Since launching its 2020 plan to cut carbon, water and waste in half by 2030, Starbucks has transformed over 3,500 cafes into “green stores,” and is one-third of the way to completing its commitment to designing, building, and operating 10,000 Greener Stores globally by 2025.
A store earns green status after meeting 25 standards, developed in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and SCS Global Services, across eight environmental areas, such as energy efficiency, water stewardship and waste diversion.
“The Greener Stores journey is truly a Starbucks-wide effort, from our store designers and construction teams to software developers who ensure we can collect sustainability data on a global scale to our store partners (employees) who encourage customers to use reusable cups or Grounds for Your Garden,” Grace Yoo, Starbucks Greener Stores global program manager, said in a company press release. “Most of them look no different from any other Starbucks store, but there are Greener Stores quietly opening and operating all throughout the world, with unglamorous details like energy-efficient dishwashers, water-saving faucets, and carefully thought-out waste diversion signage to help do our part in mitigating the effects of climate change.”
Another way Starbucks is hoping to cut waste is by developing a convenient way for consumers to shift from single-use cups. In 184 stores in Colorado, for example, the chain is testing a process that allows customers to order their beverages and give baristas their own cups. Customers save 10 cents, and Starbucks Rewards members receive an additional 25 bonus stars. By the start of next year, Starbucks aims for customers to be able to use their own personal cups for every store visit in the US and Canada, according to the release.
_0.jpg?VersionId=_yBJUJd03lbh8DXwhImDFFCugzFd7AOZ)
