Case Studies | Starbucks Coffee Company
The Challenge
Starbucks has set the bar high with an ongoing commitment to ethical and environmental sourcing. As modeled by their coffee practice, Starbucks regularly invests in understanding the complex production landscape behind its products. So before they launched a new line containing cocoa—which is sourced primarily from regions in West Africa that rely on forms of child labor—the company needed to learn more about the potential social and environmental impacts of the production. Lacking direct relationships with suppliers, they reached out to BSR to connect with global stakeholders.
Our Strategy
Identifying a list of 20 to 30 key stakeholders — including suppliers, government agencies and NGOs from around the world—BSR helped Starbucks perform a critical stakeholder relations assessment. BSR facilitated a day-long discussion that illuminated hot-button issues and yielded important suggestions, including investing in rural and community development, providing rewards for adopting eco-friendly farming practices and raising awareness of hazards of child labor.
Impact
Lessons from the engagement influenced a groundbreaking, company-based "Cocoa Code of Conduct," which includes guidelines for the cultivation and processing of cocoa in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner that promotes equitable relationships with farmers, workers and communities. During the first year of the pilot, Starbucks sourced 11 out of 15 million pounds of cocoa beans with full price transparency throughout the supply chain and provided US$400,000 in loans to three cocoa farming cooperatives.
