Starbucks 100% ready to meet green promises

Starbucks has announced 13 measurable goals, to be achieved by 2015, as part of its Shared Planet commitment initiative.

As part of this pledge, 100% of the speciality roaster and retailer's coffee will be responsibly grown and ethically traded; 100% of Starbucks cups will be reusable or recyclable; the company will significantly reduce its environmental footprint through energy and water conservation, recycling and green construction; and contribute one million community service hours per year.

"Starbucks Shared Planet is not just about how important it is to us that we're a socially responsible company, it's to reaffirm Starbucks leadership in the retail and coffee industries and the communities in which we are operating," said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO, Starbucks Coffee Company.

"While these goals are aspirational, we have set substantive measurements that will challenge us to be a better company. During this time of economic uncertainty we realize that we have the opportunity and the responsibility to keep our focus on our commitment to keep our communities strong, and I'm proud of what we're doing to live up to the guiding principles of this company."

Starbucks is taking a major step this week towards meeting the community involvement goal by kicking off its 10,000 employee-strong Leadership Conference, in which participants will take part in community service projects to help rebuild the areas hardest hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Additionally, partners will participate in advanced coffee education programs and attend business sessions as the company continues to focus on operational improvements and a commitment to its core - coffee and the customer experience.

Starbucks will invest in a better future for farmers and their communities by nearly doubling funding to organisations that provide farmer loans and pro-actively impacting climate change by offering incentives to farmers to prevent deforestation. Pilot programmes with Conservation International in Sumatra, Indonesia and Chiapas, Mexico are underway. The company will purchase 100% of all coffee through ethical sourcing practices, up from the current 65 percent.

To bolster its contribution to community involvement, the company will engage 50,000 young, social entrepreneurs to innovate and take action and, in turn, inspire 100,000 individuals to take action in their communities through the Starbucks Social Entrepreneurs Fund.

In addition to increasing the availability of recycling areas in-store, 50% of energy used in company-owned stores will come from renewable sources by 2010, while all new company-owned stores will be certified green by the same year.

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