{"id":12529,"date":"2016-11-04T16:35:16","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T20:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/questionable-sustainability-of-starbucks-philanthropy-the-threats-of-being-a-trendsetter\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T16:37:16","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T20:37:16","slug":"questionable-sustainability-of-starbucks-philanthropy-the-threats-of-being-a-trendsetter","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/questionable-sustainability-of-starbucks-philanthropy-the-threats-of-being-a-trendsetter\/","title":{"rendered":"Questionable sustainability of Starbucks\u2019 philanthropy: the threats of being a \u201ctrendsetter\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\u0391s we journey through our current era, where green has become the new emblem of peace, the salvation color, and the token of hope, what lies ahead for the characters that pushed our love for the emerald color and became spokespeople of change? What does being a trendsetter really mean?<\/p>\n

Tracing back the Seattle coffee maker\u2019s roots, Starbucks\u2019 commitment to society has been one of the company\u2019s principal strengths for decades. The value added that buying a cup of coffee brought to the consumer went beyond the rich flavored experience and translated into social, education, and environmental impact. A precursor of change, Starbucks\u2019 commitment to society began in 1995 with the coffee maker\u2019s campaign Starbucks\u2019 Commitment to Do Our Part (\u201cDOP\u201d)[1]<\/a>. \u00a0The socially oriented campaign was a response to CARE\u2019s recent attacks on the company\u2019s values. DOP was followed by the setup of Starbucks Foundation, Green Team, and Hot Cup Team. Being the first starter, Starbucks reaped multiple benefits, including the opportunity to capitalize on the first mover advantage and to claim the title of \u201ctrendsetter\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"picture_starbucks\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Trendsetting involves constant innovation and preparedness to compete. As the era un sustainability approached, multiple corporations and even industries rightfully embraced change towards a \u201cgreen model\u201d. The active addressing of climate change in the world by these corporations provided validation to those searching for tools to defend the world from the sceptics. \u00a0Being part of an iterative process, socially responsible companies have been increasingly held accountable to their actions and revised under threatening lenses to assess the effectiveness of these. As pressure mounted on corporations, they began taking on an increasing amount of socially responsible projects to maintain the so longed for image of \u201cgreen\u201d. In 2004, Starbucks launched the Coffee and Farmer Equity (\u201cC.A.F.E.\u201d) Practices Program, aimed to ensure that purchased coffee is grown and processed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, with the goal of purchasing 225 million pounds of C.A.F.E.[2]<\/a>\u00a0suppliers by 2007.<\/p>\n

What an amazing trend to have set: saving the world. Is it easy to live by? In 1994, Starbucks first became target to attacks led by Peter Blomquist\u2019s CARE[3]<\/a>, questioning the conditions and wages in which people worked in their Third World coffee growing countries. In recent months, once again the press and this time, social media, grilled Starbucks over the\u00a0fluctuating and unpredictable working hours with little notice in advance, which some employees experience at the company. Because of this controversy, the once recipient of the Best Place to Work[4]<\/a> denomination, saw a plumbing of their ESG[5]<\/a> score to record low levels. Is Starbucks not a sustainable company anymore?\u00a0Have we been\u00a0decieved for years? Decade long sustainable companies have a difficult challenge to face as consumers expect corporations to integrate all aspects of their businesses into sustainable programs. There is much to do to stop climate change and prevent a chaotic midterm future, how far will the companies go to be participant of this change? How sustainable is the sustainable<\/em> model for Starbucks?<\/p>\n

\"picture_reef\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe third consecutive hottest year in record\u201d sounds completely alarming, \u201cice-free Artic summers\u201d is unimaginable, \u201c50% mortality in reefs from coral bleaching in Australia[6]<\/a>\u201d is heartbreaking. As global warming advances, keeping up with the challenge of maintaining Starbucks\u2019 business model alive will be extremely difficult. The physical implications the erosion of the land, the increasing temperatures expected to warm by 4\u00b0C by 2100[7]<\/a>, the rising of the sea level, or the population shifts that will likely happen, will endanger the sustainability of Starbuck\u2019s current socially responsible programs. Most likely, coffee fields could be exposed to excruciating draughts that could shift the harvesting cycles of the company. Also, regarding labor, population shifts will probably increase cheap labor offer to a point that Starbucks is compelled to incur in low cost practices to offset the coffee cycle losses. These are some assumptions of scenarios that could attempt to tarnish the company\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

\"picture_temp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On May 2016, Starbucks issued the first U.S. Corporate Sustainability bond:<\/p>\n

\u201cSustainability bond offering is part of Starbucks comprehensive approach to sustainable coffee sourcing and industry leading efforts for positive environmental and social impacts in the global coffee supply chain.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Net proceeds from the US$500 million offering of Senior Notes due 2026 at 2.450% will be used to enhance the company\u2019s sustainability programs through Eligible Sustainability Projects. These action, is the first stepping stone into alternative avenues to keep on providing a socially responsible product considering the challenging road that lies ahead. As we prepare to embrace the future, Starbucks will need to address the pressing issue of securing resource procurement through research and development, finding new harvesting techniques for the business to even remain sustainable. Will these be enough to tackle the disturbing conditions in which we will be forced to live? At least, it will be a beacon of hope.<\/p>\n

Word count: 800<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> [1] Howard Schultz, Dori jones Yang, \u201cPour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time\u201d (1997), p. 298<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Marie Bussing-Burks, \u201cStarbucks\u201d (2009), p. 40<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Howard Schultz, Dori jones Yang, \u201cPour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time\u201d (1997), p. 298<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>Robert Levering, Milton Moskowitz, Scott Adams, \u201cThe 100 Best Companies to Work For\u201d Special Report<\/em> (2004)<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Emma Rotner, \u201cCorporate Environmentalism: How Green is it Actually?\u201d Environmental Studies Honors Papers, paper 14<\/em> (2016)<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Brian Clark Howard, \u201cCorals Are Dying on the Great Barrier Reef\u201d National Geographic<\/em> (March 2016), http:\/\/news.nationalgeographic.com\/2016\/03\/160321-coral-bleaching-great-barrier-reef-climate-change\/<\/em><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Hans G\u00fcnter Brauch, \u00darsula Oswald Spring, John Grin, J\u00fcrgen Scheffran, \u201cHandbook on Sustainability Transition and Sustainable Peace\u201d (2016), p. 268<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> \u201cStarbucks Issues the First U.S. Corporate Sustainability Bond\u201d press release <\/em>(May 16, 2016)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After 20 years of socially responsible initiatives, Starbucks is at a crossroads in time where the &quot;millenials&quot; become tougher judges of their actions. As climate change advances, how far will Starbucks go to fully integrate their business as a whole into the &quot;green mindset&quot;? Is it sustainable?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2448,"featured_media":12538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[125,614,612,615,14],"class_list":["post-12529","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accountability","category-coffee","category-starbucks","category-starbucks-coffee","category-sustainability"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nQuestionable sustainability of Starbucks\u2019 philanthropy: the threats of being a \u201ctrendsetter\u201d - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/questionable-sustainability-of-starbucks-philanthropy-the-threats-of-being-a-trendsetter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Questionable sustainability of Starbucks\u2019 philanthropy: the threats of being a \u201ctrendsetter\u201d - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After 20 years of socially responsible initiatives, Starbucks is at a crossroads in time where the &quot;millenials&quot; become tougher judges of their actions. 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