Make the Business Case for Sustainability

Full Answer Section

Sustainability Analysis:

• Stage of Sustainable Business:
  • Starbucks is progressing towards a more advanced stage of sustainable business, moving beyond basic compliance. They have set ambitious goals for reducing their environmental footprint, particularly concerning carbon emissions, water usage, and waste. However, challenges in meeting those goals show that they are still on a journey, and have not reached a fully sustainable state.
  • They are implementing strategies like "Greener Stores" and investing in sustainable sourcing, indicating a move towards integrating sustainability into their core operations.
• Major Drivers of Sustainability:
  • Consumer Demand: Increasing consumer awareness of environmental and social issues drives Starbucks to adopt sustainable practices.
  • Climate Change: The company recognizes the impact of climate change on coffee production and its overall business.
  • Ethical Sourcing: Maintaining a positive brand image and ensuring a stable supply chain of high-quality coffee.
  • Investor Expectations: increasing numbers of investors are taking ESG factors into account.
• Environmental Impact:
  • Carbon Emissions: Significant carbon footprint across its supply chain, including coffee production, transportation, and store operations.
  • Waste: Generation of single-use cups and packaging.
  • Water Usage: High water consumption in coffee cultivation and store operations.
  • Deforestation: Potential impact from sourcing practices.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Assessment:
  • Starbucks demonstrates a commitment to CSR through its C.A.F.E. Practices, community programs, and investments in its employees.
  • However, challenges remain in fully addressing its environmental impact and ensuring ethical labor practices throughout its supply chain.
  • It recieves mixed reviews, as it has very strong public stances, and goals, but struggles to meet all of those goals.
• Recommendation:
  • A strong recommendation would be to significantly accelerate and expand its reusable cup programs. While they have made progress in testing and piloting these programs, a more aggressive and widespread implementation is needed. This would involve:
    • Investing in infrastructure for reusable cup collection and cleaning.
    • Providing stronger incentives for customers to use reusable cups.
    • Working with local governments and other stakeholders to develop standardized reusable cup systems.
    • Furthermore, they need to place a higher priority on the reduction of the companies scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions are the greatest source of their emissions, and need more focus.

By focusing on these areas, Starbucks can further enhance its sustainability efforts and demonstrate stronger corporate responsibility.

Sample Answer

For this analysis, I'll focus on Starbucks Corporation. Here's a breakdown of the organization and its sustainability efforts:

Organization Overview:

• Industry: Food and beverage, specifically coffeehouse chain.
• Products/Services: Coffee, handcrafted beverages, tea, pastries, and light meals.
• Global Spread: Operates globally with a significant presence in North America, Europe, and Asia.
• Employees: Hundreds of thousands of "partners" (employees) worldwide.
• Key Information:
  • Known for its "third place" concept, providing a comfortable space between home and work.
  • Emphasis on ethically sourced coffee (C.A.F.E. Practices).
  • Significant focus on digital customer engagement through its rewards program