Starbucks Passion

Starbucks CSR part 2/3 - Community

This is the second instalment in my 3-part Starbucks CSR exploration. Community involvement is a key initiative in Starbucks’ CSR campaign and has always been a central focus to the company’s mandate.

Starbucks is committed to having a positive impact on communities where their stores are located and in communities where their coffee is grown. But it’s more than just uttering ‘community’ for Starbucks, it’s about having 5 key facets in their community initiative; Community Service, Youth Action, (Starbucks) RED, Starbucks Foundation and Ethos Water Fund. They take these 5 initiatives very seriously and I spoke with a partner, visited a store and examined their website (www.starbucks.com/responsibility) to explore just how seriously Starbucks pursues their community involvement.

1.       In-store signage and poster boards

I visited a local Starbucks store to see their community involvement in action. The community board had several posters, flyers, letters and signs talking about Starbucks commitment to the local community. The posters promoted local festivals and events, asking for volunteers and patron attendance. There was even an advertisement for a child’s lemonade stand! This is the true essence of being involved in the community. People are free to post flyers and posters on the community board. Starbucks offers this space for people in their community, which allows Starbucks to be a good, hospitable neighbour.

The board also had 2 letters from local elementary school principals, thanking Starbucks for their generous coffee and food donations to local food drives and school events. These letters epitomize everything that Starbucks’ community initiative stands for.

Also, the board provided information on Starbucks’ community initiatives taking place elsewhere in the world. There was a (Starbucks) RED brochure hanging from the board that talked about how Starbucks and the RED campaign work together to help people with Aids in Africa. Information on the Ethos Water Fund was also found on the community board. This bit of information allows customers to see how they have a positive impact on people in developing countries by helping to provide them with clean drinking water. A portion of every Ethos water sale goes directly to the water fund and since this information is accessible on the community board, customers can feel good about purchasing Starbucks products.

All-in-all the community board was extremely informative and allowed everyone to see just how important community involvement is to Starbucks.

2.       Speaking with a partner

Before ordering my drink, I asked a partner to talk about Starbucks’ community involvement. The partner was knowledgeable and seemed to know a fair bit about what Starbucks is doing in local communities and in communities across the world.

The partner told me that several partners in this store have volunteered at local food banks and shelters since joining the Starbucks team. To me, this was extremely inspiring as these partners are taking the time to give-back to their local community.

The partner also told me that by 2015, Starbucks has a goal of inspiring partners and customers to contribute over a million hours of community service each year. I believe it’s vital for a corporation to instil their values in their employees in order to make their CSR initiatives a success. Evidently, these partners have taken Starbucks’ CSR goals to heart and are being good neighbours in their community.

Also, this partner gave me some information on the Starbucks Foundation and their commitment to Youth Action. Then, when I thought I had everything I needed, the partner directed me to the Responsibility section on the Starbucks website.

Speaking with a partner was yet again, another effective tool for finding out more information about Starbucks’ CSR initiatives.

3.       Responsibility on Starbucks.com

In my first instalment in this 3-part CSR exploration, Shared Planet had its own section on the Starbucks website dedicated to explaining their CSR initiatives. Since then, Starbucks has moved this information over to the Responsibility section of their website, which has made the information more accessible and easy to comprehend. Good move by Starbucks.  

The Responsibility section on the website proved to be the most effective communication tool being used by Starbucks to provide information on their CSR initiatives. After clicking on the Community portion of the site, I was able to explore all the different facets of Starbucks’ community initiatives. There was comprehensive information on all 5 of their initiatives; Community Service, Youth Action, (Starbucks) RED, Starbucks Foundation and Ethos Water Fund.

The nicest part about the Starbucks’ Responsibility section is that it allows people to see exactly what Starbucks is doing in each of their 5 community programs. Each program provides an overview of the initiative and Starbucks’ commitment to them.

Here are some of the highlights from the website (taken directly from the website):

Community Service: “We’d like Starbucks partners (employees) and customers to contribute more than one million hours of community service each year by 2015.”

Youth Action: “Our goal is to engage 50,000 young people, who will in turn innovate, take action and inspire 100,000 individuals in their communities by 2015.”

“In fiscal 2009, we made 71 grants totaling $2.1 million to organizations supporting young people.

(Starbucks) RED: “Every time you buy a (STARBUCKS)^RED product or pay with your (STARBUCKS)^RED Card*, we make a contribution to the Global Fund to help people living with HIV in Africa. With your help, we’ve already generated contributions equaling more than 14,000,000 days of medicine.”

Starbucks Foundation: “Starbucks and the Starbucks Foundation created the C.O.A.S.T. Fund to assist in the recovery and revitalization of Gulf Coast communities devastated by hurricanes Rita and Katrina.”

Ethos Water Fund: “Ethos® Water was created to help raise awareness about this terrible crisis and provide children with access to clean water. Every time you buy a bottle of Ethos® Water, you contribute 5 cents to the Ethos® Water Fund, part of the Starbucks Foundation. So far more than $6 million has been granted to help support water, sanitation and hygiene education programs in water-stressed countries – benefiting more than 420,000 people around the world.”

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Stay tuned for the next and final installation in this 3-part series on Starbucks’ CSR initiatives.