Starbucks
HEADQUARTERS: Seattle, United States • FOUNDED: 1971
A dominant force in the Consumer Goods sector, Starbucks maintains a complex global operation spanning North America. Recent environmental audits highlight significant ecological challenges resulting from their industrial output and resource extraction methods.
Timeline of Global Infractions & Audits
Supply chain investigations traced raw material purchases back to unpermitted logging of protected primary forest blocks in South America.
Massive agro-chemical runoff from intensive commercial monoculture farms led to severe eutrophication and toxic algae blooms in freshwater lakes.
Live Sensor Logging Watch
Global Forest Watch satellite imagery flagged 148 hectares of unpermitted canopy clearing near Starbucks contract supply boundary in China.
Brazil consumer protection agency threatened to halt commercial shipments due to failure to produce verified deforestation-free certificates.
Added 853 hectares of verified, satellite-tracked canopy degradation to Starbucks's profile index.
Civil society groups initiated on-the-ground investigations into slash-and-burn practices by certified palm oil and agricultural suppliers.