Responsibility
Thank You for 30 Inspiring Days of Service
Some incredible stories have come out of our second annual Global Month of Service, a 30-day event that mobilized partners (employees) and customers from around the globe to make a difference in their communities.
In Nashville, Tenn., 500 volunteers collectively donated 2,000 hours of service to transform a tract of land impacted by the city’s 2010 floods into a working and teaching urban farm. The new farm will host afterschool youth programs and provide food for citizens in need.
New Clothes for You, New Jobs for USA
I’m going shopping this weekend. The weather here in Seattle seems to finally be turning a corner, which means it’s time to get some new spring clothes. But the real reason I’m hitting the racks (and why I’m telling you about it) is because from April 19-22, Banana Republic is donating 5% of purchases made (up to 500K) to the Opportunity Finance Network for the Create Jobs for USA fund, and giving me a 25% discount. So, the more I shop and save, the more they donate to a great cause!
We Live Together, Let’s Give Together
Starbucks baristas and customers have been supporting communities together for a while now. Whether it’s working side by side at community service projects or making contributions to disaster relief efforts, we’re proud of what we’ve done and are looking forward to how much more we can still achieve.
In Southern Mexico, Coffee Co-ops Bring Better Lives
Traveling up a mountain in the back of a pickup truck, on a bumpy road of hairpin turns, I feel dwarfed by the towering Mexican elm trees looming out of the evening mist. As we pass homes scattered among the coffee bushes that dominate the landscape, El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve feels a world away from the urban sprawl of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas, where I have spent much of the past week.
Congrats on Another Year of Progress!
Each year this is one of my most anticipated events. The release of our Annual Global Responsibility Report is a time for us to celebrate our accomplishments toward building thriving communities in the neighborhoods where we do business. Through our steadfast commitment to ethically sourcing our coffee, developing comprehensive recycling solutions and activating partners and customers to participate in community service, we have continued to make great progress toward our stated goals.
Making Progress
Spring is here, which means 2012 is moving right along. How are you doing against your New Year’s resolutions? I didn’t “officially” set any this year, but the ones I had in my mind I failed within the first month. And I think I know why. It’s partly because I didn’t write them down to visually remind myself about them every day, but it’s also because I didn’t share them with anyone else, so no one was holding me accountable.
Sustainable Store Design in Action
I recently had the pleasure of cracking open my first built project for Starbucks: Reclamation Drive-Thru in Tukwila, Washington. This small project came at a perfect time here at Starbucks as we challenge ourselves to deliver LEED-certified stores across the US. Pending LEED certification, this project is just one step toward our goal of universally building all new company-owned stores to be LEED-certified Starbucks Stores. I wanted it to be green, thought provoking and sustainable – the sort of project that stirs chatter. I think we got it.
Measuring Responsibility at KiliCafe in Tanzania
This past fall in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, the Association of Kilimanjaro Coffee Growers (KiliCafe) underwent a verification to continue their participation in Starbucks Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices. In 2006 a number of these arabica coffee growers elected to participate in the program, which helps coffee farmers, processors and suppliers transition toward more responsible coffee production, and to provide incentives for demonstrated progress.
The program is comprehensive, calling for just employment strategies, economic accountability and environmentally sustainable agriculture practices, all while maintaining our high bean quality benchmark, and it involves continuous efforts and long-term planning.
Timeless Sidamo
“Our grandfathers left us a timeless treasure,” Lankamo Lana tells me as we walk through the impenetrable lush garden farms of the Homacho Waeno Cooperative in Sidamo. “The ability to understand how to keep coffee ageless through garden farms,” he says.
Most coffee farms can be traversed with ease through the relatively wide spaces between growing coffee trees, but here, the spaces between are filled with growing food. I can barely keep up with him as I carefully avoid destroying the delicate crops. I stare at him, pretending I understood what he just said, as he disappears into the next garden.
An Opportunity to Give Students Opportunities
What are some of your most positive, memorable moments from school? A field trip, maybe, or a special in-classroom project? I loved the science projects that came with dramatic chemical reactions.
Moments like these serve an educational purpose, but also a motivational one, inspiring students to continue learning.
But moments like these also have a financial cost, one which fewer and fewer school districts are able to support. As such, public school teachers spend about $40 of their own money every month to enrich their students’ educational experience – a significant out-of-pocket expense that’s not always feasible.
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