Starbucks Corporation CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ...

Policy Governance CouncilOver the years, Starbucks has adopted certain governancetools, such as policies, standards, guidelines and proceduresto help guide our business conduct in accordance with thelaw and Starbucks Mission Statement and Guiding Principles.Until recently, Starbucks did not have a formal structure orprocess for oversight and management of these governancetools, a reality that left the company’s reputation, brandand culture at risk in the event these tools were not properlymanaged or enforced.Starbucks formed a Policy Governance Council in fiscal2006 to oversee and approve our governance tools at theglobal enterprise level, and to ensure they are well defined,consistent with each other, current, stored for easy retrieval,and effectively communicated to partners. The Councilis comprised of company leaders who represent multiplebusiness units and functions, and is supported by Starbucksnewly created Policy Office and staff.• To help us improve our transparency, we engaged variousstakeholders in June 2006 and invited them to providefeedback on Starbucks Fiscal 2005 CSR Report. Theirinput helped influence the changes we made to this currentCSR Report, including our decision to print only anabridged version focused on our most material issues andpublish the full report online.• In September 2006, Starbucks held a stakeholderfeedback session to gain initial input on the developmentof our sustainable purchasing guidelines for Starbuckscocoa, which will be piloted in fiscal 2007. Participantswho attended the session represented our suppliers,governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations(NGOs), and chocolate manufacturers. It is likely they willbe consulted again on this issue as we move forward.Stakeholder EngagementStarbucks stakeholders include partners (employees),customers, suppliers, shareholders, governments, communitymembers, environmental groups, activists and many others.By proactively engaging our stakeholders, including thosewho may be directly impacted by our business decisions, weare able to better understand their concerns and gain theirinput on topics of mutual importance.We hosted several stakeholder meetings in fiscal 2006,including the following:• A nutrition roundtable was held in October 2005 toexplore health and wellness issues in the food industry.Our objectives were to better understand stakeholderexpectations of the company’s responsibilities regardingspecific nutrition issues, to learn how our current effortsare being perceived and to establish a platform for ongoingdialogue on the topic. An important outcome of thisengagement was Starbucks decision to form a health andwellness advisory panel in fiscal 2007.• Starbucks engaged stakeholders to discuss water-relatedissues in November 2005. The discussion focused onStarbucks role as both a user of water resources throughoutour supply chain and operations, and as a supporter ofefforts to improve access to clean water around the world.Stakeholders recommended that Starbucks conduct aresource use assessment to clarify the company’s waterfootprint as a first step toward developing an overallcorporate water strategy. Participants urged us to use ourretail footprint and brand to raise awareness of the watercrisis facing people in developing countries, in addition tofunding clean water projects in communities.S T A R B U C K S A N D C O R P O R A T E S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y 12