By Paul Hodgson – CCO and Senior Research Associate
You know, I can’t help it, there’s something hugely self-congratulatory about Starbucks recent trumpeting of its corporate citizenship, but I should really stop carping about that and say that even HAVING the kinds of aims that are listed in its Global Responsibility Report is not just unusual, it’s exemplary. Some of them are slated for 2015, some for 2012, and some have had significant progress made and others… haven’t but there’s still time. Still others aren’t aiming very high. This last being: only 5 percent of beverages served in personal tumblers by 2015. Our local grocery store Hannafords had a much more aggressive goal to replace plastic bags with recyclable bags and I’m pretty sure they met it. But according to the Seattle Times, the goal for personal tumblers was reduced from 25 percent.
Other goals are commendably high: 100 percent of coffee ethically sourced by 2015. While GMI Ratings’ ESG score for Starbucks is average, its environmental impact ratio, while generally better than its restaurant peers, is still rated D. That could improve if all those global responsibility goals are met.