![]() Starbucks has historically been generous with its discoveries: in 2014 the company distributed rust-resistant coffee plants to Mexican farmers who had lost much of their annual production to seed rust, and will have donated 20 million rust-resistant seedlings by the end of 2017. This coffee strand, named Geisha, is more resistant to fungal infections than other species and may signal future experiments in coffee growing innovation. In 2014, Starbucks sold its first batch of a special coffee variety developed with a Costa Rica growing cooperative. These actions range from using shade and tree cover to protect crops and farmers from the sun, to more novel approaches. īeyond limiting its environmental impact, Starbucks works directly with growers to assess the impact of climate change on production and experiment with novel growing techniques. Finally, Starbucks is a member of the RE100, a global initiative of businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. ![]() ![]() Starbucks also builds new stores according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles, and has more LEED-certified stores than any other retailer. In addition, Starbucks installed energy management systems in 4,000 stores to better control heating and cooling costs. Each REC helps subsidize the electricity price supplied by wind farmers to better allow the renewable source to compete with fossil fuels. Starbucks is one of the EPA’s top ten purchasers of renewable energy, purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) equivalent to 100% of the energy used in U.S. Starbucks has been focused on renewable energy and energy conservation since 2004. To address this threat, Starbucks is focused on reducing its own environmental footprint while working directly with farmers to prepare for changing growing conditions. Starbucks could be forced to source coffee from new suppliers and establish costly new supply chain routes. As temperatures rise and growing land becomes unusable, the global supply of Arabica beans will shrink, and Starbucks supply costs will rise. Starbucks is keenly aware of the challenges climate change poses to its business model. An estimated 25 million farmers worldwide produce 80% of the world’s coffee, and another 100 million people around the globe depend on coffee trade for subsistence. The impact of climate change will fall heavily on the millions of people around the world who make their living in the coffee trade. Brazil’s recent drought has already pushed coffee prices up, and effects are expected to worsen as temperatures continue to rise. Arabica coffee is typically found in tropical highlands around the world, and requires relatively cool temperatures and high amounts of annual rainfall. One of the main reasons why coffee is sensitive to climate change is that 70% of global coffee production comes from a single species: Coffea Arabica. ![]() This decline is growing land will likely result in a drop in global coffee supply and a rise in coffee bean prices. According to recent studies, 80% of the fertile coffee-growing land in Brazil and Central America, and 50% of coffee-growing land globally, could become unsuitable by 2050. Unfortunately, the coffee industry is extremely susceptible to changing weather patterns and rising temperatures caused by global climate change. To a coffee addict who consumes two-plus cups a day, a coffee shortage is a frightening prospect.
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