Nike & Coke Coming Clean & Investing in Start-Ups & Sustainable Projects

Nike is taking a page from
Silicon Valley’s playbook in an effort to cut production costs and foster a new
generation of green-technology businesses by setting up a venture-capital
offshoot called the Sustainable Business & Innovation Lab to back start-ups
focused on alternative energies and more efficient approaches to manufacturing.
Meanwhile, the Coca-Cola Foundation recently awarded US$9.6 million in grant
awards to more than 40 global community organizations during the third quarter
of 2011, covering a wide-range of sustainable community programs across the
globe to help develop economies, improve lives and create opportunity.

By Olga Kharif and Matt Townsend
in Bloomberg Technology News (28 September 2011):

Nike Inc., the world’s biggest
sneaker company, is taking a page from Silicon Valley’s playbook in an effort
to cut production costs and foster a new generation of green-technology
businesses.

The company is setting up a
venture-capital offshoot called the Sustainable Business & Innovation Lab
to back startups focused on alternative energies and more efficient approaches
to manufacturing. The lab also will seek out companies that promote healthy
lifestyles, according to a description on Nike’s site.

Nike is counting on innovation to
help it cope with the economic slump and supply constraints. The Nike Free, a
lightweight running shoe, helped boost sales 18 percent to $6.08 billion last
quarter, topping analysts’ estimates. The company also has sought ways to lower
expenses amid rising costs for raw materials, labor and transportation.

More companies are working on
these kinds of projects, said John Taylor, head of research for the National
Venture Capital Association in Arlington, Virginia. In the past, it was mainly
technology and pharmaceutical businesses starting venture arms, he said. With
research budgets getting cut, a wider range of companies are now looking to
startups to help them maintain their innovation.

“We are seeing consumer companies
looking at venture capital,” he said. “They feel there’s an opportunity to look
for fresh ideas.”

Early Stages

Nike declined to say how much
money it will devote to the project. The effort is in its early stages and
hasn’t made investments, which would need to be approved by management, said
Mary Remuzzi, a spokeswoman for the Beaverton, Oregon-based company.
“Leveraging innovation in sustainability can be a vehicle for growth,” she said
in an e-mail.

The risk is betting on companies
that don’t pan out. In 30 percent to 40 percent of cases, investors lose most
or all the money they put into startups, according to Shikhar Ghosh, a
professor at Harvard Business School. Seventy to 80 percent of the time,
investors don’t get their projected rate of return.

Nike’s lab will primarily make equity
investments in young companies focused on alternative energies. It will also
finance partnerships with government and nongovernment organizations, according
to the company’s website.

By pursuing new sources of energy
and sustainable production, Nike may be able to make its products more cheaply.
It also helps the company appeal to environmentally minded customers,
furthering an effort already under way. Last year, Nike introduced soccer
uniforms that use recycled polyester made from plastic bottles.

Online Exchange

In 2009, Nike helped start an
Internet project with Best Buy Co. called GreenXchange that promotes
sustainability. The idea is to let patent owners collaborate online to find
more eco-friendly ways of doing business.

Nike has tapped venture-capital
and private-equity managers to run the new operation, including Avi Sahi, who
was hired last December after working at the buyout firm Perseus LLC. John
Hull, a long-time venture capitalist, also is working as a partner. He
previously served as managing director at Marquam Hill Capital LLC and Intel
Corp.’s venture arm, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Nike is considering adding more
staff to the effort, including a principal to evaluate investment opportunities
and conduct exploratory research, according to its website.

The company isn’t the only
sneaker maker pursuing venture- capital investments. Adidas AG has backed Hydra
Ventures, a fund started this year to focus on creating new consumer brands in
apparel, footwear and sports-related areas.

The rivals are following in the
footsteps of technology giants such as Intel. Its venture-capital division,
Intel Capital, has invested more than $9.8 billion in more than 1,100 companies
since 1991.

Kharif is a reporter for
Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek in Portland, Ore. Townsend is a
reporter for Bloomberg News.

Source: www.businessweek.com

 

The Coca-Cola Foundation Invests
$9.6 Million To Fortify Global Sustainability Efforts

By Business Wire (21 September
2011):

The Coca-Cola Foundation, the
philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, recently awarded $9.6 million in
grant awards to more than 40 global community organizations during the third
quarter of 2011. Of the $9.6 million awarded, $3.6 million will support water
stewardship projects; $1.8 million will support educational initiatives; and
$1.3 million will support fitness and nutrition programs. Additionally, $1.3
million will support other local priorities, such as recycling, youth
development, arts and culture, and civic initiatives.

”The Coca-Cola Company is doing
its part to help communities thrive,” said Ingrid Saunders Jones, Chairperson
of The Coca-Cola Foundation. “We are supporting a wide-range of sustainable
community programs across the globe to help develop economies, improve lives
and create opportunity.”

Those global organizations
receiving funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation during the 3 rd quarter of 2011
include:

Water Stewardship

Cambodian Women for Peace and
Development, “Communities Clean Water Supply and Sanitation,” Cambodia, $45,000

CARE USA, “Rapid Glacier Retreat
in the Tropical Andes,” United States, $70,000

Nature Conservancy, “North
American Partnership,” The United States, $200,000

Research Center for Family Health
& Community Development, “Clean Water for Communities,” Vietnam, $70,000

Tree Utah, “Ecological
Restoration Program: Jordan River Watershed,” United States, $20,000

Umweltorganisation WWF
International Danube-Carpathian Programme, “Wetland Restoration in the
Danube-Drava-Mura Area,” Austria, $90,000

United Nations Foundation,
“Community-based Water Management and Adaptation to Climate Change Project,”
United States, $2 million

World Wildlife Fund, Inc.,
“Community and Ecosystem Resilience to Climate Change,” United States, $600,000

World Wildlife Fund, Inc.,
“Restoration of Monday River in Parana Watershed,” United States, $60,000

WWF Spain (Adena), “Restoring
Alto Guardiana,” Spain, $441,000

Education

Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.,
“Apollo Theater Academy,” United States, $200,000

Asian and Pacific Islander
American Scholarship Fund, “Coca-Cola First Generation College Scholarship
Program,” United States, $100,000

China Youth Development
Foundation, “Project Hope Teacher Training Program,” China, $50,000

National Urban Fellows, Inc.,
“Public Service Leadership Development and Diversity Program,” United States,
$50,000

Philippine Business for Social
Progress, “Little Red School House,” Philippines, $200,000

Save the Children Honduras,
“Building Communication and Capacity Opportunity for the Prevention of Child
Labor in Sugar Cane Farms,” Honduras, $100,000

United States Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce Foundation, “BizFest-Youth Entrepreneurship Training and Competition,”
United States, $25,000

University of San Francisco,
“Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship Program,” United States, $500,000
multi-year grant

Urban League of Greater Atlanta,
Inc., “Think UP! Unlimited Possibilities: The Career Life Empowerment Program,”
United States, $50,000

Active Healthy Living

Gameday Healthy Kids Foundation,
“The Gameday/Coca-Cola Live Positively Initiative,” United States, $50,000

ISB vzw, “Street Action,”
Belgium, $651,000

Loughborough University
Development Trust, “Sporting Performance and Promotion of Physical Activity,”
United Kingdom, $464,000

Marcus Jewish Community Center of
Atlanta, Inc., “Health and Wellness Programming for People of all Abilities,”
United States, $50,000

Palestine Association for
Children’s Encouragement of Sports, “Using Sports to Promote a Healthy Future,”
United Kingdom, $50,000

Special Olympics Israel, “Sport
Competition for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities,” Israel, $50,000

Special Olympics Ukraine, “2011
Special Olympics European Basketball Week in Ukraine,” Ukraine, $20,000

Recycling

Keep America Beautiful, Inc.,
“Collegiate Recycling Bin Grant,” United States, $150,000

Ukrainian Society for the
Protection of Birds, “Fresh WATER (Wise Approach to Environment Resources),”
Ukraine, $60,000

Disaster Relief

American National Red Cross,
“Disaster Relief for New York,” United States, $25,000

United Way of Vermont, “Statewide
Disaster Relief,“ United States, $25,000

HIV/AIDS

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation:
Africare, United States, “The Injongo Yethu Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Services
Project,” $1 million

Chinese Foundation for the
Prevention of STD & AIDS, “Aid Project for AIDS Affected Vulnerable
Groups,” China, $200,000

Youth Development

JA Worldwide, “INJAZ – Coca-Cola
Civic Engagement Initiative,” United States, $500,000

Maynard Jackson Youth Foundation,
“Leadership Academy to Serve Metro Atlanta High School Students,” United
States, $50,000

Latin American Association,
“!Inspira! Youth Academic Achievement Initiative,” United States, $25,000

Community/Arts & Culture/
Environment

24/7 Gateway, LLC, “Gateway
Center Homeless Outreach and Services,” United States, $50,000

Hispanic Association on Corporate
Responsibility, “HACR Corporate Executives Forum,” United States, $50,000

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
Inc., “La MaMa Culturehub Educational Initiative,” United States, $100,000

Please Be Kind to Cyclists,
“Victim Relief Effort (Cyclists VIP),” United States, $25,000

Estonian Fund for Nature,
“Regeneration of Mires,” Estonia, $20,000

Fundación Junior Achievement
Ecuador, “Aprender a Emprender en el Medio Ambiente AEMA” (Learn to be an
Entrepreneur in the Environment), Ecuador, $10,000

H. John Heinz III Center for
Science, Economics and the Environment, “Biological Dynamics of Forest
Fragments,” United States, $150,000

Vsemirnyi Fond Prirody,
“Community-Based Polar Bear Conservation in Chukotka,” Russian Federation,
$100,000

Source:  www.thecoca-colacompany.com