Certified Organic – good coffee that's better for the planet.
Organic coffee is grown using methods and materials that have a lower impact on the environment. Organic farming practices help replenish and maintain soil health, reduce the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse agriculture.
A small portion of the coffee Starbucks purchases is certified as organic. The organic certification is a third-party assurance that the coffee was grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers, helping to maintain healthy soil and groundwater.
Starbucks offers our customers certified organic coffee to meet their requests for the assurance that the label provides. We also believe that organic farming practices support our commitment to environmental responsibility. In fact, we value the principles of organic certification so much that we incorporated them into our ethical sourcing guidelines.
What we've been doing.
Starbucks purchased 10 million pounds (4 million kilograms) of certified organic coffee in fiscal 2008. Even though it is a small percentage of our overall purchases of responsibly grown coffee, we're proud to offer the best possible organic coffees we can find.
One of our customers' favorite certified organic coffees is Serena Organic Blend®. Serena is the Spanish word for “calm” or "tranquil" – we thought it was the perfect name for a coffee that provides peace of mind to customers wanting to protect the environment. Our other organic offerings include Organic Shade Grown Mexico and several in the Seattle's Best Coffee® lineup.
Hurdles.
Our purchases of organic coffee are limited due to the limited quantities available worldwide and the constraints of the organic certification system for producers.
Only a small percentage of coffee in the world is actually "certified organic." Official certification requires farmers to verify that they are using accepted organic farming practices. In some cases, they must conduct three years of soil testing during transition periods before they are eligible for organic certification, and annual testing thereafter. This process can often be very costly for farmers.
What we're working on
We will continue to purchase certified organic coffee because we believe it's better for the planet, and the assurance of this label is a priority to some of our customers. And organic growing methods and practices complement our C.A.F.E. Practices guidelines, too. So we'll continue to encourage their use by providing scoring incentives and preference to suppliers who reduce and eliminate the use of chemicals and synthetic fertilizers.
