“We are not in the coffee business serving people, we are in the people business serving coffee.” – The Starbucks mission statement
It’s no secret that some people can’t function before their morning dose of caffeinated pep, and you’d have to have been living under a very large rock to not recognize the green and white lady that’s got everyone from teenagers to CEOs wrapped around her two tails.
Starbucks has become a veritable addiction, and boy have they capitalized on it. From mugs to specially distilled agave nectar to the actual coffee, Starbucks has got it all.
But what’s different between the Starbucks of today and that of, say thirty years ago?
Two words; social responsibility.
That’s right, the guilt-indignation-action craze that is the green revolution has touched most every corporation, and Starbucks is no exception. Take a stroll through their official site, and you see an entire section devoted to environmental action plans and ethically sourced coffee beans. Like many corporations, Starbucks understands what’s important, namely, what their customers see as important.
There’s no real way to know if Starbucks is doing this out of the goodness of their caffeinated hearts or just as a PR stunt, but in the end, does it really matter?
Developing nations are still getting more sustainable treatment, disposable cups are still slowly being phased out, and the greater good is still achieved. What’s important here is the precedent Starbucks has set for every other coffee house that wants to compete.
After all, if the big, greedy, corporation cares about the environment, so should everyone else, right?
The aforementioned pages: