nestle waters reported over $500 million (USD) in earnings (before interest and taxes) in 2008. they made over $9 billion (USD) in sales. sales from the u.s. and canada made up almost half (48%) of that. parent company, nestle, made well over $15 billion (USD) in net earning and $107 billion (USD) in sales. nestle is a swiss company, hence the clarification that dollar amounts have been converted to US dollars. currency amounts mentioned hereafter refer to our regular ol’ washingtons and benjanins.
nestle waters north america has donated $1 million in bottled water to relief efforts in haiti. now, is that a million $1 bottles at a cart stand in new york? because that would be 1 million bottles. or, would it be a million dollars worth of $5 yankee stadium water bottles? because that would be 200,000 bottles. or, are they donating the number of bottles equal to $1 million in production costs, which i’m assuming is cents on the dollar. they are expected to have a 13.2% profit margin in 2010.
pepsico, parent company of aquafina, has also pledged $1 million. this pledge amount is not a product donation. they’ve earmarked half of it for humanitarian partner organizations like the red cross and and other half for long term efforts to support haiti’s infrastructure. so that’s $500K to help with relief work now and $500K to build stuff that won’t be able to be built for well over a year. pepsico reported a net profit of $5.1 billion (after taxes). the company did say that they will provide quaker products, gatorade and water through their bottling partners in the region to help earthquake victims. they didn’t, however, report the extent of this aid.
so my question is, why such a limited response from companies that make food and water? i say this is limited (particularly in the case of water, the most vital source of survival) because they already have supplies in stock and can vary production based on need. so, would it kill them to send as much water as people need, regardless of price, to haiti and pay some folks (who need it) overtime to make up for fulfillment needs? i’m sure i’m oversimplifying what goes on in cpg (consumer packaged goods) companies, but something tells me they have the ability to take one for the team and get these people food and water, even if they end up taking a hit financially.
coca-cola has donated water and beverages for immediate relief and $1 million in aid. i guess this is where it becomes a pr issue. in coca-cola’s relief strategy it seems they are offering unlimited immediate assistance to victims. the other major beverage companies seem to be offering specific amounts up to a certain amount (nestle’s $1 mil in bottled water) or an undetermined amount, in the case of pepsico, that doesn’t explicitly say they will do whatever it takes to get people water. you can check the websites of all 3 companies for updates on their progress in the effort.
money raised through the red cross text messaging campaign reached $10 million on 1/15. how quickly that money will get to haiti depends on your cellular service provider. nevertheless, regular people donated that much money in $10 increments in just 3 days. i think that’s amazing and wonderful. and if regular people can donate that much money, i can’t help but to wonder what fortune 500 companies can offer. i encourage people to donate through their companies which usually match dollar for dollar. this way you’ll double your donation. it won’t go through immediately, but nothing ever does.
and now that i’ve eliminated any chance i had at getting myself a job at nestle or pepsico, i’ll go ahead and critique the “little guy”.
while i understand the desire to help, i think that people are not being realistic about how useful their efforts will be. organizing donation drives, hauling cartons of water and canned foods makes us feel like we are really doing something. but it’s not the most efficient way of getting help to haiti. imagine 5,000 separate bulk packages being sent to haiti from all over the united states. then think about the lack of infrastructure and coordination that exists. how will all of these separate shipments be organized once they leave the u.s.? dispensing water through purification equipment or companies that presumably already have water supplies and means of distribution through strategically located centers (see above), can provide water to haiti in a more efficient and cost effective way.
these individual shipments will be more helpful once the big relief rush slows down and people settle into a daily routine. that’s when people will need food and clothes from us… when they actually have a place to put it. and let’s not forget that money donated to humanitarian organizations doesn’t necessarily go to the tragedy that you want it to. red cross money isn’t released immediately. and sometimes the money is held back.
i’m not saying that people shouldn’t give at all. if nothing else, the outpouring of money encouraged the government and corporations to step up. but when tragedy hits, it bothers me that we think nothing will happen if we don’t give money. as if the speed of relief is tied to the amount given.
i’ll attempt to make an analogy here. if i make shoes and you will die if you take 10 more steps, i’m going to give you whatever shoes i have in my little shop or make you new shoes. i’m not going to ask someone else to bring shoes or raise money to get more material for shoes. i won’t be worried about being reimbursed or a tax write-off. i’m just going to give you what i have, because i have the ability to do so, it’s my specialty and, more than anything else, it’s the right thing to do.
and now a word from stevie…