Starbucks’ New Plan to Minimize Waste

In 2022, Starbucks set a goal to reduce waste sent to landfills from stores and direct operation by 50% by 2030. With this bold target in mind they set their sights on reducing their environmental footprint, particularly focusing on single-use plastics. Starbucks is shifting away from single-use plastics and is promoting reusability and recycled materials.

“We set a bold aspiration to become a resource positive company – to store more carbon than we emit, to eliminate waste and to conserve and replenish more freshwater than we use. This aspiration included setting ambitious 2030 targets to cut our carbon, water, and waste footprints in half,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer. “Innovation is how we will build our next chapter, advance our planet positive impact, and boldly reimagine our future together.”

Starbucks Stories

Starbucks’ goal by 2025 is to create a movement towards resuables by giving customers easy access to a personal or Starbucks provided resuable cup. To create a convenient reusable cup system for customers, they are testing multiple programs and operating models:

Borrow A Cup

Customers order their drink in a designated Starbucks reusable cup, designed to be returned to stores, professionally cleaned, and reused by other Starbucks customers.

100% Reusable Operating Models

For this program, single-use cups are eliminated and reusable, personal cups are favored. After testing in four stores in Jeju, South Korea, the initiative took off, expanding to 12 additional stores in Seoul. Starbucks claims that “The test in Jeju diverted an estimated 200,000 disposable cups from landfills in the first three months.”

Personal Cups & For-Here-Ware

This program encourages customers to bring their own cup. Starbucks will provide reusable cups for the sit-and-stay experience. They are currently testing a 100% for-here-ware program at their Greener Store in Shanghai.

Starbucks Stories

Customer Incentives

Promotions:

For several years, Starbucks has offered a red, festive resuable cup during the holiday season. They recently partnered with the Ocean Conservancy to donate $1 to the organization for each customer that brought in their own reusable cup.

Incentives:

Since the 1980s, Starbucks has offered a $0.10 discount for customers that bring in their own reusable cup. With their new iniative, they are conducting financial tests ranges from a $0.10 single use cup fee to a $0.50 discount for bringing personal reusable cups.

Starbucks’ dedication to sustainability sends a powerful message to consumers and large franchises across the globe. As Starbucks continues to test its new strategies, we hope they can inspire a larger movement towards waste reduction in coffee shops worldwide. There is hope for a future where coffee consumption aligns harmoniously with sustainability!