Like coffee, our approach to cocoa buying is designed to ensure a long-term, high-quality supply while contributing positively to the environment and cocoa-farming communities.

Our approach to buying cocoa, is also based on a commitment to ensuring a long-term supply of high-quality, ethically sourced cocoa while contributing positively to the environment and to cocoa-farming communities. Our Cocoa Practices program seeks to verify the supply chain for the cocoa beans used in our beverages, with inspections performed by independent verifiers overseen by SCS Global Services.

What We're Doing Now

Our Cocoa Practices program is a continuous improvement model that rewards members of the supply chain for increasing scores year over year. It is designed to verify the supply chain for the cocoa beans we use and provide valuable sustainability information to producers and purchasers alike. As in the C.A.F.E Practices program, the inspections are performed by independent verifiers that are trained and audited SCS Global Services.

The results of our Cocoa Practices program in West Africa have been encouraging. We’ve observed significant positive changes in most of the areas we are measuring and identified key areas for improvement.

What We'll Do Next

We're committed to improving the Cocoa Practices Guidelines and continuing our purchases of responsibly grown cocoa. Specifically, we plan to:

• Implement a farmer segmentation program that will result in multiple training strategies depending on the skill and willingness level of the individual farmer.
• Capture information beyond our Cocoa Practices standard that will help us better understand and influence the adoption of best practices at the farm level.
• Work in tandem with the Starbucks Foundation to implement programs that benefit cocoa communities even if they are not in our supply chain.
• Continue to collaborate with the World Cocoa Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the Cocoa Livelihoods Program in West Africa.

• Responsibility .
  • Ethical Sourcing .
    • Cocoa