Business Finance

Starbuck’s innovation for its coffee started with a decade of working with the Conservation International group to help develop guidelines for buying coffee beans. These guidelines help the farmers grow coffee in a better way for the community and the planet. It set standards for the buying of coffee beans across the globe.

Starbucks started a program called Coffee and Farmers Equity (C.A.F.E.). By setting a comprehensive set of standards which in the coffee world sustainability centers on the four areas. These four areas are product quality, economic accountability, social responsibility, and environmental leadership. These guidelines are set up as a scorecard to make sure that the suppliers, producers, and farmers involved meet or exceed the organizations goals. Coffee beans must meet Starbucks high quality and to achieve this farmer, processors, and suppliers must score possible points of 20 to 40 in the four areas of product quality, economic accountability, social responsibility, and environmental leadership. In return for meeting or exceeding these goals, they offer rewards for producers of the high-quality sustainably grown coffee.

Measures have been put in place to make sure that the farmers, processors, and suppliers have humane working conditions, living conditions, proper medical care, adequate pay, workers safety, and training. Environmental measures have been put in place to meet the organizations goals. These measures are to protect the water supply, conserve energy, water, and reduce agrochemicals. By hiring third party auditors and organization to monitor the progress and work ethics of C.A.F.E. Starbucks has hired local agronomist to work the farmers to help teach them soil management, water conservation by proper irrigation techniques. With wet milling they learn water conservation, waste management, and energy use. With dry milling they learn waste management and energy use. Protecting the wildlife, ecological pest and disease control, farm...