Starbucks has been working in partnership with environmental organisation Conservation International for over 15 years, ensuring that 99% of Starbucks coffee is ethically sourced. This figure makes Starbucks the largest coffee retailer to reach this milestone, and the 9th September – the ninth day of the ninth month – was used to celebrate the 99% ethically sourced coffee in stores.

To mark the occasion, Starbucks Capucines store in Paris hosted stakeholders to learn more about the Starbucks coffee sourcing journey, the development of Starbucks C.A.F.E (Coffee and Farmer Equity) practices programme, progress to date and ambitions for the future.

VIDEO: Starbucks and Conservation International video with French subtitles

Béatrice Héraud from sustainability research company Novethic discussed the Sustainable Coffee Challenge. It’s through this challenge, Starbucks and Conservation International intend to work with other coffee companies to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product.

Kemal, a Parisian Starbucks partner who joined the annual Origin trip to a Rwandan coffee farm to see the impact that C.A.F.E practices has on the lives of our farmers first-hand led a tasting of the Rwandan Hingakawa Reserve coffee. The word "Hingakawa" is native Rwandan and translates into "Let's grow coffee." This Rwandan chant is also the name of an all-women led co-op Starbucks supports, where women are supported by growing coffee.