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|  Starbucks Coffee Company Challenge Coffee, the largest legally traded agricultural commodity in the world, is grown in some of the Earth's most threatened ecosystems. The coffee-growing frontier is now expanding to sensitive ecosystems in countries that are home to an incredible diversity of biological life. In addition to the negative impacts on natural habitat, the current global over-supply and subsequent falling price of coffee is hurting the livelihoods of farmers who grow high-quality coffee using traditional, shade-grown production systems that benefit biodiversity. Solution We have partnered with Starbucks Coffee Company, the world's leading specialty coffee retailer, to encourage coffee cultivation methods that protect biodiversity and improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers around the world. One of our longest standing corporate partnerships, our collaboration began in 1998, when we established a field project working with farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, to produce Starbucks Shade Grown Mexico™, an ecologically sound premium coffee. Based on the success of the Chiapas field project, we have worked with Starbucks to launch additional local projects in other key coffee growing countries. Through the course of our field projects, the availability of credit was identified as a further constraint to conservation coffee production. In an effort to overcome this constraint, Starbucks agreed in October 2003 to provide a $2.5 million loan to the Verde Ventures Fund a $6 million investment fund managed by CI that provides debt and equity financing to small and medium-sized businesses in CI's priority areas. In 2001 we took our partnership to a global scale by working with Starbucks to develop the Green Coffee Sourcing Guidelines and Preferred Supplier pilot program to incorporate environmental and social standards into the company's purchasing criteria. In 2004, that program was officially launched as the Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices (C.A.F.E. Practices) program - a set of environmentally, socially, and economically responsible coffee-buying guidelines. C.A.F.E. Practices is designed to build long-term relationships with suppliers of high-quality coffee who demonstrate excellent performance on sustainability criteria, such as healthy workplace conditions and conservation of natural ecosystems. Progress Starbucks Wins 2005 World Environment Center Gold Medal for C.A.F.E. Practices: The World Environment Center (WEC) awarded Starbucks Coffee Company the 21st annual Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development. The award was presented to Starbucks for its Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices which was developed in partnership with Conservation International. Read Further Starbucks' Coffee & Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices Program Launched: Developed in partnership with Conservation International, Starbucks officially launched environmentally, socially and economically responsible coffee buying guidelines designed to build long-term relationships with suppliers of high quality coffee who demonstrate excellent performance on sustainability criteria addressing issues such as healthy workplace conditions and conservation of natural ecosystems. The C.A.F.E. Practices Evaluation guidelines comprise 26 criteria covering environmental and social performance in the growing and processing of coffee. By 2007, Starbucks intends to purchase 60 percent of its coffee from suppliers who successfully implement the C.A.F.E. Practices guidelines. C.A.F.E. Practices Program Documents Starbucks, USAID and CI form "Conservation Coffee Alliance": In September 2004, the United States Government, working through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) joined forces with Conservation International (CI) and Starbucks to create the Conservation Coffee Alliance. With a focus on Central America and Mexico, the Alliance promotes private sector approaches within the coffee industry that are environmentally sensitive, socially responsible and economically viable. Read Further Starbucks Expands Partnership with CI and Supports Verde Ventures Loan Fund: In January 2004, Starbucks announced a $2.5 million direct loan to help capitalize CI's newly launched Verde Ventures fund. The fund helps provide direct access to affordable credit for small-scale coffee producers. Starbucks support is the largest loan commitment of its kind provided by a specialty coffee company. Starbucks and CI's also announced the extension of their five-year partnership with an additional three-year, $1.5 million grant by Starbucks to support CI's Conservation Coffee™ program to conserve the environment while providing economic opportunities for coffee farmers. Read Further Developed purchasing guidelines and pilot program for preferred suppliers: In 2001, Starbucks released a set of guidelines to support the company's commitment to purchase coffee that has been grown and processed by suppliers who meet important environmental, social, economic and quality standards. The guidelines, along with a preferred supplier pilot program, encourage suppliers to use practices that contribute to conservation of soil, water and biodiversity, adopt efficient and renewable energy technologies, minimize or eliminate agrochemical use, and properly manage waste. By the end of September 2003, Starbucks had received more than 150 applications from suppliers for participation in the preferred supplier program, representing coffee producers in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Download Pilot Program Guidelines Implemented conservation field projects in coffee-growing countries: Working with CI's Conservation Coffee program, Starbucks is helping to promote biodiversity conservation and improve farmer livelihoods on thousands of coffee farms worldwide. CI projects are now in place or under development in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama and Indonesia. To date, nearly 2,500 farmers have been incorporated into the program in Mexico, Colombia and Peru, resulting in the conservation management of more than 7,200 hectares of coffee farms. These projects led to the launch of Starbucks Shade Grown Mexico™ coffee in 1999, followed by the Conservation Colombia and Starbucks Peru coffees. Raising public awareness: Through publications, media outreach, special events and various other activities, Starbucks and CI continue to communicate widely to coffee drinkers and other consumers about the results of the partnership and the connection between coffee and conservation. 
|  Farmer on drying patio. Chiapas, Mexico. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES PARTNER FAST FACTS • Starbucks PUBLICATIONS • Conservation Principles for Coffee Production (pdf, 74kb) • Conservation Coffee Fact Sheet (pdf, 577kb) • Supply Chain Engagement Strategy (pdf, 602kb) • Conservation Coffee & Hotspots Map (pdf, 380kb) WEBSITES • Verde Ventures Fund • C.A.F.E. Practices Program Documents • Conservation Coffee Partnership Background at Starbucks.Com |
