Pretty much known worldwide and a coffee snob's go-to, Starbucks caters to a lot of people. Whether it's pumpkin spiced lattes, americanos, or those fancy-looking drinks, Starbucks has pretty much served everyone. Actually, going to Starbucks and getting a coffee has become a noun in itself. So many flavors in so many drinks served every day to millions of people, makes one ponder whether the coffee has been ethically sourced.
So what do we mean by "ethical"? Coffee can be called ethically sourced when coffee is sourced via sustainable practices while supporting farmers' efforts and being socially responsible for the environment and climate.
Well, according to Starbucks, they actually source the coffee with Coffee And Farmer Equity practices or CAFE practices. Launched in 2004, the comprehensive CAFE practices, was developed in collaboration with Conservation International. The program measures farms in economic, social, and environmental criteria and tries to promote transparent, profitable, and sustainable coffee practices and the well-being of coffee farmers, workers, and the community.
CAFE practices have also helped Starbucks create a supply of high-quality coffee and positively impacted the life of livelihoods of coffee communities. The program consists of 200 indicators ranging from financial reporting to protection of workers' rights to conserving water and protecting the environment. Reportedly 99% of Starbucks Coffee is certified by CAFE practices or fairtrade.
CAFE practices have largely prevented forest canopy loss in a great effort as preventing tropical forest loss is essential for climate change. While many companies plan to change their practices to sustainable ones, deforestation is a primary environmental concern.
Another factor is ensuring fair employment, which has been a success for the CAFE practices. According to data from Conservation International, around 450,000 workers have earned better than the local minimum wage, and 89% of these workers have received leaves as well as education and training. The children in these communities have been provided with education and other resources.
Shade-grown coffee is something CAFE practices encourages and rewards, along with prohibiting the use of pesticides. Lastly, the cafe practices program has made a great investment in training so that farmers can learn and implement better practices in the future to improve both lead and sustainability.
Another fact that may interest you is that there are more than 30000 Starbucks partners in Japan, and each has accomplished 99% ethically sourced coffee. They recently celebrated with a campaign called 9/9.
The next time you drive down to Starbucks, rest assured you're going to enjoy ethically sourced coffee.