Starbucks formed a partnership with Conservation International in 1998 to promote enviromentally sound methods of growing coffee. Furthermore, Starbucks invested $200,000 to support eco-friendly crops in Mexico in 2003, only to find out that thse crops had better taste and greater economic potential. Since then, the company has given an additional $1.5 million to support expansion of the Conservation Coffee program in Central America, Peru, and Colombia.