Starbucks works with 450,000-plus farms that grow the highest quality Arabica coffee in the world. Starbucks works to develop on-farm interventions, share seeds, research and practices across the industry to help farmers mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Starbucks Coffee Co., the world’s largest coffeehouse chain and member of the Food Shippers of America (FSA), is acquiring two innovation farms in Central America to advance research to protect its coffee supply.

Starbucks is buying two innovation farms, in Guatemala and Costa Rica, as it looks to protect its coffee supply from the effects of a changing climate. The farms will study hybrid coffee varieties to advance research and development of climate-resilient coffee. The Costa Rica farm will also pilot drones and other labor-saving technologies as Starbucks explores the use of automation to address workforce shortages in Latin America.

Starbucks now operates three innovation farms, purchasing its first in Costa Rica more than 10 years ago. The coffee retailer says it plans additional farm investments in Africa and Asia as it looks to build an innovation network across the world’s largest growing regions.

Protecting the Future of Coffee with Two New Coffee Farms

Starbucks, which sources 3% of the world’s coffee, is ramping up investments in its supply chain as climate change experts expect hotter temperatures and changing climates to dramatically transform production and shrink the amount of land suitable for growing in half by 2050.

Starbucks sources and roasts only Arabica beans, which are sensitive to heat. Even a half a degree difference at the wrong time can make a big impact on coffee yield, flavor and aroma, according to the Climate Institute.

“Starbucks works with more than 450,000 farms that grow the highest quality Arabica coffee in the world,” says Michelle Burns, Starbucks Executive Vice President of Global Coffee and Sustainability. “Our promise to those farmers and their communities is that we will always work to ensure a sustainable future of coffee for all. Our solution is to develop on-farm interventions, share seeds, research and practices across the industry to help farmers mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

Safeguarding Coffee Supply and Addressing Production Barriers

Rising temperatures have had a dramatic impact on production in many of the world’s top growing regions. Droughts in Brazil and Vietnam recently have pushed coffee prices higher and threatened supply shortages.

For companies like Starbucks, innovation is considered to be instrumental to safeguarding coffee supply and addressing some of the most significant barriers to expanding production – especially as global demand continues to rise. Daily coffee consumption in the U.S. reached a 20-year high this year, and global demand has continued to strengthen in countries including China.

At Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks is working to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The company has created best practices to make growing coffee more profitable; developed the next generation of disease-resistant, quality coffee; and shared it all with farmers around the world. For example, since making the commitment to distribute 100 million coffee trees by 2025, Starbucks has distributed approximately 90 million climate-resistant coffee trees and more than 53 million coffee seedlings to farmers. Additional coffee innovation farms will enable more research in new geographies to better mitigate the threat of climate change.

The new farms in Costa Rica and Guatemala will both study hybrid coffee varieties under different elevations and soil conditions, which is a critical step in the research of new genetic material. The farm in Costa Rica, located next to Hacienda Alsacia, will also be designed to explore the use of mechanization, drones and other technologies to help support labor availability challenges that farmers in Latin America are facing. In Guatemala, one of Starbucks most important origins, the farm in the Antigua Valley will replicate a smallholder farming design with conditions that mirror challenges that many farms face today. Beyond climate resilience, Starbucks is also researching solutions to lower its own environmental footprint. The chain has a goal of achieving “carbon neutral green coffee” by 2030.

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