coffee with cream to incorporate skim milk for consumer satisfaction. Currently, the company has an initiative that aims to decrease greenhouse gas discharge and increase water conservation (Azriuddin et al., 2020). Starbucks issues its farmers with climate-resistant coffee trees, helps them restore forests near their plantations, and establishes water replacement initiatives in coffee communities.

Stonyfield’s Corporate Citizenship

Stonyfield’s mission statement incorporates its consumer and the society at large. The firm formulated different programs that promoted the interest of the customers and the family farmers. For instance, the Have-a-Cow initiative created awareness of the association of food with its environment and the importance of promoting farm steading skills and sustainable animal husbandry (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). The company had a farm visitors center for a family farm public show. The company published a book that teaches consumers about the health advantages of organic yogurt. Stonyfield has had numerous programs that fund activities for a safer and greener planet. The organization has formed partnerships with various agencies to compile materials that educate the global populace on climate impact and their role in its reversal (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). The firm has always been at the forefront in the political arena in promoting policies on environmental concerns.

The company’s management has a Mission Action Plan (MAP) scheme that incorporates all of its workforce to attain its sustainability pursuit while promoting its culture. The employees form teams, and each team designs an action strategy with short- and long-term goals and works towards them (The Saylor Foundation, n.d.). There are incentives for achieving the team goals within deadlines. The firm has leadership management where the administrators grow environmental leaders.

Conclusion

Stonyfield’s journey towards sustainability was not without frictions and frustrations. Strategic relationships, differentiation and expansion strategies, and mission are critical elements to the organization’s success. The company considered several factors before adopting powdered milk and PLA cups. Gary’s conclusions are practical and adaptable in a business setting. Stonyfield’s corporate social responsibility has been crucial in establishing its brand and consumer loyalty.

References

Azriuddin, M., Kee, D. M., Hafizzudin, M., Fitri, M., Zakwan, M. A., AlSanousi, D., Kelpia, A., & Kurniawan, O. (2020). Becoming an international brand: A case study of Starbucks. Journal of The Community Development in Asia, 3(1), 33–43.

Bulcke, P., Vionnet, S., Vousvouras, C., & Weder, G. (2020). Nestlé’s corporate water strategy over time: A backward- and forward-looking view. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 36(2-3), 245–257.

The Saylor Foundation. (n.d.). Sustainable business case book: Strategic Mission-Driven Sustainable Business: Stonyfield Yoghurt. The Saylor Foundation.

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