2012 Global Responsibility Report
Message from Howard Schultz
In business, success is most often measured by numbers. Store counts. Revenues. Comps. For Starbucks, these metrics are important indications of how we are growing our brand and returning value to our shareholders.
But equally important to the value we create are the values we live by.
We’ve been building a company with a conscience for more than four decades, intent on the fair and humane treatment of our people as well as the communities where we do business, and the global environment we all share. We are proud of our heritage. Yet never before have we seen the marketplace and today’s consumers have such a deep interest in and knowledge about what companies stand for and how they are living up to their promises. Not only is standing for something beyond making a profit the right thing to do, it is the way business must be conducted in the 21st century. Only by doing business through the lens of humanity can an organization establish a crucial reservoir of trust with its people and its customers. At Starbucks, it is a trust we must earn every day.
For these reasons, we continue to broaden our ethical sourcing programs. Today, we are proud that more than 93% of our coffee meets our standard on this front. And through our enhanced sourcing efforts for cocoa, tea and manufactured products, we are making a more positive impact than ever before.
Just as Starbucks does not accept the status quo in our business, and proactively embraces innovative products and ideas, we also look for and champion fresh inventive ways to use our existing assets and resources beyond business. In 2012, we appointed renowned community advocate and entrepreneurial leader Blair Taylor to serve in our newly created role of chief community officer. A true visionary, Blair leads our community, partner resources, government relations, diversity and global responsibility teams. As a member of Starbucks senior leadership team, he is helping to ensure the company continues to make meaningful differences in communities around the world.
Once again, Starbucks is refusing to be a bystander as the world around all of us changes. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to our partners, customers, business partners, farmers and suppliers for their extraordinary dedication to the hard work and humanity that embodies the spirit of Starbucks.
Thank you for joining us on the journey.
Warm regards,
Howard Schultz
chairman, president and chief executive officer
Change Region