Starbucks Corporation CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ...

Ethos Water
Starbucks acquired the Ethos Water brand in April 2005 and
began selling Ethos bottled water in our U.S. companyoperated
stores that same year. As part of this acquisition,
we began exploring the range of issues associated with
bottled water.
In November 2005 Starbucks hosted a Water Stakeholders’
Summit, moderated by Business for Social Responsibility
(BSR), in order to learn more about stakeholder concerns
related to Starbucks use of water resources throughout
our business, sourcing and packaging for Ethos water,
The Starbucks Foundation’s investments in humanitarian
water projects resulting from the sale of Ethos water, and
other water-related issues and topics. For information on
Starbucks and The Starbucks Foundation’s commitment to
providing clean water for children, please see pages 41 and 47,
respectively.
Encouraged by this stakeholder discussion, in 2006 we
focused our efforts on developing a set of responsible sourcing
protocols for Ethos water. Quickly recognizing that, to
date, there is no one single standard for responsible sourcing
of spring water, we consulted with a number of industry and
environmental experts to further understand the issues, and
to develop a strategy to guide our current and future water
sourcing plans.*
The result of this work is a responsible water sourcing protocol
designed to ensure that we purchase the highest quality
bottled water product, sourced in an environmentally and
socially responsible manner. The protocol includes provisions
for a variety of crucial sourcing concerns and specific legal
issues, such as the appropriate definitions of spring water;
transportation impacts; sustainable yield assessment to
better understand existing water uses (by animals, plants
and communities); bottling issues; and community impacts
and engagement.
Following initial development, we reviewed and refined the
protocol with our stakeholders and utilized it to audit our
existing water sources. Moving forward, we intend to use this
protocol as a tool to monitor our existing sites and to qualify
additional sources for Ethos water. Starbucks will also
continue to engage in dialogue with our stakeholders.
* Ethos water is currently sourced from two natural spring sources – Baxter
Springs in the Sierra Nevada Range in Northern California, and Tomhicken
Springs in the Pocono Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania.
P R O D U C T S
Ethos Water Voluntary Product Withdrawal
Starbucks is deeply committed to the health and safety of
our customers and partners, and to delivering high-quality
products. If a concern arises regarding the safety or quality
of one of our products, Starbucks is committed to taking
appropriate measures and immediate action. One recent
example of Starbucks swift response related to an issue that
involved Ethos water.
In December 2005, it was discovered that one of the
suppliers that Starbucks was using at the time to bottle
Ethos water was out of regulatory compliance for levels
of bromate. Bromate is formed from bromide – naturally
occurring minerals found in some spring waters – during the
purification process.
Upon learning of this issue, Starbucks contacted the FDA and
initiated a voluntary product withdrawal for Ethos water
sold in 14 Western states. Supplies of Ethos water on the
East Coast of the U.S. were not affected because we utilize a
different supplier for this region.
As a result of the recall, West Coast production of Ethos
water was immediately halted, and the impacted inventory in
our stores, warehouses and other retail outlets was destroyed.
Starbucks temporarily supplied our Western U.S. stores with
Ethos water from our East Coast bottler while we located a
new source for the West Coast. Using our new water sourcing
protocol as a guide, we have qualified a new supplier that
we believe can consistently meet our quality standards and
sustainable sourcing criteria.