Page 176 - The Starbucks Experience

Leave Your Mark

on the environment and on better social conditions for their
workers? As a matter of practicality, it doesn’t. But Starbucks
has chosen to go beyond being just a coffee purchaser. Lead-
ership focuses instead on the relationships with those in the
supply chain, banking on the idea that if you improve the
future for those who support you, your future will be secured
as well.

Partnerships with Environmentally Conscious
and Socially Diverse Companies
For better or for worse, we are, at least in part, affected by
the reputation and behavior of our colleagues and the organ-
izations for which we work. Unfortunately, we all know that
there are companies that hire suppliers based only on price,
with no concern for the suppliers’ business practices—using 161
sweatshop subcontractors, for example. By contrast, from
Starbucks leadership’s perspective, social responsibility
requires an assessment of the values and corporate diversity
of the people who sell to the company.
Each year, Starbucks sets high standards for attracting a
diverse base of contractors and product providers. For exam-
ple, Starbucks seeks to increase the percentage of suppliers
who are more than 51 percent women- or minority-owned.
Similarly, Starbucks has forged business partnerships with
firms like Johnson Development Corporation, founded by
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, or acquired businesses, like Ethos
Water, that have demonstrated compatible diversity support
or environmental concern.
The innovative business partnership between Starbucks
and Johnson Development Corporation is called Urban Cof-
fee Opportunities (UCO). UCO is a 50/50 joint venture that