ARLINGTON, VA & SEATTLE: April 21, 2008 – In celebration of Earth Day – and to help ensure that the principles of Earth Day last all year long – Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Conservation International (CI) today announced the beginning of a new campaign to engage consumers to join their efforts to address climate change and create a better future for coffee farmers. This effort kicks off with two in-store opportunities for consumers to give back to the environment, including the use of their Starbucks Card and the purchase of Pike Place Roast, Starbucks new responsibly grown, ethically traded coffee.
On April 22nd, Earth Day, Starbucks will donate five cents to CI for every purchase made that day with a Starbucks Card at any Starbucks store in the U.S. and Canada. This is a one-time benefit afforded by the new Starbucks Card Rewards program. Every $10 donated will result in CI planting 10 trees in Chiapas, Mexico as part of an upcoming joint pilot project between the two organizations.
“Since 1998, Starbucks and CI have collaborated to demonstrate that coffee can be grown in ways that support communities and preserve the environment,” said Ben Packard, Starbucks vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility. “Through this next phase of our relationship, we hope to extend our leadership in coffee sustainability and to invite our customers to join us in promoting the protection of forests as a solution to climate change.”
CI and Starbucks recently announced a five-year global commitment to support farming communities, encourage the protection of their land, water and forests, including a three year multi-million dollar financial commitment. By taking conservation beyond coffee farms and into surrounding landscapes, CI and Starbucks are addressing the most pressing environmental issue of our day—climate change. Beginning in Mexico and Indonesia, Starbucks and CI will pilot projects that create climate solutions through the protection of standing forests and restoration of degraded landscapes.
“The issue of climate change is everyone’s issue, and by engaging Starbucks customers in one of the solutions to climate change is very encouraging,” said Glenn Prickett, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, Conservation International. “Buying a cup of coffee may seem like too small an action to make a difference, but simple changes can be multiplied to reach a scale never before realized – and we are saving thousands of acres of tropical forests in the process.”
Almost 20 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions result from the burning and clearing of forests, nearly double the emissions from all of the world’s cars, trucks, and trains combined. Starbucks investment in and support for local coffee growers and the communities that help keep forests intact will help ensure that every cup of coffee brewed produces tangible benefits for both local and global communities.
Earth Day is also when the new mark will be launched that symbolizes Starbucks ongoing commitment to coffee communities and to environmental sustainability through the expanded relationship with CI. This mark will first appear on Pike Place Roast™. Coffee bearing the new mark is purchased from C.A.F.E. Practices approved suppliers. These suppliers have undergone rigorous third-party inspections in the field. C.A.F.E Practices – Starbucks sustainable coffee buying program – is 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.
In addition, consumers can support the purchase of trees for Chiapas coffee farmers by contributing through the CI website at www.conservation.org/coffee.
About Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) applies innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity and to demonstrate that human societies and nature can live in harmony. Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents. For more information about CI, visit www.conservation.org.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality arabica coffee in the world. Today, with nearly 16,000 stores and more than 170,000 partners (employees) in 44 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com.
“Pike Place” is a trademark of the Pike Place Market PDA, used under license.