Written by Melanie Kozlan, Four Green Steps

Al Gore isn't the only one worried about climate change- Starbucks' sustainability director recently spoke out about the company's business concerns as the environment changes and coffee becomes less available.

From the Guardian:

In a telephone interview with the Guardian, Jim Hanna, the company's sustainability director, said its farmers were already seeing the effects of a changing climate, with severe hurricanes and more resistant bugs reducing crop yields.

The company is now preparing for the possibility of a serious threat to global supplies. "What we are really seeing as a company as we look 10, 20, 30 years down the road – if conditions continue as they are – is a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean," Hanna said.

Hanna said the company was working with local producers to try to cushion them from future changes.

"If we sit by and wait until the impacts of climate change are so severe that is impacting our supply chain then that puts us at a greater risk," he said. "From a business perspective we really need to address this now, and to look five, 10, and 20 years down the road."

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

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