Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Biodiversity - Methodology
Biodiversity - Methodology
Biodiversity - Methodology
organizational sizes?
1. Introduction
Imagine sitting down to enjoy your favorite beverage on a hot summer day, be it a cold beer
or a refreshing soft drink, only to find out that its production has contributed to environmental
degradation and harmed biodiversity. Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common in the
beverage sector, which has a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, these
companies are a major contributor to greenhouse water consumption, packaging waste,
renewable energies or sustainable sourcing. However, there is hope for a more sustainable
future, as many companies in the sector are taking steps to improve their environmental
performance and promote sustainability. By addressing biodiversity and sustainability issues,
the beverage sector has the potential to become a leader in environmental stewardship,
demonstrating that it is possible to enjoy our favourite drinks while also protecting the planet.
In this paper, we will explore the complex relationship of the beverage sector with
biodiversity and sustainability issues, examining both the challenges and opportunities facing
the industry (and highlighting best practices and strategies for promoting sustainability in this
crucial sector).
As a basis for our qualitative analysis, we used the reports that companies publish according
to the Biodiversity in Good Company initiative. We intentionally focus on biodiversity reports
because this area is narrower than sustainability in general, which, according to the Triple
Bottom Line, consists of a balance of economic, social and environmental aspects of a
business (Elkington, 2004). This makes the analysis clearer and allows us to draw more
specific conclusions as a result.
The first report analyzed is the Progress report on the leadership declaration of the
„Biodiversity in Good Company” initiative from Neumarkter Lammsbräu. The report covers
the company's activities in 2019/2020. It is written in English and contains 29 pages.
The second report analyzed is Progress report 2021 of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Deutschland GmbH on the Leadership Commitment of the „Biodiversity in Good Company”
Initiative. The reporting period contains the time between 10/2019 – 11/2021. It’s written in
English and contains 12 pages.
Both reports overlap in the reporting period and are small in volume. However, it is important
to note that Coca-Cola published its report for the first time, while for Neumarkter
Lammsbräu this is the third report for the Biodiversity in Good Company Initiative. The
previous two reports covered the periods 03/2017 - 02/2019 and 03/2015 - 02/2017 and can
be found on the initiative page under Reports from previous years/archive.
Coca-Cola explains this situation in its Progress report: „The annual reports and updates
include the most important activities, challenges and ratios but only since 2017, we have
been covering biodiversity projects more explicitly. With the signing of the BIGC Leadership
Commitment we, moreover, commit ourselves to a regular biodiversity reporting. This
document constitutes our first progress report for the period 10/2019–11/2021.“ (CCEP,
2021, p.8)
To evaluate report content, we used categories from the Evaluation Tool according to the
GRI-reporting principles (GRI 101). According to this tool, 10 categories are used for
evaluation: Stakeholder Inclusiveness, Biodiversity Context, Materiality, Completeness,
Accuracy, Balance, Clarity, Comparability, Reliability, Timeliness. For our analysis, we have
focused on only 3 categories, as these are the categories that can answer our research
question: Stakeholder Inclusiveness, Biodiversity Context and Accuracy.
Coca-Cola confirms that for four of the six sustainability areas from its action plan,
biodiversity takes center stage (CCEP, 2021, p.4). In total, biodiversity was mentioned 14
times in the report. Coca-Cola presented all 4 subcategories in the report, where the basic
services subcategory dominates: 7 mentions out of 14. This means that the company
primarily selects projects that protect and preserve habitats for species and maintain genetic
diversity, like the biosphere areas of Rhön, Schwäbische Alb and Thüringer Wald (CCEP,
2021, p.11). Coca-Cola also touches the subcategory provision services on water, promising
to protect water, reduce water consumption, treat wastewater, create water (CCEP, 2021,
p.5). Coca-Cola differs from Neumarkter Lammsbräu in that it also addresses the issue of
regulatory services when it mentions the reduction of our CO2 emissions (CCEP, 2021,
p.5-6).
Both reports touch on biodiversity frequently enough to match the content of the report with
the goal of Biodiversity in Good Company. The content is also diverse, as the reports provide
information on different subcategories. Neumarkter Lammsbräu is dominated by the
subcategory of ecosystem services in general, which can be explained by its active work
with stakeholders (see category 1: Stakeholder Inclusiveness). This gives the company the
opportunity to implement multi-faced projects from different subcategories, from greened
area to the "soil practitioner" trainings for farmers. For its contribution to biodiversity
conservation Neumarkter Lammsbräu received the Blooming Company Award (Neumarkter
Lammsbräu, p.11). This award is given to companies that promote biodiversity and insect
diversity in their outdoor areas.
Coca-Cola, on the other hand, prefers initiatives from the basic service subcategory, which
retain habitat. We can assume this is due to their commitment: “In 2021 the principles for
sustainable agriculture of The Coca-Cola Company (Principles for Sustainable Agriculture -
PSA) were revised. The guidelines protect the conservation of natural habitats, biodiversity
and ecosystems, secure human and workplace rights, support animal health and welfare
and contribute towards the development of prospering communities.” (CCEP, 2021, p.11)
Although the report of Coca-Cola mentions the description of biodiversity goals and existing
information and corresponding measures, it lacks the description of its performance and
long-term biodiversity strategy.
Category 3: Accuracy
In the context of the preceding paragraph, the question arises as to how much of the data is
unsubstantiated. Whether the company has relevant statistics, the report indicates the data
that have been measured or whether the qualitative statements in the report are consistent
with other reported information and other available evidence. That's why our last category is
accuracy.
Regretfully, Coca-Cola did not do well in this category. Despite 9 mentions of various
statistics, almost all of the percentages were not evidence of implemented projects, but
plans for the future. In the report, the company presented only 3 statistics on already
implemented projects (subcategory measurements and statistics). Coca-Cola's completed
plans relate to water conservation and management (CCEP, 2021, p.5), renaturing the old
arm of the Elbe River (CCEP, 2021, p.10), and the initiative to operationalize biodiversity
(CCEP, 2021, p.11-12). The plans concern water again (CCEP, 2021, p.5-10), as well as
reducing the carbon footprint (CCEP, p.6) and enhancing the supply chain (CCEP, 2021,
p.7-8).
To measure the progress towards achieving the goals, Neumarkter Lammsbräu has placed
its company goals in the context of the global development goals (SDGs) and matched them
up with suitable indicators. The company has chosen the following goals: SDG 6 - Clean
Water and Sanitation, SDG 12 - Responsible Comsumption and Production, SDG 15 - Life
on Land (Neumarkter Lammsbräu, 2021, p.19-24). The company has chosen GRI indicators
for this purpose in order to ensure good comparability over subsequent years (Neumarkter
Lammsbräu, 2021, p.19). Thus, Neumarkter Lammsbräu also focused on future plans, but
unlike Coca-Cola, the company presented twice as many statistics on completed projects,
like Neumarkter Lammsbräu's investment helping to protect more than 86,000 hectares of
forest in the Amazon (Neumarkter Lammsbräu, 2021, p.15). In total we found 16 different
statistics and measurements in the report.
Thus, both reports are dominated by the subcategory of plans. Unfortunately, the
measurable part of the implemented projects is much smaller than the subcategory of plans.
The main problem for all biodiversity projects in both reports is the complexity of
measurement. Mainly the reports are dominated by the ideas of SDG and GRI tools, but
unfortunately both of the reports don't show how the data have been estimated, or the
underlying assumptions and techniques used for the estimation.
can be helpful for results!! - good for the conclusion + own/our opinion to this topic
Coca-Cola is new to making reports, the company may have mistakes. Neumarkter
Lammsbräu, on the contrary, is doing it for the third time.
4.Result
5. Discussion
The biodiversity reports of these two companies have their own advantages and
disadvantages.For Neumarkter Lammsbräu report,its strengths mainly include these
aspects,such as,focusing on active stakeholder engagement in every chapter of the
report,focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as part of company policy,and
having provable content with examples, graphics, maps, photos...By contrast,its weakness is
that there is no logical connection between the company and its project.For Coca-Cola
report,its strengths mainly contain two points.In one thing is that the biodiversity of
Coca-Cola is reflected in its values, operation methods and other aspects.In other one is that
Coca-Cola has clear and comprehensive corporate biodiversity management objectives.In
addition,its weaknesses main are that Coca-Cola lack of data support and link to initial data
and the organization can’t provide reliable evidence to support assumptions or complex
calculations.It is noteworthy that Coca-Cola is new to making reports, the company may
have mistakes. Neumarkter Lammsbräu, on the contrary, is doing it for the third time.
Based on the research results and existing literature, there are some recommendations for
improving the biodiversity reports of the two companies.For Neumarkter Lammsbräu report,it
is crucial to improve potentials regarding the biodiversity reporting is that strengthen the
logical connection between the company and its projects.For example,in this part, there are
no suppliers from Brazil and no products containing Brazil nuts. Where are the hops? And
malt? Water use? logistics?(Neumarkter Lammsbräu, 2021, p.15). For Coca-Cola
report,firstly,they could improve the description of data in the report to show the relevant
calculation process (CCEP, 2021, p.7).Through this approach,It will make the report more
persuasive and influential.Secondly,the company could further communicate and cooperate with
professionals and institutions, meanwhile they could cultivate employees' expertise in
biodiversity.Last but not least,the biodiversity report is mainly theoretical, with few
corresponding pictures to supplement or display. For this, if they can add some pictures ,it will
make the report richer and more interesting than now.
6. Conclusion
The question of interest in this paper is what is the status of institutional theory in biodiversity
reporting in the beverage industry at different organizational scales? Qualitative content analysis
was used to analyze the reports of the Coca-Cola report and the Neumarkter Lammsbräu.
These conclusions were obtained: (1) Coca-Cola and Neumarkter Lammsbräu engage
stakeholders in their initiatives, take stakeholders' opinions into account when making and
decisions and, among other things, motivate them to help with the Progress report.(2) Both
reports address biodiversity often enough to match the content of the report with the objectives of
Biodiversity in Good Companies. The content is also diverse, as the reports provide information
on different subcategories. (3) Coca-Cola did not do well in this category and Neumarkter
Lammsbräu also focused on future plans, but unlike Coca-Cola, the company presented twice as
many statistics on completed projects.However ,the limitations of the seminar paper are also
evident, (1) the data collected are highly subjective due to the qualitative research approach.
One researcher can collect data that other researchers consider meaningless and unimportant.
This can lead to inaccurate and unreliable data. (2) This thesis is mainly based on the reports of
these two companies, and lacks the ability to compare the most recent information and other
data.
Future research can also do two more things: first, whether biodiversity reporting is important for
business development. On the one hand, companies need to improve the structure of this report.
On the other hand, economic factors can be added to the report. Secondly, whether sustainability
reporting can be used as one of the criteria to measure the economy. Therefore, subsequent
studies could be based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, or on the
collection of data on the overall biodiversity of the industry according to the specific industry into
which the company enters, as a reflection of the complementary resources of the specific
industry, so that the role of biodiversity for the development of the company can be understood.
Literature
1. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland GmbH. (2022). Kurzbericht
Nachhaltigkeit Coca-Cola Deutschland 2021.
https://www.coca-cola-deutschland.de/content/dam/one/de/de/documents/nachhaltig
keitsberichte/Kurzbericht_Nachhaltigkeit_2021.pdf)
2. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland GmbH. (2021). Progress report 2021 of
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland GmbH on the Leadership Commitment
of the “Biodiversity in Good Company” Initiative.”
https://www.business-and-biodiversity.de/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Die_Initia
tive/Fortschrittsbericht/CCEP_Progress_Report_2019_2021.pdf
3. Coca-Cola Historie von 1886 bis heute | Coca-Cola DE. (n.d.).
https://www.coca-cola-deutschland.de/uber-uns/geschichte
4. Elkington, J. (2004). Enter the Triple Bottom Line.
5. Haines-Young, Roy et.al. (2018). Common International Classification of Ecosystem
Services (CICES) V5.1.
https://cices.eu/content/uploads/sites/8/2018/01/Guidance-V51-01012018.pdf
6. Neumarkter Lammsbräu. (2022). Gemeinwohlbericht 2021. Das Wichtigste im
Überblick.
https://2695425.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/2695425/NL_GW%C3%96-Be
richt2021_Kompakt_web.pdf)
7. Neumarkter Lammsbräu. (2021). Progress report on the leadership declaration of the
'Biodiversity in Good Company' initiative 2019 / 2020.
https://www.business-and-biodiversity.de/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Die_Initia
tive/Fortschrittsbericht/Neumarkter_Lammsbr%C3%A4u_Progress_Report_2019_20
20.pdf
8. Über uns | Neumarkter Lammsbräu. (n.d.). https://www.lammsbraeu.de/ueber-uns
Alex:
what we see in beer brewing?
small start
first Nikolaivorstadt, Haus der Blume