Open Letter on Behalf of Shareholders to Officers and Directors of Starbucks Corporation

Today, on behalf of a set of concerned Starbucks shareholders, the ACR Project demanded that the company publicly retract the host of illegal, discriminatory policies it has adopted in the name of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity.

These policies run a broad gamut, committing Starbucks to discriminate based on race, ethnicity, sex, and gender, across a wide variety of contracts.  Starbucks has specifically committed to: (a) achieve “BIPOC representation of at least 30% at all corporate levels and at least 40% at all retail and manufacturing roles by 2025[;]”; (b) complete “the roll out of an analytics tool that will provide leaders with visibility to current diverse representation relative to Starbucks representation goals[;]” (c) incorporate “measurements focused on building inclusive and diverse teams in to [Starbucks’] executive compensation programs beginning in FY21[;] (d) “Increase the number of Black directors[;]” (e) adjust the Starbucks Supplier Diversity and Inclusion program to “increase its spend with diverse suppliers” from $800 million “to $1.5 billion by 2030[;]” (f) in the next year, “allocat[e] 15 percent of [Starbucks’] advertising budget with minority-owned and targeted media companies[;]” and (g) “launch a Leadership Accelerator Program” that “will focus on empowering [employee] capacity for self-promotion, advocacy and career navigation” to facilitate entry into “the leadership pipeline at Starbucks[,]” but which Starbucks will make available initially only to its “BIPOC [employees] at the individual contributor level.”

The policies related to hiring, firing, promotions, and staffing violate Title VII. The racial components of both those policies and Starbucks’ race-discriminating policies for outside-contracting (including with suppliers and media) violate the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Several states have also adopted their own Civil Rights laws, which Starbucks’ disclosed policies systematically violate.

You can read the full letter, below.