Starbucks Coffee Company response regarding “Starbucks ...



Starbucks Coffee Company response regarding “Starbucks bottom of ethical rating despite going Fairtrade”, Ethical Consumer Magazine, 18 Feb 2011

4th March 2011

At Starbucks, we’re the first to admit we’re not perfect, no company is, and we have never claimed to be. That said, we take our commitment to doing business responsibly seriously and to listening to our customers and critics when they share feedback or ask for information on the challenges we face. In fact, responding to that input and working with people who don’t always agree, who have advice on how to improve our performance, is a fundamental part of my job as the head of Starbucks global responsibility efforts.

That’s why it's particularly disappointing that the authors of this report did not do their homework. They have ignored Starbucks widely respected and industry-leading ethical buying guidelines for our coffee which address issues ranging from worker rights, wages and conditions for coffee farmers, as well as encouraging rigorous environmental standards in coffee production.  The report also ignores the tremendous strides we’ve made in recent years reducing energy and water consumption in our stores, that we are regularly listed as a best company to work for, and that nearly every employee shares in the equity of the company and benefits from the success of our business. 

The report also includes information that is outright inaccurate. Most importantly, we have built a strong relationship with the Ethiopian coffee industry and we ultimately won the lawsuit that had incorrectly sought to bar some of our store partners from receiving tips they earned.

Surveys regularly show our customers, media outlets and NGOs rate us highly for ethical performance above other coffee chains. We were named "most ethical coffee company in Europe" for the last two years and have been listed as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the last four years. We are proud of such recognition, but we’re prouder of the work we’ve done to earn them and what we continue to do every day to make sure we continue to deserve them. It’s what 150,000 Starbucks partners, hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers and millions of Starbucks customers expect us to do. It’s what we expect of ourselves.

If you want more information on what we’re doing and how we’re looking to improve please visit or see the links below for summaries of Starbucks responsibility initiatives from outside organisations.

Ben Packard, vice president global responsibility

Starbucks Coffee Company

Starbucks ethical accolades:

• ‘Most Ethical Company’ in the coffee industry in Europe by the coffee research experts Allegra Strategies

• eco- - analyst and consultancy group CleanAnalysis’s “Bitter or Sweet” report places Starbucks ahead of Caffè Nero and Costa, in both the consumer perception and the environmental reporting leagues (CleanAnalysis, is part of )

• 2010 World’s Most Ethical Companies - for the fourth year in a row Ethisphere Magazine has named Starbucks to the list -

• “100 Best Corporate Citizens List” - Corporate Responsibility Magazine

• Fortune magazine has named Starbucks as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For (1998-2000, 2002-2008), one of the Ten Most Admired Companies in America (2003-2007) and the Most Admired Company in the Food Services category (2001-2005).

• Starbucks was named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine (2000-2007) and by Business Ethics magazine (2000-2007).

• In 2006, Starbucks ranked 10th on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership list and was named among the “10 Most Impactful Global Brands” by .

• In 2002, Starbucks received the “Humanitarian Award” from the Coffee Quality Institute.

• The Starbucks and Conservation International partnership was awarded at the 2002 World Summit Business Awards for Sustainable Development Partnerships by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)

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