BM_IMD_REPORT-How-Authentic-is-your-Corporate-Purpose

- Is the organization aware of the impact it has on its stakeholders?
- Is the organization aware of why it does the things it does?
- Is the organization aware of what drives or motivates its actions?
- Is the organization aware of what it finds truly important?
Case story: Tetra Pak
Established in 1952 in Lund Sweden by Ruben Rausing, Tetra Pak, the world leader in liquid food
processing and packaging, is part of the privately held Tetra Laval group. In December 2013, Tetra
Pak operated in more than 170 countries around the globe, employing almost 23,500 people. Its
customers come from different parts of the food industry, such as the dairy, cheese, ice cream,
beverage and prepared food sectors. Tetra Pak’s stated mission is to “make food safe and available,
everywhere.” The company translates its purpose at the organizational level through its core values,
to reinforce its culture. Its core values consist of four pairs:
Customer focus & long-term view
Quality & innovation
Freedom & responsibility
Partnership & fun
Tetra Pak sees its purpose as making food available, affordable and attainable across different
geographies and aspects of society. This is the underlying reason for its involvement for 50 years in
school milk and feeding programs around the world through its Food for Development Office (FfDO).
The company has partnered with governments, development agencies, NGOs, local dairies and
farmers. For example, FfDO delivered milk and other nutritious drinks to 64 million schoolchildren in
2013.
Tetra Pak also has an underlying unstated purpose, which results from a statement by its founder
that the package should save more than it costs, i.e. the resources Tetra Pak uses to manufacture its
products should be less than what is saved from the products’ use. This has resulted in a strong
focus on environmental impact. This is deeply internalized in the organization, driving decisionmaking
processes, strategy and innovation. The company uses a balanced scorecard approach – for
example – to ensure that its HR practices reflect environmental performance targets, with specific
goals integral to the reward system.
In 2010, a 10-year business strategy was launched: Strategy 2020. One of the four strategic priorities
articulated was the driving of environmental excellence. Tetra Pak made a number of commitments
to deliver on goals even where there was a great deal of uncertainty, for example, greenhouse
commitments that had not yet been finalized at the international level. The leadership team
endorsed a strong company-wide conviction that even if the path was not very well defined, the
ultimate defined goals and underlying ambition behind them were correct. This top-level support
and the resulting articulation of environment as a strategic priority was a key enabler.
The role of the Tetra Pak founder continues to have a strong influence on the authenticity of the
company’s purpose and drives its long-term perspective. This longer-term perspective has lent Tetra
Pak a great deal of stability and guided its relationships with its external stakeholders, such as its
suppliers. As a director at Tetra Pak commented:
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