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FIJI WATER AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY — GREEN MAKEOVER OR “GREENWASHING”?1

James McMaster and Jan Nowak wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmission without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail cases@ivey.uwo.ca. Copyright © 2009, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation Version: 2011-09-21

“Bottled water is a disaster, for several reasons. First there’s the issue of the sustainability of underground aquifers, from where much of the bottled water is drawn. And then there’s the carbon footprint. Water is heavy, and transporting it around the world uses a lot of energy.” Jeff Angel, Total Environment Centre, Sydney, Australia2 “We survived before we had water in bottles. It is unnecessary. When you see water imported from Fiji in plastic bottles, you know it’s bad for the environment all round.” Lee Rhiannon, Australia’s Greens MP3 “I think the world is slowly going insane. No thanks but I prefer water in bottles, that way you know it’s clean and you know, healthy. Not a sacrifice people should make when plastic bags are still rampant. Those Greens are extremists and I don’t see this ‘tap water alternative’ ever being viable.” Anthony L, N.S.W.4 “Consumers who choose