The Corporate Social Responsibility Analysis Of Starbucks

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With over 27,000 locations worldwide, Starbucks has become a goliath in the commercial coffee market, with a revenue of $22.38 Billion in 2017 (Starbucks, 2017). The coffeehouse chain was founded in 1971 in Seattle Washington, starting with a single small store that embraced a community and friendly feel (Schultz, 2012.) Now in modern times, Starbucks still aims to have traits that match that original socially responsible mindset (Starbucks, n.d.). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a business entity 's capabilities to recognize/act on their effects on society, with the four main areas of CSR defined by (Carroll, 1991) as Economic, Legal, Ethical and Philanthropic (In descending order of importance.) Each year Starbucks produces a Global impact report (Starbucks, 2016), this voluntary report sets out the goals and CSR progress that the entity has made on those four areas. From their extensive efforts outlined in this report, it is obvious that Starbucks does not only aim to meet the needs of the shareholders but all stakeholders. For example, they have donated more than 25 million trees, created a foundation to provide grants to small farmers, and use 99% ethically sourced coffee. Profits are reduced because of these costly initiatives but the firm 's sustainability is increased (Starbucks, 2016). Thus, Starbucks is more reflective of the stakeholder theory (Phillips, 2003). This quote from the entity’s executive chairman reflects this position, “What we stand for

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