Brewing high quality coffee since 1971, Starbucks has formed its own global culture. Serving coffee is not the only expertise Starbucks has to offer. Their globalization, community service and environmental concerns have left a heavy impact on their consumers always keeping them coming back for more.
From the day Starbucks opened it has dedicated their business to the community because they believe in earning trust and respect of their consumers. Being socially responsible and doing things that are good for the planet and good for each other is their main goal. Starbucks divides its social responsibilities into four categories: Community, Environment, Ethical Sourcing and Wellness. Each program represents a different part of society.
The Community program is their largest program. Their goal is to have Starbucks employees, partners and customers contribute more than one million community service hours by 2015. Their Youth Action Program inspires young people through innovation and youth grants. In fiscal 2009, Starbucks made 71 grants totaling $2.1 million to organizations supporting young people. Starbucks has also partnered up with Product RED to help fight AIDS in Africa.
The second program is the Environmental program. 70% of all stores recycle at least one type of waste where commercial recycling is available. Starbucks also focuses on energy and water conservation by increasing efficiency of electricity and implementing new alternatives to reduce water usage.
Ethical Sourcing directly affects the consumers making it a top priority program for the corporation. It’s their goal for all of coffee to be grown under the highest standards of quality, using ethical trading and responsible growing practices. Their merchandise, furniture and uniforms are guaranteed to be bought from suppliers and manufacturers who share the same morals and values.
The last program Starbucks offers if the Wellness program. Their commitment to wellness starts with the foods and beverages offered in their stores. All of foods are no more than 500 calories and free from unnecessary ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, dyes and artificial trans fats. Starbucks will soon be posting calories and continue to look for innovative ways to share nutritional information.
Starbucks puts as much effort into their social responsibility as they do into running their business. Each day is not a success unless they have positively affected the community in some way. Their diverse programs have allowed the corporation to reach all aspects of the community and truly make a difference. Globally, Starbucks has stayed on CNN’s top 10 Socially Responsible Corporations list for the past ten years.
The general idea of social responsibility is to inspire community involvement and improvement, but it is important to detect the corporations that are practicing this for the wrong reasons. There are many arguments that a corporation’s purpose for community involvement is only to maximize returns for the corporations and not for society as a whole. Ethical corporations that are truly socially responsible care about their community involvement as well as their profits.
As a consumer and public relations professional I see the importance of corporate social responsibility. A reputation in the community goes a long way and in order to be successful it is crucial to be seen in a positive light. Starbucks uses their community programs and involvement to spread awareness and gain popularity and it has paid off.
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