STORES Magazine - December 2008 - (Page G9)

GREEN RETAILING / ETHICAL PRACTICES Sponsored by Workers’ rights, fair pay Economic accountability means suppliers must prove they are making the appropriate payments at all levels along the coffee supply chain. These suppliers and others Starbucks program supports ethical within their supply chain must ensure that their workers’ practices and sustainability rights are protected with safe, fair and humane working conditions, that appropriate wages BY MICHAEL HARTNETT are paid, and that they also address any suspected cases of child labor, hile it strives to maintain high forced labor or discrimination. st a n d a rd s f or t he co ff e e Finally, in its environmental leadbeans it imports from around ership, Starbucks requires its the globe, Starbucks also is exporting C.A.F.E. Practices suppliers to ena commitment to sustainability. sure that waste is managed, water quality is protected, energy and That effort is reflected in its nurturing of water are conserved, biodiversity is long-term relationships with coffee farmpreserved and agrochemical use is ers and suppliers, a pricing model that rereduced in the growing and processwards higher quality with higher prices, ing of coffee. clearly defined Coffee and Farmer Equity In 2007, Starbucks was able to rePractices (C.A.F.E.) and support for coffee port that the majority of its coffee farms and their surrounding communities came from approved C.A.F.E. Pracin 25 countries. tices suppliers; it also purchases When a coffee is accepted as These relationships cultivated with third-party coffees grown and proa Black Apron Exclusive, farmers, suppliers and exporters reflect duced with standards that reflect Starbucks awards Starbucks’ deep understanding that longsensitivity to economic sustainabiliterm, mutually-beneficial commitments ty and environmental preservation. are critical to maintaining the highest stanTwo examples of these third-party to the community to help dards for its core product. certified sources are the Fair Trade improve the sustainability of That formula includes paying for qualiCertified and certified organic cofits farms, the village and the ty. One example of the typical price breakfees. Starbucks continues to be the local environment down for the company’s top three coffee largest purchaser, roaster and disorigins shows the price per pound to be $1.37 in 2007. Of tributor of Fair Trade Certified coffee in North America, that amount, $1.32 was paid to the farmers; five cents was and is among the largest purchasers globally. paid to the exporter. Ten years ago, Starbucks began building a strong coffee Kenya Heartland Project sustainability model by integrating conservation principles Some specific initiatives by Starbucks in Africa, Latin in its best-buying practices and its work with Conservation America and Asia Pacific illustrate how relatively small International (CI). Three years later, that collaboration led steps can pay dividends to the company and its suppliers to a pilot program, the Starbucks Preferred Supplier Proin the form of high-quality, sustainable coffees. gram (PSP), which was based on socially- and environmenA case in point is the Kenya Heartland Coffee Project, tally-responsible coffee-buying guidelines. It was these early launched by Starbucks and the African Wildlife Foundaefforts that eventually evolved into the C.A.F.E. Practices. tion in 2005. The three-year project is intended to help Introduced in 2004, C.A.F.E. Practices guidelines enfarmers improve the quality and quantity of Kenyan cofcompass ambitious goals intended to ensure that highfee by introducing best practices in growing and processquality coffee would be grown and processed in a manner ing, while also supporting wildlife and biodiversity conthat was both socially and environmentally responsible. servation goals. They also were designed to include all types of suppliers, Starbucks’ Black Apron Exclusives program was crefrom the small family farms to large estates. In addition to ated to recognize some of the world’s unique and finest those overarching goals, C.A.F.E. guidelines required an coffees, which are often discovered in small, remote emphasis on product quality, economic accountability, soareas. When a coffee is accepted as a Black Apron Excial responsibility and environment leadership. clusive, Starbucks awards $15,000 to the community to Product quality standards are clearly defined by Starhelp improve the sustainability of its farms, the village bucks in its Green Coffee Quality Manual, and all cofand the local environment. To date, this program has fee purchased from C.A.F.E. Practices suppliers is refeatured 15 distinct coffees, including four that were inquired to meet those standards. troduced during 2007. Green Coffee W $15,000 WWW.STORES.ORG STORES DECEMBER 2008 G9 http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - December 2008

STORES Magazine - December 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Wrap Rage Unraveled What Shoppers Think Courting a Comeback 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story: Navigating the Road Ahead Website Strategy Concept2Watch Online Customer Service International Marketing Green Retailing Online Merchandising Signage Operations Online Strategies Pricing Strategy Kiosks RFID Human Resources Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - December 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.