Ones to watch: Starbucks

We love its style and its fancy coffee, today we talk and analyze Starbucks, a god of matinee commuters and hipsters, of profits and CSR. Would Steiner have agreed with its corporate aims? Would he have liked their coffee?!?

Founded in 1971, Starbucks started its climbing of Olympus in 1987 thanks to Howard Schultz, it is now a coffe empire with more than 23.000 shops around the world.
After the expansion period, the goal for 2000s was to architect a new approach to ethics, one path was to ensure long-term supply of high quality coffee for customers, the other was to positively impact lives of coffee farmers and their communities. Schultz constructed a holistic model that could include more objectives in order to address effectively efforts and resources.

In 2004, Starbucks launched Coffee and Farmer Equity, C.A.F.E., it is one of first attempt od the coffee industry of comprehensive sustainability standards. Since the first year proclaimed the program a success, Starbucks purchased 43 million pounds of green coffee which is 14.5% of total green coffee purchases. For this and because of strong social responsibility, Schultz decided to make the program open source encouraging others in the industry to join this initiative.
C.A.F.E. Practices has a positive impact on millions of workers, and improved the long-term environmental and social conditions on thousands of participating farms around the world.

As the good example of social business, Starbucks understands the importance of communities well-being. Granting secured loans to farmers helps manage risks and strengthen businesses. For sure, this involvement and care of economic status of farmers produces double-faced benefits, as the stability of coffee communities impacts farmers and their ability both to be productive and to raise sustainable crops. From $150,000 of value of loans in 2000, the program loaned up to $12 million in 2014 to farmers, therefore increasing the benefits for both parties.
Moreover, in order to enrich the pool dedicated to CSR investment, in 2014, by funding through sales of Ethos Water brand, Starbucks is able to support critical infrastructure improvements and agricultural diversification projects in many developing countries, like Tanzania and the project to make accessible clean water, sanitation facilities, and renewable energy.

Great importance in the ethics program is given to environment. Addressing climate change is the key to be competitive while ethical, it makes the world better. Minimizing environmental footprint and creating sustainable franchising is the main approach to green retail. This means building more energy efficient stores and facilities, conserving energy and water, investing in renewable energy,and exploring new solutions for recycling.

However, the jewel of CSR of Starbucks is the focus on people, on its employees. First of all, they are partners, and since names are important, it is fundamental to notice that partners is different form coffee operator of bartender. The success of Starbucks is double-linked to the performance of its partners. In order to attract people that share Starbucks vision, the wage is fair, benefits provided and many activities to enrich human capabilities. Thanks to Starbucks College Achievement Plan in 2014, an innovative education benefit to help Starbucks partners complete their degrees online through Arizona State University. This initiative gives a boost to provided benefits. In order to help society, Starbucks has multi-year strategy to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2018. Moreover, Starbucks Community Stores programme supports local non-profit organisations in their efforts to provide training and education that can eradicate the cycle of poverty for young people. With more than nine stores opened, Starbucks raised over $900,000 toward local non-profit organisations focused on providing opportunities to young people in those communities. The Community Stores model creates a reliable stream of resources for the non-profit organisation, raises awareness of their work, and creates a space for community dialogue and engagement, which is the founding part of social responsibility. Starbucks has the power to get together people and stakeholder in volunteer service helping communities around the world.

For what we understand, Starbucks is the perfect example of social responsibility and social threefolding. For sure, Steiner would have liked the way business is run by Schultz. The ethics that underlines Starbucks reflects what a social business should be and should care of. Employees are treated humanly, considered the essential part of the success of this coffee empire. Suppliers are fostered to improve living conditions and helped to be better and more competitive suppliers. Environment is respected and a valuable asset to the essence of the business; clean water, a stable climate means better coffee crops, meaning better and more coffee, meaning more profits. Communities are helped and sustained thanks to special cooperation with local non-profit organizations.

I am quite sure that Steiner would have been proud of Starbucks, but maybe not a costumer :)

'Til our next meeting,
Eleonora