Starbucks Coffee Company response regarding Starbucks

bottom of ethical rating despite going Fairtrade, Ethical

Consumer Magazine, 18 Feb 2011
4th March 2011
At Starbucks, were the first to admit were 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 dont 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.
Thats why it's particularly disappointing that the authors of this report did not do
their homework. They have ignored Starbucks widely respected and industryleading 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 weve 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 Worlds Most Ethical Companies for the last four years. We are proud of such
recognition, but were prouder of the work weve done to earn them and what we
continue to do every day to make sure we continue to deserve them. Its what
150,000 Starbucks partners, hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers and
millions of Starbucks customers expect us to do. Its what we expect of
ourselves.
If you want more information on what were doing and how were looking to
improve please visit http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility 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

www.eco-connect.org - analyst and consultancy group CleanAnalysiss

Bitter or Sweet report places Starbucks ahead of Caff Nero and Costa,
in both the consumer perception and the environmental reporting leagues
(CleanAnalysis, is part of www.greenbang.com)
2010 Worlds Most Ethical Companies - for the fourth year in a row
Ethisphere Magazine has named Starbucks to the list http://ethisphere.com/wme2010/
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 brandchannel.com.
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)