SEATTLE — In March, Starbucks Coffee Company announced 99 per cent of its coffee will be verified as ethically sourced this year, and yesterday, it expanded on its efforts to promote transparency and sustainable sourcing with plans to release a research report in collaboration with the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE), a non-governmental public entity that promotes the coffee industry.
“The growth of specialty coffee is unprecedented and the pressure this puts on the global coffee industry is both a challenge and an opportunity,” said Craig Russell, EVP of Global Coffee for Starbucks. “Reaching our ethical-sourcing milestone shows it can be done, and coupling this with our research advancements, we believe we are defining a sustainable way forward for our industry.”
The chain will also donate thousands of seedlings from five different coffee tree hybrids to ICAFE. “This varietal research is essential to the long-term stability of farmers around the world and demonstrates how this company has the unique opportunity to use its scale to offer sourcing, agronomy and financial support so that future generations can be proud to be a part of coffee farming,” said Ronald Peters, executive director of ICAFE.
