Starbucks Issues First Global Yen Sustainability Bond in Japan
March 17 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Sustainability bond issuance follows company’s
first U.S. Corporate Sustainability Bond in 2016 as part of its
ongoing commitment to sustainably sourced coffee
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) today announced that it has
closed an underwritten public offering of senior notes, comprising
the first global yen-denominated Corporate Sustainability Bond
issued in the Japanese market. The company will use the net
proceeds from the offering of 85 billion Japanese Yen in 0.372%
Senior Notes due 2024 to enhance its sustainability programs around
coffee supply chain management through Eligible Sustainability
Projects. This includes coffee purchases from suppliers verified by
a third-party as complying with Starbucks ethical sourcing
verification program of Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.)
Practices, the development and operation of farmer support centers
in coffee growing regions, as well as new and financed loans made
through Starbucks Global Farmer Fund.
“Coffee is our core and we are committed to supporting the
sustainability of the specialty coffee industry for future
generations through the issuance of our second sustainability
bond,” said Scott Maw, chief financial officer, Starbucks. “We are
pleased to be able to close our first foreign-denominated bond
issuance in Japan, a significant and strategically important global
market for Starbucks, which is renowned for its socially conscious
consumers and investors who have fully embraced the Starbucks
brand. Japan was our first international market outside of North
America and has continued to grow and scale over the past 20 years
to now more than 1,200 stores across all 47 prefectures.”
Each year, Starbucks invests significantly in its comprehensive
approach to ethically source its coffee. This includes providing
support to coffee farming communities, helping mitigate the impact
of climate change, and reinforcing long-term crop stability and
farm sustainability. This work has contributed to the planting of
22 million rust-resistant coffee trees in Latin America to-date.
Starbucks operates a network of nine farmer support centers around
the world (Rwanda, Tanzania, Colombia, China, Costa Rica,
Indonesia, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Mexico), and has a commitment to
provide $50 million in farmer financing in the form of new and
financed loans. In 2013, Starbucks also purchased a working coffee
farm in Costa Rica which acts as a global research and development
center. All of this is grounded in the company’s open sourced
C.A.F.E. Practices developed with Conservation International over
15 years ago. This rigorous set of best practices helps to ensure
that the methods used in growing and processing coffee are
efficient, effective and sustainable, both environmentally and
socially. In 2015, 99% of Starbucks 551 million pounds of green
coffee purchased were verified as ethically sourced and Starbucks
became a founding member of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge - an
industry coalition with a call to action to make coffee the first
sustainable agricultural product in the world.
Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of environmental,
social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, delivered the
second opinion for the Sustainability Bond. This independent review
offers investors additional insight into the proposed projects to
be funded by the bond, as well as the expected positive
environmental and social impacts of these projects. Sustainalytics
also rates Starbucks as an ESG leader in both overall and relative
performance to its peers.
"Starbucks efforts to improve sustainable agricultural practices
and socioeconomic conditions of coffee farmers underscore its
ongoing commitment to sustainable coffee production,” said
Alexander Rengers, executive director of Advisory Services at
Sustainalytics. “We are honored to work with Starbucks on their
Sustainability Bond and look forward to seeing the impact of their
bond.”
Starbucks offered the first U.S. Corporate Sustainability Bond
in May 2016. The issuance marked the first time a U.S. Corporation
offered a Sustainability bond focused on educational and
sustainable agricultural initiatives to further diversify the
company’s investor base. The high interest and success of the
initial issuance was a catalyst for the company’s first foreign
denominated issuance of a Sustainability bond.
Starbucks will publish annual updates of the allocation of the
proceeds throughout the term of the sustainability bond until the
proceeds have been fully allocated to projects meeting the
eligibility criteria. These updates will be reported publicly on
the Starbucks website at www.starbucks.com and may include
additional descriptions of select projects funded with
sustainability bond proceeds, and, where possible, their
environmental and/or social impacts.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to
ethically sourcing and roasting
high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with more than 25,000
stores around the globe, Starbucks is the premier roaster and
retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering
commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the
unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through
every cup. To share in the experience, please visit our stores or
online at news.starbucks.com and Starbucks.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release are
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable
securities laws and regulations, including statements about the
expected closing of a public offering or senior notes and the use
of proceeds of such offering. Such forward-looking statements are
based on current management expectations and satisfactions of
certain conditions that are subject to various risks and
uncertainties, including market conditions and those risks detailed
in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section of the Starbucks
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 2,
2016, and the prospectus and prospectus supplement delivered in
connection with the public offering of senior notes discussed in
this release. The company assumes no obligation to update any of
these forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170317005168/en/
Starbucks Contact, Investor Relations:Tom Shaw,
206-318-7118investorrelations@starbucks.comorStarbucks Contact,
Media:Marianne Duong, 206-318-7100press@starbucks.com
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