WASHINGTON D.C: Coffeehouse company and American multinational chain Starbucks has reacted towards recent press coverage from NBC News and other media sources that have called into question the source of its coffee and teas from ethical sources.
In a note released on January 10th by the company, Starbucks EVP of Global Coffee, Social Impact and Sustainability, Michelle Burns addressed the issue head on and warned media outlets that these allegations are taken “very seriously”.
“Please know we take these allegations very seriously, and plan to aggressively defend against claims that Starbucks has misrepresented our ethical sourcing commitments to customers,” she said.
Burns reiterated the company’s commitment to sustainable, equitable and resilient sourcing of coffee and called its ethical sourcing programme as “best-in-class”.
She also highlighted the company’s multiple verification programmes with Conservation International and SCS Global Services to maintain Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E) Practices.
C.A.F.E was a set of industry practices that Starbucks launched in 2004 in collaboration with SCS Global Services to ensure that the company was sourcing sustainably grown and processed coffee.
The C.A.F.E. Practices Generic and Smallholder Scorecards encompass a comprehensive set of more than 200 social, economic and environmental indicators that are assessed in the third-party audits.