2020 Report: Coffee

Coffee is at our core. We are committed to sourcing coffee responsibly, for the betterment of people and planet, so we can ensure a sustainable future of coffee.

ETHICALLY SOURCED COFFEE

98.6% in FY20

Goal: Committed to 100% ethically sourced coffee in partnership with Conservation International
From 2015 to 2019, 99% of Starbucks coffee was verified as ethically sourced as measured by C.A.F.E. Practices, our ethical sourcing verification program developed in partnership with Conservation International. Measuring farms against economic, social and environmental criteria, the C.A.F.E. Practices program is designed to promote transparent and sustainable coffee growing practices while also helping protect the well-being of coffee farmers and workers, their families and their communities.

In FY20, due to restrictions caused by COVID-19, auditing teams were unable to complete all the necessary in-person, on-farm audits of our coffee production, resulting in expiration for farms whose verification ended in FY20 and were not audited. This resulted in 98.6% of our coffee coming in FY20 from C.A.F.E. Practice-verified farms.

COFFEE TREES

50 Million to Date, 10 Million in FY20

Goal: Provide 100 million trees to farmers by 2025
In FY20, we distributed 10 million trees to farmers in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador. Over the past five years as part of our 10-year, 100 million-tree commitment, Starbucks has donated nearly 50 million coffee trees to farmers. These new trees are bred to be resistant to coffee rust, a disease associated with climate change, and they’re replacing trees declining in productivity, which can, in turn, help farmers improve the quality and yields of their harvest and improve their revenue.

FARM COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Nine Farmer Support Centers, 200,000 Farmers Trained

Goal: Train 200,000 farmers by the end of 2020
More than 40,000 farmers were trained in FY20, enabling us to reach our goal of training 200,000 farmers by the end of 2020. Starbucks operates nine Farmer Support Centers worldwide, where agronomists and quality experts work alongside coffee farmers – whether they sell to Starbucks or not – to share tools and information to help increase the productivity, quality and profitability of coffee on their farms and improve their livelihoods. In FY20, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we incorporated online training tools and resources to continue these efforts while supporting the health and safety of our partners, suppliers, farmers and their communities. 

Childcare Centers 

Goal: Strengthen our coffee communities
In FY20, Starbucks launched a new initiative in Guatemala focused on providing safe spaces for local and migrant workers’ children to continue their education during the coffee harvest season. Five new centers opened during the 2020-21 harvest season, with co-investment from coffee suppliers and implementation by FUNCAFE and Coffee Care. Starbucks also established a ^$100,000 Capital Improvement fund to support initial and on-going childcare center improvements, along with preparing childcare center locations to open in a safe and welcoming way.

GLOBAL FARMER FUND

 ^$42.9 Million to Date

EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDS

^$2.8 Million in FY20

Goal: ^$50 million in farmer loans by the end of 2020
The Starbucks Global Farmer Fund was founded to improve supply chain resiliency and ensure a long-term supply of coffee by addressing the unmet financing needs of farmers. As of FY20, we have invested ^$42.9 million in the Fund, partnering with Root Capital and ResponsAbility to provide coffee businesses and farmers with access to low-interest loans in regions where traditional banks are not an option due to high interest rates. Loans allow farmers to plant new trees and improve their infrastructure. 

In addition, we have continued our Emergency Farmer Relief Fund for a second year to further support farmers who were negatively impacted by low global coffee prices. These secondary payments go directly to smallholder farmers in Central America to subsidize their income, helping to offset low prices compared to cost of production. Although market conditions were slightly better than in FY19, we distributed more than ^$2.8 million to farmers in Guatemala and Nicaragua in FY20. 

STARBUCKS DIGITAL TRACEABILITY

Launched for Consumers, Testing Among Farmers

Goal: Create connection between coffee farmers and coffee consumers; empower farmers and support coffee farm communities
As a continuation of our ethical sourcing commitment, in FY20 we launched the new Starbucks Digital Traceability web tool, which provides a way for customers to engage directly with their coffee and learn more about its journey, from bean to cup. Customers can use the traceability tool to scan a bag of their favorite coffee at a Starbucks store, discover the global origin of their beans, and read about the farmers who grow it. We are continuing to explore how digital tools can empower farmers and best support farming communities by leveraging the traceability technology and platform to give farmers the ability to trace their coffee beans, so they can see where their beans go and the final product they become. In FY20 in Rwanda, we piloted a call-in platform for farmers to get agronomy tips and green coffee price information for their local markets. More than 19,000 farmers used the service over three months.

ETHICAL TEA AND COCOA

Tea: 99.7% in FY20, Cocoa: 100% in FY20

In FY20, we sourced 99.7% of tea from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. For cocoa-based beverage ingredients, 100% of cocoa beans are ethically sourced from either COCOA Practices-verified supply chains or UTZ certified farms. The UTZ program is now part of the Rainforest Alliance. We continue to strengthen our approach, programs and partnerships for sustainably sourcing tea and cocoa.

Read more and see fiscal 2021 updates on our progress in the full report.

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