Starbucks to Donate a Coffee Tree to Farmers for Every Cup of Mexico Chiapas Coffee Sold on National Coffee Day in the U.S. and Mexico

Today, Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) announced that customers who purchase a brewed Mexico Chiapas coffee on National Coffee Day, Sept. 29, will be part of their effort to help coffee farmers around the world. A program created this time last year, the One Tree for Every Bag initiative ensures that a coffee tree is planted for every bag of coffee purchased in a participating U.S. store. These coffee trees are distributed to farmers who have been most impacted by coffee rust, a plant fungus that damages coffee trees making it harder for them to produce high-quality coffee for the entire industry. Earlier this summer Starbucks began distributing the first rust-resistant coffee trees in collaboration with one of its suppliers, ECOM and Conservation International. The company has a goal of planting a total of twenty million trees.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005297/en/

Starbucks to Donate a Rust-Resistant Coffee Tree to Farmers for Every Cup of Mexico Chiapas Coffee Sold on National Coffee Day, September 29. (Photo: Business Wire)

To date, Starbucks One Tree for Every Bag Commitment has had the following impact:

• Starbucks has donated enough funds to plant 18 million rust-resistant coffee trees in just one year
• This summer, the first phase of distribution began when 10 million healthy coffee trees were distributed to farmers in need across El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico
• More than 6,200 farming families received new coffee trees helping to rehabilitate more than 2,500 hectares of farmland
• Nearly 800 jobs were created to support the initial distribution of these coffee trees
• Each healthy coffee tree will grow enough green coffee to roast and package one pound of finished coffee

“I have seen firsthand the devastation coffee rust has had on farmers. The initial distribution of these coffee trees has already had a positive impact with potential to help farmers and their families for years to come,” said Craig Russell, executive vice president, Starbucks Global Coffee. “We have an ambitious goal of planting 20 million trees and celebrating Chiapas coffee, the birthplace of our ethical sourcing program over a decade ago. This is the perfect way to have our customers and the coffee community become part of the solution on National Coffee Day,” said Russell.

For more information, please visit www.News.Starbucks.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160926005297/en/