Starbucks and African Wildlife Foundation Launch Sustainable Coffee Initiative
Starbucks Coffee Company has partnered with the African Wildlife Foundation to launch the "Coffee for Conservation" project, aimed at promoting coffee quality, environmental sustainability, and natural resource conservation in east Africa. Read More
Starbucks Coffee Company has partnered with the African Wildlife Foundation to launch the “Coffee for Conservation” project, aimed at promoting coffee quality, environmental sustainability, and natural resource conservation in east Africa.
The agreement for the three-year “Coffee for Conservation” project, which was announced at the Corporate Council on Africa’s bi-annual U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Baltimore, Md., will primarily focus on enhancing coffee quality and quantity, and ensuring natural resources conservation in two east African countries. It will be launched in Kenya in the first year with exploratory plans to implement it in Tanzania in the following year.
“This partnership will benefit both the people and the wildlife of Africa” said Patrick Bergin, president of AWF. “It is only when we work to find solutions that benefit both that conservation can be successful.”
The Starbucks and AWF collaboration offers a combination of international, regional and industry expertise in addressing issues facing coffee producers and the coffee industry in east Africa. With more than more than 45 years of experience in conservation and wildlife management in Africa, AWF will lead and manage the project on the ground in Africa. Starbucks primary roles are to provide financial and technical support in terms of training and resources.
Starbucks approach to coffee sustainability centers on building mutually beneficial relationships with coffee farmers and their communities. The company firmly believes that success of the farmers with whom we do business is a critical component of our own success. Starbucks socially responsible purchasing practices include paying premium prices for the highest arabica quality coffee, providing farmers with access to affordable credit, investing in social development projects, purchasing conservation and certified coffees (such as Fair Trade Certified? and organic coffees), collaborating with farmers through the Farmers Support Center in Costa Rica and encouraging farmers and industry participation in C.A.F.E. Practices.
C.A.F.E. Practices (Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices) is a set of coffee buying guidelines designed to help coffee buyers and coffee farmers, ensure high-quality coffee and promote equitable relationships with farmers, workers and communities, as well as protect the environment.
