Starbucks gives back to its ME communities
Focus on making world a better place KFH sponsors lectures on real estate and economy at GUST
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: Starbucks, the leading coffee house operator, has successfully added value to people’s lives across the Middle East and North Africa for the past years. Over the years, the brand has set the benchmark for Corporate Social Responsibility among private businesses; giving back to communities it operates in, through an overarching executable strategy that focuses on making this world a better place. Environmental Stewardship, Creating Pathways to Opportunity and Ethical Sourcing are the three key areas that the brand concentrates on.
From an Environmental Stewardship standpoint, Starbucks aims at pioneering sustainable solutions such as: Green Building solutions, Recycling, and Water and Energy Conservation, and was able to succeed in creating a significant impact on the entire food service industry. The effectiveness of these programs can largely be contributed to partnerships forged with local communities and organisations.
Creating Pathways to Opportunity for young people has been a key policy for Starbucks. By mobilizing partners (employees), customers, civic leaders and non-profit organizations through programs such as the Global Month of Service, the BADIR program and Community Stores, every neighbourhood where the brand operates has an opportunity to empower themselves.
Holistic
Last, but not least, Ethical Sourcing of coffee beans has been a key focus for Starbucks. To this end, the brand has adopted a holistic approach that includes responsible purchasing practices, farmer support and forest conservation programs. This approach is grounded in Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices: a comprehensive set of more than 200 social, economic and environmental indicators, with quality as a key requirement. For over 15 years, Starbucks has worked with Conservation International to ensure the ethical sourcing of coffee. In 2015 Starbucks has verified 99% of its coffee as being ethically sourced.
“Starbucks is a business with a social conscience,” says Rana Shaheen, regional communications and CSR manager of Starbucks Coffee MENA. “All its initiatives are developed to directly contribute to the surrounding communities. From the farming communities around the world to the neighborhoods that are homes to our stores, we believe we have a responsibility to give back to the people we work with and serve.”
“Our community engagement programs are designed to respond to the specific needs of every community we operate in. Time and again, we have formed relationships with like-minded organisations to magnify the moments of connection that remain at the foundation of our business,” added Rana.
On a regional level, Starbucks has marked its commitment towards toward each of the Middle East and North African markets through solid
A group of KFH Staff and participants at the IFC’s event
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) sponsored two lectures on Real Estate and the History of National Economy held at Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) as part of the Islamic Finance Club (IFC), sponsored by KFH, to educate and raise awareness on the history and components of the national economy.
The IFC’s annual event was organized under the title of “The History of Local Economy from 1979 until 2015”. The event demonstrated the key stages and developments of the national economy during the said era of Kuwait history. It contributed to enrich the experience of students and to the sharing of ideas that all attendees value. It identified and educated students on the establishment of Islamic banks that represented a quantum leap in the history of banking in Kuwait, and have become an integral part of the global economy components.
Moreover, the IFC organized a seminar for students titled “Introduction to Real Estate Investment” presented by the real estate expert Abdullah Aldleijan. The seminar witnessed huge turnout and participation which confirms the importance of real estate as an important field of investment in the local market. The seminar tackled a presentation on real estate market in Kuwait, its elements and the repercussions that cast a shadow over real estate, some significant tips for investors, in addition to raising the importance of real estate development projects as key players of development and impetus towards revitalizing the market and averting economic recession.