Starbucks: Take deforestation off the menu!
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- Published on Wednesday, 17 February 2016 13:45
- Written by editor
A,
I have great news to share:
Thanks to you and 300,000 other SumOfUs members who called on Starbucks to take deforestation off its menu, Starbucks has committed to a stronger palm oil policy.
Thirty of us gathered in front of Starbucks’ flagship store in Seattle -- and we whipped out a truly stunning display. Together, we spoke to tons of Starbucks customers, raising awareness of Starbucks’ destructive palm oil practices. We wore paper masks to highlight the part Starbucks has played in the ongoing haze crisis in Southeast Asia, caused in part by burning palm oil plantations.
Then, we showed up at Starbucks’ international HQ, and delivered our petition to Starbucks’ Sustainability Department. You can see it all in this video! Share it on Facebook so your friends can see that people power is working and putting an end to palm oil deforestation.
Since we started campaigning against Starbucks, the company has updated its palm oil sourcing and deforestation policies a whopping three times. But unfortunately, Starbucks has only made minor changes. While many other major fast food giants such as McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme have committed to cut deforestation from their supply chains, Starbucks has lagged behind.
That all changed when we turned up in Seattle with the support of SumOfUs members like you.
Thanks to you, the event was a smashing success even before we arrived on site. A few days before the big day, the threat of our action brought Starbucks back to the negotiating table.
The policy now covers all of Starbucks’ licensed and joint-venture stores, as well as its company-owned outlets. Licensed stores, such as the Starbucks in your local grocery store, make up a significant number of Starbucks’ total outlets. Half of the Starbucks opened in 2015 were licensed stores.
Starbucks has also responded directly to our demands by committing “to sourcing deforestation free, peat free, and exploitation free palm oil.” In March it will “announce a time-bound commitment to extend our palm-oil policy beyond company owned stores as part of Starbucks Global Responsibility 2020 Goals.” The company also plans to report the volumes used to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
How’s that for proof that our pressure is working?! You were one of the hundreds of thousands of SumOfUs members that made it possible, so go ahead and pat yourself on the back.
Thank you for standing by us as we fight to end palm oil deforestation,
Hanna, Fatah and the team at SumOfUs.
P.S. Websites like Facebook and YouTube let people promote videos to users who are likely to be interested -- but it costs money. Can you chip in a few dollars to help us pay for ads to make sure more people hear about deforestation?
More information:
Starbucks and sustainable palm oil, Starbucks, updated January 19, 2016.
Starbucks exposed, SumOfUs, August 13, 2015
Indonesia is burning. So why is the world looking away?, The Guardian, October 30, 2015
SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping inr0