Starbucks prides itself on being a very green company. Their ESG Disclosure score, which is set to measure the sustainability and ethical impacts of an investment within a company, is 32.06 (Glucksman, 2017). When compared to the industry average of 13.88, Starbucks is way ahead of their competition (Glucksman, 2017). This high ESG score has a lot to do with their green efforts within the company. First, they have made the use of greener energy a primary goal. Starbucks has reduced water use by 26.5% since 2008 through plumbing and store enhancements (Starbucks, n.d.). They also invest in renewable energy for their stores. Next, Starbucks stores are LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) certified (Starbucks, n.d.). The stores use recycled coffee grounds in the table tops and low-emitting materials for adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, and floorings (Starbucks, n.d.). At the company-level, Starbucks is very sustainable.
Starbucks makes many more sustainable and green efforts at the product level than they do at the company level. The company ethically sources its sustainable products. They have many goals involving the sourcing of their cocoa, coffee, and tea. Starbucks wants their cocoa and tea to be 100% ethically sourced by 2020 (Starbucks, n.d.). As of 2016, around 65% of their tea is ethically sourced (Starbucks, n.d.). Their coffee is currently 99% ethically sourced (Starbucks, n.d.). To make this happen, Starbucks invested over $50 million in their coffee farmers to encourage them to use more sustainable practices (Starbucks, n.d.). They also have a commitment to providing 100 million trees to their coffee farmers by 2025 (Starbucks, n.d.). They invest a substantial amount of money into the World Cocoa Foundation which supports sustainable cocoa farms (Starbucks, n.d.). Related to that, Starbucks also grants money to schools in their tea-producing communities in India (Starbucks, n.d.). Not many companies have the funds or the heart to put this much effort into being sustainable, but Starbucks does.
Starbucks uses a greener cup than most coffee shops, and are always looking for ways to improve upon it. The regular widely used disposable cups are all recyclable, and they've recently created a new lid for the cold cups to void the need for disposable plastic straws (Starbucks, n.d.). While they've always had reusable cups that are usually made out of at least 10% recycled material, those cups tended to be pretty expensive (Starbucks, n.d.). In 2018, a $3 reusable cold cup and $2 reusable hot cup were introduced (Starbucks, n.d.). This has encouraged many of their customers to purchase those and bring them back for 10 cents off their drink rather than get the disposable cups that could potentially hurt the environment. They also use recycled material in their food packaging, but they try to minimize all packaging in general when they can to eliminate waste (Starbucks, n.d.). These efforts are what puts Starbucks ahead of their competition.
Starbucks isn't only socially responsible within products and farming; they also support communities and charities nationwide. With the Opportunity for Youth program, the company has committed to hiring at least 100,000 16-24 year olds that are not currently working or in school by 2020 (Starbucks, n.d.) As of 2018, they hired 50,000 Opportunity for Youth partners (Starbucks, n.d.). They founded the Starbucks foundation in 1997 which funds literacy programs in the US and Canada, and continues to provide grants to different communities in need each year ( Starbucks, n.d.). Starbucks has also set a goal to get 100% of their stores to participate in local community service by 2020 (Starbucks, n.d.). The company has hired 17,000 veterans and military spouses since 2013, and has a goal of hiring 25,000 by 2025 (Starbucks, n.d.). They claim to have a non-discrimination policy, and they hire people with disabilities, people of color, and individuals of the LGBTQ community everyday (Starbucks, n.d.). Unique to their business, Starbucks has a college achievement plan. Any Starbucks partner has the opportunity to receive 100% tuition coverage for a first time bachelor's degree from Arizona State University's online program (Starbucks, n.d.). Lastly, Starbucks has contributed more than $14 million to RED's fight against AIDs (Starbucks, n.d.). Starbucks gives back to the community like no other company before them.
While Starbucks can now claim they are doing everything in their power to be sustainable and ethical, that hasn't always been the case. In 2008, it was discovered that the company had a "running tap policy" to clean utensils in their dipper-well sinks (Balakrishnan, 2008). The faucets of these sinks would run for the entire work day. All stores are open for at least 13 hours, but some are even 24 hours (Balakrishnan, 2008). Starbucks said that this policy was to prevent germs from breeding within the faucet, but many experts stated that with proper sanitation, that should not have been a worry for the company (Balakrishnan, 2008). An estimated 23.4 million liters of water went down the drain each day across 10,000+ stores (Balakrishnan, 2008). This amount of water could serve as a days' drinking water for the entire population of Namibia in Africa (Balakrishnan, 2008). However, after this information was made public, Starbucks has since replaced their dipper-well taps with low-use faucets to reduce the water waste (Starbucks, n.d.). As said earlier, water use has decreased by 26.5% since 2008 due to these new faucets (Starbucks, n.d.). This water waste scandal was big news, but Starbucks used their power to save themselves.
Starbucks uses a greener cup than most coffee shops, and are always looking for ways to improve upon it. The regular widely used disposable cups are all recyclable, and they've recently created a new lid for the cold cups to void the need for disposable plastic straws (Starbucks, n.d.). While they've always had reusable cups that are usually made out of at least 10% recycled material, those cups tended to be pretty expensive (Starbucks, n.d.). In 2018, a $3 reusable cold cup and $2 reusable hot cup were introduced (Starbucks, n.d.). This has encouraged many of their customers to purchase those and bring them back for 10 cents off their drink rather than get the disposable cups that could potentially hurt the environment. They also use recycled material in their food packaging, but they try to minimize all packaging in general when they can to eliminate waste (Starbucks, n.d.). These efforts are what puts Starbucks ahead of their competition.
Starbucks isn't only socially responsible within products and farming; they also support communities and charities nationwide. With the Opportunity for Youth program, the company has committed to hiring at least 100,000 16-24 year olds that are not currently working or in school by 2020 (Starbucks, n.d.) As of 2018, they hired 50,000 Opportunity for Youth partners (Starbucks, n.d.). They founded the Starbucks foundation in 1997 which funds literacy programs in the US and Canada, and continues to provide grants to different communities in need each year ( Starbucks, n.d.). Starbucks has also set a goal to get 100% of their stores to participate in local community service by 2020 (Starbucks, n.d.). The company has hired 17,000 veterans and military spouses since 2013, and has a goal of hiring 25,000 by 2025 (Starbucks, n.d.). They claim to have a non-discrimination policy, and they hire people with disabilities, people of color, and individuals of the LGBTQ community everyday (Starbucks, n.d.). Unique to their business, Starbucks has a college achievement plan. Any Starbucks partner has the opportunity to receive 100% tuition coverage for a first time bachelor's degree from Arizona State University's online program (Starbucks, n.d.). Lastly, Starbucks has contributed more than $14 million to RED's fight against AIDs (Starbucks, n.d.). Starbucks gives back to the community like no other company before them.
While Starbucks can now claim they are doing everything in their power to be sustainable and ethical, that hasn't always been the case. In 2008, it was discovered that the company had a "running tap policy" to clean utensils in their dipper-well sinks (Balakrishnan, 2008). The faucets of these sinks would run for the entire work day. All stores are open for at least 13 hours, but some are even 24 hours (Balakrishnan, 2008). Starbucks said that this policy was to prevent germs from breeding within the faucet, but many experts stated that with proper sanitation, that should not have been a worry for the company (Balakrishnan, 2008). An estimated 23.4 million liters of water went down the drain each day across 10,000+ stores (Balakrishnan, 2008). This amount of water could serve as a days' drinking water for the entire population of Namibia in Africa (Balakrishnan, 2008). However, after this information was made public, Starbucks has since replaced their dipper-well taps with low-use faucets to reduce the water waste (Starbucks, n.d.). As said earlier, water use has decreased by 26.5% since 2008 due to these new faucets (Starbucks, n.d.). This water waste scandal was big news, but Starbucks used their power to save themselves.
Works Cited
Balakrishnan, A. (2008, October 6). Starbucks wastes millions of litres of water a day. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/oct/06/water.drought.
Glucksman, D. (2017, September 12). Starbucks Corporation. Retrieved from https://smf.business.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/818/2017/11/SBUX.pdf.
Starbucks. (n.d.). What is the role and responsibility of a for-profit, public company?. Retrieved from https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility.
Comments
Post a Comment