Starbucks reaffirms resolve to balance profitability with a social conscience 　
Starbucks Coffee Thailand, the local arm of Starbucks that operates in more than 57 countries, last week joined the global community service campaign, where its partners joined hands with the local community to rebuild the library and facilities at the fl
The Global Month of Service was carried out by Starbucks worldwide with the realisation that the scale could be employed for the public good.
Murray Darling, managing director, stresses the importance of CSR activities in his written replies to The Nation:
What CSR activities will Starbucks carry out this year? Are all activities designed at the head office? Which are the activities that are locally designed. What is the highlight of this year’s activities?
Starbucks is committed to helping communities thrive wherever we do business. We believe in promoting literacy among Thai youth globally, however, specific causes are agreed and supported at a country level. In Thailand, we have worked actively with Book for Children Foundation for four consecutive years to develop the love of reading amongst Thai children so that they will grow into more informed and better-educated adults. More than 230,000 books have been collected from Starbucks customers and all have been donated to the ‘Family Library Project’.
In 2011, Starbucks joined the Foundation for Intellectual Disability Children Project. Starbucks partners spent time reading to the children once a month over seven months. Our work at the WatKla Cha-um School this week involved more than 2,000 man hours to transform the library and playground, seriously damaged by flooding last year. Starbucks Thailand has been actively supporting four Thai NGOs for up to seven years through voluntary help and donations: like Books for Children Foundation under the project “Reading Therapy”; Goodwill Group Foundation under the project “Life Inspiration”; Human Development Foundation under the project “Mercy Farm”; and Integrated Tribal Development Programme through Muan Jai Blend Coffee, under the project “Community Learning Centre”.
What’s the importance of this community service? What does the company aim to achieve?
Starbucks partners’ connection to and involvement in communities has always been and always will be a company hallmark. For the past 40 years, we have balanced profitability with a social conscience and remain committed to inspiring and investing in our communities. The Global Month of Service programme will amplify our commitment to community service and sustained engagement in communities. April is just the beginning.
In your view, what is the most important value of CSR activities? Who would benefit the most from the activities?
Over the last 40 years, Starbucks has been committed to helping support the communities wherever we do business. It is a philosophy that is at the heart of what we do. We believe that we have a duty to strike a balance between our profitability and our social conscience. It is the right thing to do – right for our customers, right for our communities and right for our business.
Is it necessary that all employees be involved with the activities?
It is certainly not a requirement, but almost without exception our partners are enthusiastic and motivated to take part. They see it as a foundation of our business, not only providing great service in our stores but also having a responsibility to serve our communities. Giving back to our communities in an active and meaningful way has always been part of who we are as a company.
In 2011, Starbucks Thailand partners committed almost 5,000 hours of service to a variety of projects and more than Bt2.5 million of funding. In 2012, Starbucks will volunteer 6,000 hours of community service and donate nearly Bt10 million towards community projects through local NGOs in Thailand. We plan to increase this to 10,000 hours by 2015.
How do the activities boost the company’s corporate image and how do they benefit the Starbucks brand and the company?
Giving back to local communities in meaningful ways has always been who we are as a company. Similar to other community activities, our recent Global Month of Service provided us with an opportunity to bring people together, inspire change and make a difference in people’s lives. It is about using our scale for good.
For the past 40 years, we have balanced profitability with a social conscience and remain committed to inspiring and investing in our communities. Our brand is built on this philosophy, our customers expect it and it is the right thing to do.
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In 2011, Starbucks Thailand partners committed almost 5,000 hours of service to a variety of projects and more than Bt2.5 million of funding. In 2012, Starbucks will volunteer about 6,000 hours of community service and donate nearly Bt10 million towards community projects through local NGOs in Thailand.
• The Wat Kla Cha-um event on April 24 was organised in partnership with Books for Children Foundation. The refurbished library will be filled with 2,000 new books, computers, and other teaching aids, and a transformed playground, benefiting over 1,000 children.
• The annual Global Month of Service is celebrated across the world. In April 2011, globally it was joined by 60,000 volunteers across 30 countries, who completed more than 1,400 community service projects. More than 156,000 hours of service were provided.
