Following news that employees at two of its locations have successfully formed unions after years of organizing, Starbucks fans have more to feel good about when it comes to where the money from their daily java habit is actually going.
Hilary Russ of Reuters has reported that following a recent announcement, coffee giant Starbucks Corp. has promised to “nearly double its spending with suppliers and vendors from underrepresented groups in North America by 2030 to $1.5 billion.”
In a statement, Dennis Brockman, Starbucks’ Chief Global Inclusion and Diversity Officer, announced that the company would be launching its new initiative based on some of the new opportunities created by the otherwise catastrophic and ongoing COVID-19-related global supply chain disruption.
Brockman said that shortages and delays of needed products have allowed the company to “seek out and search” for other places to source those products. As the company was doing that, he said Starbucks shifted its focus to smaller Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, LGBTQ and women-owned businesses that could help to fill those gaps.
“Smaller companies can take advantage of this current situation,” Brockman said.
Brockman also announced that the company would begin releasing annual updates to the public on its progress with this new spending initiative.
According to Russ, “Starbucks also said on Tuesday, Jan. 11, that it will spend 15% of its fiscal 2022 paid media budget with minority-owned media companies, [although] the company declined to provide a dollar figure.”
Related: For more recent diversity and inclusion news, click here.
