In today’s world of business, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a key business strategy for several of major world’s business entities and corporate. CSR is no longer shrouded in public relation stunts or defined by the amount of money contributed by a company to charity, but by the company’s overall involvement in activities that advances the quality of people’s lives. This has been influenced by the ever increasing social consciousness of shoppers who nowadays wants to see more than a company’s products. In fact, according to a research conducted by Cone Communications and Echo Research a PR and marketing firm, reported that when exposed to similar prices and quality, over 90% of customers globally are more likely to pledge alliegiance to companies and their products and services that promote community development initiatives (Brooks, 2013). As such, it is no longer a question whether a business firm should engage in CSR but rather how far the company will go in their CSR to create a meaningful impact. One company which has turned to CSR supporting its organization and brings about a positive social, financial and environmental impact is the Starbucks. This paper will review some of the CSR programs carried out by Starbuck and their effectiveness to the society.
According to Vandeveld (2015), Starbucks is an international coffee company whose more than 20000 stores are found in more than 60 countries across the globe. Compared to its financial performance five years ago, Starbucks has greatly improved and today it’s considered to be among world’s best brands thanks to a ‘Transformation Agenda’ aimed at investing in the company’s people initiated by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Unlike most of other business organization whose CSR initiative encompasses environmental efforts, philanthropy, ethical labor practices and volunteering Starbucks’ initiatives focuses on the community, environment, and ethical sourcing.
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Some of the programs of the initiatives on community carried out by Starbucks to have positive impacts on the society includes it's coming up with community stores which partners with local nonprofit organizations to help in meeting the needs of people within the communities they are located. The company works this out by donating $0.05 to $0.15 per transaction to the nonprofit partner (Vandeveld, 2015). Other initiatives on community include their pledge to hire up to 10000 veterans by 2018, the formation of 501c3, a charity foundation which aims to provide training opportunities to youths within their communities. Also of the keynote, is the company’s focus on diversity and inclusion across its numerous workstations. Concerning ethical sourcing, Starbucks is dedicated to guaranteeing that their raw materials are ethically and responsibly produced. To the company, its success is associated with the success of the coffee, cocoa or tea farmer who grows and produces their main raw materials. As such, the company only trade with farmers and manufacturers that adhere to their values and standards of ethical treatment. On its environmental effort initiatives, Starbucks has built several LEED certified stores (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) which are focused on conserving and recycling water and energy. Starbucks has made it its personal mission to be environmental friendly in almost every other aspect of their operations and undertakings.
Other than uplifting the lives of the people who live in the community where they are located, Starbucks has managed to create a positive image to its customers. This has encouraged customer plus employee loyalty contributing to their financial success. The close association between Starbucks and community has also enabled the company to experience little employee turnover. Its employees have also become good ambassadors for the company. On the company’s effort to become environmentally friendly, the company is not only helping to create a sustainable environment for me its people and planet but also create a vital environment for business success ( Vandeveld, 2015).
To conclude, CSR should not be done only for the purposes of meeting governments’ regulations or impressing investors or for public relation stunts but for real positive change that impacts the lives of people and brings forth sustainability. From the Starbucks’ example, if business organizations carefully come up with CRS programs then their impacts could have positive effects on all the parties involved.
References
Brooks C (2013). Social Responsibility No Longer Optional For Businesses . Retrieved from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4528-social-responsibility-not-optional.html
Vandeveld K (2015). Corporate Social Responsibility: how Starbucks is making an impact . Retrieved from http://www.whywhisper.co/the-blog/2015/9/24/corporate-social-responsibility-how-starbucks-is-making-an-impact
