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In response to the worst drought that California has suffered in more than 1, 000 years, Starbucks will no longer bottle its Ethos brand water in the state. The company has begun a six month process of switching over to its Pennsylvania supplier.
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Starbucks has been bottling water in Mercer, California, where residents have been required to cut their water usage by 35%.
This is both a responsible as well as a smart move since the Ethos brand was established as part of a program to help bring clean water to people around the world. As Starbucks states, “Ethos Water serves the needs of some of the billion people around the world who lack access to clean water.” Starbucks acquired Ethos Water in 2005 in an effort to help, “address the global humanitarian water crisis.”
Since then Starbucks has invested over $12 million in water, sanitation and hygiene education in coffee growing countries in Africa, Indonesia and Latin America.
The company issued a statement saying, “Due to the serious drought conditions and necessary water conservation efforts in California, Starbucks is moving the sourcing and manufacturing of Ethos Water out of state.”
“We are committed to our mission to be a globally responsible company and to support the people of the state of California as they face this unprecedented drought, ” said John Kelly, Starbucks senior vice president of Global Responsibility and Public Policy. “The decision to move our Ethos water sourcing from California and reduce our in-store water usage by more than 25 percent are steps we are taking in partnership with state and local governments to accelerate water conservation.”
