Editing Starbucks (section)

==Environmental and social policies==

===Environmental practices===
In 1999, Starbucks started the "Grounds for your Garden" program. This gives leftover coffee grounds to anyone requesting it for composting. The goal of the program was to make the company [[environmentally friendlier]]. Although not all stores and regions participate, customers can request and lobby their local store to begin the practice.

In October 2008, ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper reported that Starbucks was wasting {{convert|23.4|e6l|e6USgal|abbr=off|sp=us|order=flip}} of water a day by leaving a tap constantly running for rinsing utensils in a '[[dipper well]]' in each of its stores, but this is often required by governmental [[food safety]] codes.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/oct/06/water.drought | title=Starbucks wastes millions of litres of water a day | first=Angela | last=Balakrishnan | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=October 6, 2008}}</ref>

In June 2009, in response to concerns over its excessive water consumption, Starbucks re-evaluated its use of the [[dipper well]] system. In September 2009, company-operated Starbucks stores in Canada and the United States successfully implemented a new water saving solution that meets government health standards. Different types of milk are given a dedicated spoon that remains in the pitcher and the dipper wells were replaced with push button metered faucets for rinsing. This will reportedly save up to {{convert|150|USgal|L|abbr=off|sp=us}} of water per day in every store.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/unlv-professor-targets-wasteful-dipper-wells/ | title=UNLV professor targets 'wasteful' dipper wells | first=Henry | last=Brean | work=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]] | date=June 8, 2009 | url-access=limited}}</ref>

In January 2020, Starbucks shared its new [[environmental sustainability]] commitment to become a resource positive company. It announced three preliminary targets: By 2030, Starbucks will aim to reduce its [[carbon emissions]], waste output, and water impact by 50%. It also identified five areas of focus: expanding [[plant-based]] menu options; shifting to reusable packaging; investing in [[regenerative agriculture]], [[reforestation]], [[forest conservation]] and water replenishment; better ways to manage waste; and more eco-friendly stores, operations, manufacturing, and delivery.<ref>{{Cite web|title=5 things to know about Starbucks new environmental sustainability commitment|url=https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/5-things-to-know-about-starbucks-new-environmental-sustainability-commitment/|date=January 21, 2020|website=Starbucks Stories|language=en-us}}</ref>

===Recycling===
Starbucks began using 10% [[recycled paper]] in its beverage cups in 2006—the company claimed that the initiative was the first time that recycled material had been used in a product that came into direct contact with a food or beverage.<ref name=Recycled>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/17/business/17starbucks.html | title=Starbucks Will Use Cups With 10% Recycled Paper |last=Warner | first=Melanie | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=November 17, 2004 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Allen Hershkowitz]] of the [[Natural Resources Defense Council]] called the 10% content "minuscule",<ref name=Recycled/> but Starbucks received the National Recycling Coalition Recycling Works Award in 2005 for the initiative.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.greenbiz.com/article/starbucks-honored-recycled-content-cup | title=Starbucks Honored for Recycled-Content Cup | work=[[GreenBiz.com]] | date=October 13, 2005}}</ref> In a 2008 media article, Starbucks's vice president of corporate social responsibility acknowledged that the company continued to struggle with environmental responsibility, as none of its cups were recyclable and stores did not have recycling bins. At the time that the article was published, Starbucks gave customers who brought in their own reusable cup a 10-cent discount, in addition to using corrugated cup sleeves made from 85% post-consumer recycled fiber, which is 34% less paper than the original. During the same period, Starbucks entered into a partnership with Conservation International—pledging US$7.5 million over three years—to help protect the natural environment of coffee-growing communities in Mexico and Indonesia.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/starbucks-struggles-with-reducing-environmental-impacts/ | title=Starbucks struggles with reducing environmental impacts | last=Allison | first=Melissa | work=[[The Seattle Times]] | date=May 14, 2008}}</ref>

===Plastic straw ban===
On July 9, 2018, Starbucks President and CEO [[Kevin Johnson (executive)|Kevin Johnson]] announced that Starbucks will ban the single-use [[plastic straw]]s by January 1, 2020, on all cold drinks from all locations worldwide due to climate change concerns, pollution, and [[sea turtle]] endangerment as the single-use plastic straws failed to be designed for recycling when they were invented. [[Frappucino]]s will get straws made from a different material that is sustainable and environmentally friendly such as paper or compostable plastic, while other cold drinks will get straw-less lids. These new modified lids contain 9% less plastic than Starbucks' previous flat lid.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goodwin|first=Jazmin|date=September 10, 2020|title=Starbucks will be mostly straw-free at Canadian and U.S. locations by October|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/starbucks-will-be-mostly-straw-free-at-canadian-and-u-s-locations-by-october-1.5099699|access-date=October 1, 2021|website=CTVNews|language=en}}</ref> The Starbucks locations in Europe, China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington D.C., New Mexico, California, New York, Washington State, New Jersey, Oregon, Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island already eliminated single-use plastic straws by the end of 2018.<ref>{{cite news|last=Garcia|first=Tonya|date=July 9, 2018|title=Starbucks and McDonald's plastic straw removal will go down well with millennials|work=[[MarketWatch]]|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/starbucks-and-mcdonalds-plastic-straw-removal-will-go-down-well-with-millennials-2018-07-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 11, 2018|title=These 8 Companies Are Ditching Plastic Straws. Here's How They Are Replacing Them|work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|url=https://fortune.com/2018/07/11/ditching-plastic-straws-replacements/}}</ref> South Korea is the first country to introduce paper straws to all stores among 78 countries in the world that Starbucks has entered.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 29, 2019|title='종이 맛' 오명 벗고 진화하는 스타벅스 종이빨대|trans-title=Starbucks paper straw evolving after 1 year of introduction,'paper taste'|url=https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201908281458751967|work=[[Hankook Ilbo]]|language=ko}}</ref>

===Reusable cups===
Starbucks has publicly committed to reducing waste by 50% by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Starbucks Greener Cup Timeline|url=https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2021/starbucks-greener-cup-timeline/|access-date=February 2, 2022|website=Starbucks Stories|language=en-us}}</ref> After successfully completing the campaign to provide the Reusable Cup in Vietnam in 2020, it held the same event in Korea in 2021. Along with a picture of throwing away a cleanly washed recycled PET bottle on [[Instagram]], a [[hashtag]] designated by Starbucks was written and uploaded, and a reusable cup was provided instead of a disposable cup.

In April 2013, Starbucks introduced reusable cups where customers would be able to bring their cup into any location and receive a small discount on their drink.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 19, 2013|title=Starbucks introduces reusable cups|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/19/starbucks-coffee-resuable-cups|access-date=October 1, 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> When the [[COVID-19]] pandemic first began in 2019, the company halted the use of personal cups due to concerns with the transferring of germs.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Starbucks|url=https://stories.starbucks.ca/en/stories/2021/starbucks-canada-eliminates-all-plastic-straws-and-brings-back-personal-reusable-cups/#:~:text=Starbucks%20today%20announced%20it%20will,waste%20by%2050%25%20by%202030.|access-date=October 1, 2021|website=stories.starbucks.ca}}</ref> In June 2021, the company reintroduced personal reusable cups with a contactless new method to eliminate shared touch points between customers and baristas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Starbucks brings back personal reusable cups to Starbucks cafes in the U.S.|url=https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2021/starbucks-brings-back-personal-reusable-cups-to-starbucks-cafes-in-the-us/|date=June 8, 2021|website=Starbucks Stories|language=en-us}}</ref>

Starbucks is phasing out disposable cups in Korea entirely by 2025.<ref>{{cite news|last=Peters|first=Adele|date=April 12, 2021|title=Starbucks is starting to work toward ditching disposable coffee cups|work=[[Fast Company]]|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90623551/starbucks-is-starting-to-work-toward-ditching-disposable-coffee-cups}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=May|first=Tiffany|date=April 6, 2021|title=Starbucks will stop using disposable cups in South Korea by 2025.|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/business/starbucks-disposable-cups-south-korea.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/business/starbucks-disposable-cups-south-korea.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021|url-access=subscription}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Farmer equity practices ===
Starbucks began drafting plans for [[corporate social responsibility]] in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/4dd6216d0fd0400f8689eceba0497e04.pdf|title=Starbucks Corporation Corporate Social ReSponsibility}}</ref> Since Starbucks has partnered with [[Conservation International]] (CI) to draft plans and audit its coffee and farmer equity (C.A.F.E.) program,<ref name=cafe>{{cite news | title=Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E) Practices | url=https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/cafe-practices-starbucks-approach-to-ethically-sourcing-coffee/ | work=Starbucks | date=February 28, 2020}}</ref> Starbucks's C.A.F.E. practices are based on a rating system of 249 indicators. Farmers who earn high overall scores receive higher prices than those who achieve lower scores. Ratings categories include economic accountability, social responsibility, environmental leadership in coffee growing and processing. Indicators for social responsibility have evolved and now include 'zero tolerance' indicators that require workers to be paid in cash, check, or direct deposit, ensure that all workers are paid the established minimum wage, that workplaces are free of harassment and abuse, that workplaces are nondiscriminatory and do not employ persons under the age of 14, and several more.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Semroc|first1=Bambi |title=Assessment of the Starbucks Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices Program | url=https://www.conservation.org/docs/default-source/publication-pdfs/2012_04_cafe_practices_assessment_fy08-fy10_final68523ed82d714421a7ff9661863fad27.pdf | publisher=Conservation International | first2=Elizabeth |last2=Baer|first3=Joanne |last3=Sonenshine|first4=Marielle Canter |last4=Weikel | date=March 2012}}</ref> Starbucks has moved 90% of its coffee purchases to preferred C.A.F.E. certified providers, and the company is approaching its stated goal to purchase 100% of its coffee through C.A.F.E. or other 'ethically sourced' certification systems.<ref name=cafe/>

[[Washington State University]] Assistant Professor Daniel Jaffee argues that Starbucks's C.A.F.E. practices merely '[[greenwashing|green wash]]' "to burnish their corporate image".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2wA6vCxzV4C | last=Jaffee | first=Daniel | title=Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival | year=2007 | publisher=[[University of California Press]] | page=107| isbn=9780520940192 }}</ref> Additionally, Professor Marie-Christine Renard of Rural Sociology of [[Chapingo University]] in Mexico wrote a case study of Starbucks's, Conservation International's, and Agro-industries United of Mexico (AMSA)'s joint conservation effort in [[Chiapas]], Mexico in which she concluded that "[w]hile the CI-Starbucks-AMSA Alliance paid better prices, it did not allow the producers to appropriate the knowledge that was necessary for the organizations to improve the quality of their coffee".<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-010-0584-0 | last=Renard | first=Marie-Christine | title=In the Name of Conservation: CAFE Practices and Fair Trade in Mexico | journal=[[Journal of Business Ethics]] | year=2010 | volume=92 | pages=287–299 | doi=10.1007/s10551-010-0584-0 | s2cid=153539792}}</ref>

===Fair trade===
[[File:Coffee_beans_being_sorted_and_pulped.jpg|thumb|[[Fair trade coffee]] beans, pictured here being sorted in 2007, previously made up the majority of Starbucks' imports from [[List of countries by coffee production|coffee-producing countries]], but stopped in 2022.<ref name=":7" /> ]]
In 2000, the company introduced a line of [[fair trade]] products.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/global-report/ethical-sourcing/coffee-purchasing | title=Goals & Progress: Coffee Purchasing | publisher=Starbucks}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.fairtradeamerica.org/why-fairtrade/global-impact/impact-stories/starbucks/ | title=Starbucks | publisher=Fair Trade America}}</ref> Of the approximately 300 million pounds (136 million kilograms) of coffee Starbucks purchased in 2006, about {{convert|18|e6lb|e6kg|abbr=off}} or 6% was certified as fair trade.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/living/article/250730 | title=The fine print of ethical shopping | quote=About 6 per cent of Starbucks' coffee (about 18 million pounds) was certified as fair trade in 2006. The company buys almost 300 million pounds of coffee a year. | work=[[Toronto Star]] | first=Stuart| last=Laidlaw | date=September 1, 2007}}</ref> Groups such as [[Global Exchange]] called for Starbucks to further increase its sales of fair trade coffees.<ref>{{cite news |last=Patriana |first=Zarah |date=October 29, 2008 |title=Starbucks to Double Fair Trade Certified Coffee Purchases |url=https://globalexchange.org/2008/10/29/starbucks-to-double-fair-trade-certified-coffee-purchases/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419035118/https://globalexchange.org/2008/10/29/starbucks-to-double-fair-trade-certified-coffee-purchases/ |archive-date=April 19, 2021 |access-date=April 19, 2021 |publisher=[[Global Exchange]]}}</ref> 

After a long-running dispute between Starbucks and Ethiopia, Starbucks agreed to support and promote Ethiopian coffees. An article in [[BBC News]],<ref>{{cite news |date=June 21, 2007 |title=Starbucks in Ethiopia coffee vow |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6225514.stm |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> states that Ethiopian ownership of popular coffee designations such as Harrar and Sidamo is acknowledged, even if they are not registered. Ethiopia fought hard for this acknowledgement mainly to help give its poverty-stricken farmers a chance to make more money. In 2006, Starbucks said it paid {{convert|1.42|$/lb|$/kg}} for its coffee, more than 33% higher than the commodity price at the time. However, the coffee Starbucks bought for {{convert|1.42|$/lb|$/kg}}, had a selling price—after transportation, processing, marketing, store rentals, taxes, and staff salary and benefits—of {{convert|10.99|$/lb|$/kg}}.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 17, 2007 |title=Starbucks Leads Global Coffee Industry in Paying Premium Prices for Sustainably-Sourced Coffee |url=https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2007/starbucks-leads-global-coffee-industry-in-paying-premium-prices-for-sustain/ |work=Starbucks}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 20, 2007 |title=Starbucks reaches truce with Ethiopia over coffee licensing |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/starbucks-reaches-truce-with-ethiopia-over-coffee-licensing/ |work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref> As of 2013, the Starbucks website sells only one Ethiopian coffee.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 24, 2013 |title=Starbucks introduces single-origin coffee from Ethiopia |url=https://www.bevindustry.com/articles/86791-starbucks-introduces-single-origin-coffee-from-ethiopia |work=Beverage Industry}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 23, 2013 |title=Starbucks Honors Ethiopia |url=https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2013/starbucks-honors-the-birthplace-of-coffee-with-ethiopia/ |work=Starbucks}}</ref> In addition, Starbucks is an active member of the [[World Cocoa Foundation]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cocoa |url=https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/cocoa |publisher=Starbucks}}</ref> although targets set in 2005, 2008 and 2010 to reduce child labour that the Foundation has backed have consistently not been met.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ungoed-Thomas |first=Jon |date=April 3, 2022 |title=Cadbury faces fresh accusations of child labour on cocoa farms in Ghana |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/apr/03/cadbury-faces-fresh-accusations-of-child-labour-on-cocoa-farms-in-ghana |access-date=September 16, 2024 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

In 2019, the non-profit labour justice organisation Fair World Project released an article outling how despite Starbucks had passed coffee producers as slave free in their Brazil production units using their internal C.A.F.E. certification standards, that Brazilian labour inspectors had proof of child slave labour practices being present in their supply chain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canning |first=Anna |date=June 17, 2019 |title=Starbucks Has a Slave Labor Problem |url=https://fairworldproject.org/starbucks-has-a-slave-labor-problem/ |access-date=September 16, 2024 |website=Fair World Project |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2022 Starbucks announced that they were going to stop certifying their coffee beans as [[Fair trade certification|fairtrade]], in favour of their own in-house investigations.<ref name=":7" />

===Food bank donations===
Since 2010, Starbucks has been donating leftover pastries in the United States to local food banks through a food collection service named Food Donation Connection.<ref>{{cite news | last=Dupere | first=Katie | title=Starbucks will start donating 100% of its unused food to those in need | url=https://mashable.com/2016/03/22/starbucks-food-donations-foodshare/ | work=[[Mashable]] | date=March 22, 2016}}</ref> In March 2016, Starbucks unveiled a five-year plan to donate 100 percent of unsold food from its 7,600 company-operated stores in the U.S. to local food banks and pantries.<ref>{{cite news | title=Starbucks to Donate 100 Percent of Unsold Food to Food Banks | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/starbucks-donate-100-percent-unsold-food-food-banks/story?id=37897626 | last=Kim | first=Susanna | work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] | date=March 24, 2016}}</ref> Perishable food will be transported in refrigerated trucks to area food banks through the company's partnerships with the [[Food Donation Connection]] and [[Feeding America]]. This program, called FoodShare, is expected to provide up to 50 million meals over the next five years.<ref>{{cite news | title=Starbucks pledges to donate 100% of unsold food| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/03/23/starbucks-pledges-to-donate-100-of-salvageable-food/82155312/ | last=Malcolm | first=Hadley | work=[[USA Today]] | date=March 23, 2016}}</ref> {{As of| 2017}}, the program was in 10 different markets, including New York City.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://fortune.com/2017/06/09/starbucks-ceo-foodshare-program/ | title=Starbucks Pledges to Donate 50 Million Meals a Year by 2020 | last=Kell | first=John | work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] | date=June 9, 2017}}</ref> In New York, Starbucks works with Feeding America and City Harvest, both non-profits, to donate food from 45 locations. It plans to expand the program to all 305 Manhattan stores. In September 2019, 60% of Starbucks stores are participating in FoodShare. This level of participation contributed to 20 million meals served to those in need.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/20-million-people-fed-through-starbucks-foodshare-program/ | title=20 million people fed through Starbucks FoodShare program | work=Starbucks | date=September 13, 2019}}</ref>

=== Cage-free eggs ===
In 2008, Starbucks announced a comprehensive new animal welfare policy banning many inhumane farming practices, including the caging of hens. In 2009, they established a buying preference in North America to use industry best practices for animal husbandry and processing, including egg production.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/313ef95924754048b3ca8cea3cc2ff90.pdf|title=Starbucks Animal Welfare-Friendly Practices}}</ref>

In 2015, Starbucks made a public announcement that they will switch to 100% cage-free eggs by 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Huffstutter|first=P. J.|date=October 1, 2015|title=Starbucks to switch to 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2020|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-starbucks-eggs-idUSKCN0RV5HM20151001|access-date=May 10, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Starbucks Says Eggs Will Be Cage-Free by 2020|url=https://time.com/4060385/starbucks-eggs-cage-free/|access-date=May 10, 2021|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Greenwood|first=Arin|date=October 5, 2015|title=Starbucks Aims To Use Only Cage-Free Eggs By 2020|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/starbucks-cage-free-eggs_n_56127477e4b0768127027e4f|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Starbucks says eggs will be cage-free by 2020|url=https://fortune.com/2015/10/03/starbucks-cage-free-eggs/|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=Fortune|language=en}}</ref> However, later, the company altered its commitment to just company-owned locations, excluding around 40% of its licensed restaurants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 10, 2020|title=HSUS grades companies on animal welfare pledges: see how McDonald's, Subway, Starbucks and others performed|url=https://blog.humanesociety.org/2020/03/hsus-grades-companies-on-animal-welfare-pledges-see-how-mcdonalds-subway-starbucks-and-others-performed.html|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=A Humane World|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2018, Starbucks committed to reaching the goal of using 100% cage-free eggs and egg products in company-operated stores globally by 2020, including Starbucks branded products and those supplied to licensed partners in the North America. They stated their goal to be for all their products to meet high quality and ethical standards, with a commitment to social responsibility standards with animal welfare as a primary focus<ref>{{Cite web|title=Starbucks Animal Welfare-Friendly Practices News|url=https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/animal-welfare-friendly-practices/|website=Starbucks}}</ref>

Organizations such as [[World Animal Protection]] and [[Compassion in World Farming]] have stated that Starbucks has not shown any demonstrable improvement in animal welfare since 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|title=McDonald's, Starbucks and Subway have made no animal welfare progress in eight years {{!}} World Animal Protection|url=https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/news/mcdonalds-starbucks-and-subway-have-made-no-animal-welfare-progress-eight-years|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=www.worldanimalprotection.org|date=April 6, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> According to the [[Humane Society of the United States]], Starbucks no longer qualifies as having an actual cage-free commitment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/docs/Scorecard.pdf|title=Humane Society's Food Industry Scorecard}}</ref>