Starbucks Coffee Company
Global CSR Supply-Chain Program
Over the past several years, an oversupply of low-grade coffee
severely suppressed world market prices, making it difficult
for farmers of even the highest quality to cover their cost
of production. Starbucks
Coffee Company recognized that the success of farmers
was not only a social responsibility of the corporation but
also a critical component of its own future growth. So the
company devised an integrated approach to relations with its
supply chain, designed to ensure the long-term production
of quality coffee while building mutually beneficial relationships
with the farmers and communities from which it purchased.
Among other aspects, the program features premium prices for
quality grades, access to affordable farm credit, investment
in community development projects, technical field support,
the purchase of Fair Trade and other certified coffees, and
an industry-leading incentive purchasing program known as
C.A.F.E. Practices.
Starbucks asked Jonathan Levine to document the impact
of the program on a cross-section of its supply chain, totaling
11 suppliers in nine countries across Latin America, Africa
and Asia. In addition to objective field assessment
of the program's effectiveness, Jon also provided analysis
from the perspective of its corporate social responsibility
mission. The research served multiple purposes: It evaluated
program impact through credible third-party reporting,
highlighting progress with each of the program components
at the farm level as well as the overall supply chain. It
also identified CSR issues still needing attention to mitigate
possible future risks for both the company and its
suppliers. Finally, the reporting provided a humanizing means
of communicating the company's efforts with
farmers through various formats to multiple stakeholders,
including:
• a series of detailed supplier
reports (sample) to brief management, shareholders, the
press, NGOs and advocacy groups
• a second series of shorter articles
and photos, newsletter
articles, short video
documentaries, hand-outs at coffee tastings and other
tools to educate employees and consumers (videos produced
by Close-Up Productions, an independent production house)
• a series of fact sheets summarizing the social, economic
and environmental status of each supplier for internal use
• presentations for community meetings, employee gatherings
and industry conferences
• case studies and photos for the CSR
annual report and other company documents
• detailed field reports on critical issues for CSR
management
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