Friday, September 16, 2011

Ch. 3 - Ethics and Social Responsibility

"We've always believed that businesses can - and should - have a positive impact on the communities they serve."

The Community:
Over the years Starbucks has gone above and beyond to give back to their community and environment. They do a number of things for the community such as reaching out to the youth. Through programs such as America Scores, City Year, HandsOn, JumpStart, International Youth Foundation and Youth Venture Starbucks is able to give support to young people as they grow and start to discover life and who they are. The goal is to nurture and inspire the rising generation to later take part in the effort to better their own community and later on possibly the world.

In 2011 Starbucks awarded over 100 grants to the organizations listed above and more. The grants ended up totaling $2.6 million. In 2009 they set a goal to connect with 50,000 young people in order to enrich their lives by 2015. Thanks to the grants the Starbucks corporation was able to meet that goal in just two short years. They are now setting a new much higher goal.

Some other ways Starbucks helps different communities

Starbucks is doing so much to help the community. This is not just limited to The United States either. Starbucks is connected with different coffee growing communities in Africa. Starbucks joined forces with Product (RED) and is now helping in the fight to live with HIV/AIDS in Africa. (STARBUCKS) RED

The Environment:
In order to aid in the on going recycling and waste reduction battle Starbucks offers a 10-cent discount to all U.S. and Canada customer who brings in their reusable mug or thermos. There is also an option for the guests who stay in the shop to have their order in a ceramic Starbucks mug.

This is a time line provided by the Starbucks website of their steps with the disposable cup
"
  • In 1997, we developed our recycled-content cup sleeve as a way to protect customers from hot beverages and avoid the waste of “double cupping.”
  • In 2006, we launched the industry’s first hot beverage paper cup with 10% post-consumer recycled fiber.
  • In 2008, we rolled out a new plastic cup that has less of an environmental impact than our original plastic cups.
  • In 2009, we hosted a Cup Summit in Seattle, bringing together all facets of our paper and plastic cup value chain to find agreement on criteria for a comprehensive recyclable cup solution.   "
Starbucks is continuing to better their recycling efforts. But it doesn't just stop there. Starbucks has and is still continuing to show concern for all natural and man made resources. They realize how important it is to be aware of the positive and negative impacts a company can have on the world when it comes to those operations. These are some of the ways Starbucks strives for the positive:
Energy Efforts

Ethical Sourcing:
Starbucks follows a set of codes and practices when it comes to growing their coffee that is beneficial to both the planet and the people. The guidelines are called Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E) Practices
Starbucks is extremely thoughtful in everything they do and go the extra mile with everything they produce. From their Tea to their Cocoa they really care about their products and what goes into them. Even what goes on their shevles is crafted in a way thats good for everybody. 

Although Starbucks is probably one of the fastest growing companies in the last thirty years and is now a lot larger than they could have ever dreamed to be; they still give back so much to the environment and the community. They are an amazing example of what an ethical company should be. 

Here are a few more examples of their great display of ethical and social responsibility:

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