Ecoholic

So, this week I started working at Starbucks! Which, can I mention, is just amazing because they are such an awesome company.

I had "coffee school" today, which was a workshop where we learned about the "Starbucks Experience" and we learned about everything that the company does with regards to Corporate Social Responsibility.

One of the most amazing things that I learned today about Starbucks was the relationship they have with the farmers who grow their coffee. Starbucks actually goes into countries frequently and works together with farmers to help them develop sustainable growing practices, helping the farmers learn how to grow the finest coffee beans, and then, because of the quality of the beans being produced, pays the farmers premium prices for their coffee beans.

What is most remarkable though, is the way which Starbucks will help out the farmers if there is a time of need. We watched a video today about a farm that was struck by a catastrophic natural disaster, and so, within 24 hours Starbucks has freed up one million dollars within the company in order to help the farmers rebuild. Just when they thought they had lost everything, Starbucks, came and went to the farms and helped the farmers get back on their feet.

I love starbucks mission statement, and I love starbucks. They want to be the largest purveyor of fine coffee, with unprecedented quality, and they are doing it without screwing anyone. They are doing it while ensuring that their partners are all valued, and that their farmers are not exploited.

Which brings me to the title of this post: Ecoholic.

Ecoholic is a book I bought recently, and so far I've really enjoyed it. Essentially, it's a consumer's manifesto, a good handbook for anyone who is looking to lessen their environmental impact, providing alternatives to modern products used daily which generally avoid the cancer-causing earth-destroying poisons and chemicals.

Now I say, so far I've enjoyed it, however, I feel that Adria Vasil has overlooked some key principles when discussing Starbucks.

On page 99: "NGOs have been pressuring major coffee companies to start selling fair-trade coffee for years now, saying the industry is making mountains off the backs of underpaid farm workers. Starbucks gave in (somewhat) and started selling fair trade coffee in 2002, and these beans now account for 1.6% of its sales (about 2.2 million kilograms). Starbucks also buys about 30% of its coffee direct from farmers, giving growers a bigger slice of the pie by cutting out the middleman. Fair- trade activists want to see that number cimb, and they also want to see the coffee shop start brewing pots of fair-trade java more than just once a month. FYI, three of the Starbucks I stopped in didn't even have fair trade beans on shelves."

I have problems with this statement for a number of reasons:

Starbucks did not give in to anything. The guiding principles of the mission statement, help Starbucks measure the appropriateness of their decisions, and selling fair trade and fairly traded coffee and refusing to be a part of exploitation is the core of the Starbucks culture. Many people seem to recognize Starbucks as another "greenwashed" corporation, however, the goal is to become the "premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow," and this includes treating each other with respect and dignity, as well as considering the environment and communities in decision-making

By extension this obviously includes the farmers, and as is illustrated in the Corporate Social Responsibility report, Starbucks takes their mission statement very seriously.

Vasil also fails to mention the ways in which Starbucks gives back to the communities, such as through the sale of Ethos water, in which 10cents from the sale of every bottle goes towards sustainable water programs around the world. Starbucks has set a goal of donating $10 million by 2010 toward helping children around the world get clean water and raise awareness of the world water crisis.

There's still more that Vasil conveniently ignored: Starbucks uses 20% renewable energy (although, why not bullfrog power??) and their cups are made from 10% (or something like that) of post-consumer material.

Of course, the best choice is to not consume coffee at all considering the fossil fuels etc, but Vasil definitely gives a biased and minimally researched account of the efforts that Starbucks makes. What Vasil should note, is that not only does Starbucks have such a wonderful mission statement, but, unlike many other companies, they are constantly revisiting the mission statement in order to ensure that in being a profitable company, they do not lose sight of the goals, ethics and responsibilities that they have set before them... The mission statement ensures that we don't lose sight of our resposibility as global citizens, while at the same time acknowledging that profitability is undeniably key to everyone's success.

Not to mention that Starbucks has an Environmental Mission Statement too which should have distinguished the company to Vasil as an obvious choice for the consumption of fine coffee which is fairly traded, if not all Fair Trade Certified... that would also be another middleman... woe is me

A quick look at a Starbucks Timeline will clearly show the company's swift expansion, along with their community contributions... i am quite dissapointed indeed.