The title of this entry is taken from a brochure you can find in your local Starbucks; it’s a brochure that highlights the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts in an annual report created (I’m certain) to convey just such highlights. I shouldn’t be so sarcastic, I suppose—one of subjects that has grown nearer and dearer to my heart over the last few years is the concept of sustainability in business. I realize that “going green” is suddenly in vogue, and that everyone from corporate CEO’s to the US Congress is reaching for the proverbial windmill, but just because the pack mentality has taken hold doesn’t necessarily mean that the end result is less meaningful or impactful.

It’s also apparent that in many ways we’ve reached Phase II of this process. What does this mean? It means that a little education can be a very dangerous thing. Like subsidizing the wrong type of grain-based Ethanol (we won’t name grain names to protect the innocent;) or misunderstanding the rationale behind certain forms of clear-cutting. When I say we’re reaching Phase II, however, what I mean is this: Certain companies and/or government projects are beginning to be “called out” as the wasteful or misdirected aberrations they really are. A new thoughtfulness is slowly spreading through the populace, driven by an overriding sense that we no longer have the time or the luxury to back the wrong horse simply to show the world that we’ve actually showed up for the race.

Let me make my point more directly: While I find the obsequiousness of marketing fluff masquerading as Annual Social Responsibility Reports rather annoying, I find it far less scary than if these same mega-corporations didn’t give a damn at all. And I do think of Starbucks as an innovator in this arena, not a follower. While the company itself seems to be floundering in these tough economic times, closing hundreds of stores and scaling back new store openings, it apparently hasn’t compromised its core ethical base. According to the report, the company’s C.A.F.E. practices (don’t you just love corporate acronyms—in this case, CAFE stands for Coffee And Farmer Equity Practices) demand transparency all along the supply chain, beginning at the source with the farmer. These practices also use “rigorous” standards to conserve water and energy, reduce agrochemical waste, and protect biodiversity at the source. They also promote social responsibility by monitoring working conditions and protecting workers’ rights, as well as enforcing child and other forced-labor laws. 

Now, do I think this report contains a great deal of corporate aggrandizement and “spin”? Of course I do; after all, crafting pieces like this contributes to how I make my own living. But I also think that Starbucks stands at the vanguard of similar companies as far as such practices go; in other words, I think they’re probably doing as well as they can given the current worldwide economic circumstances, I do applaud them for that. And I think reports like this signpost something even more important: That companies understand that the average person cares more today—is better informed today—than at any other time in the history of this country regarding such issues. That the average person feels more engaged, that they have more “ownership,” than at any other time in recent memory. Why? Partly because of the Internet, partly because of the light-speed nature of the blogosphere, and partly because we’ve just elected a President that has convinced all of us that real change is not only possible, but is a 21st Century mandate that we can ignore only at our peril.  Phase II has finally arrived…