Buyer programme
Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices
C.A.F.E. Practices is Starbucks' own ethical-sourcing verification, the cornerstone of how the company has bought coffee since 2004. Because it is private to one buyer it is not a certification consumers can look for on other brands, but it covers a large share of the world's specialty-grade arabica and so shapes farm practice in many origins.
- Register
- Not openNo public register to check
- Founded
- 2004
- Run by
- Starbucks (owner); SCS Global Services (verification oversight); approved third-party verifiers
- Covers
- Farms and producer groups
What it requires
In this atlas's own wordsA buyer-owned verification programme: suppliers, farms and mills that sell to Starbucks are audited by organisations trained and approved by SCS Global Services against the C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices standard, covering quality, economic transparency, social responsibility and environmental leadership. It works on continuous improvement rather than a one-off pass or fail.
Countries active
No country list recorded.
Checking a claim
The register
No open register
No register address recorded.
No public register of verified suppliers.
Logo use
No consumer-facing label; Starbucks communicates the programme in its own sustainability reporting.