Environment Support

STARBUCKS

Starbucks Coffee Company is a leading retailer of coffee with over 15,000 stores in at least 42 countries. Brewed coffee, hot chocolate, espresso, cold coffee drinks, teas, pastries, salads and sandwiches are just a few of the products sold in a Starbucks store. They also offer the option of ‘customizing' your drink by adding other ingredients and syrups. Coffee mugs, coffee beans and music CDs are also marketed.

The company was founded by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker in Seattle, Washington in 1971. The initial Starbucks vended high-quality coffee beans and coffee equipment. Howard Schultz joined the three in 1982. Inspired by his trip to Milan, Schultz advised that the company sell coffee drinks and espresso. The original owners did not like the idea, so Schultz started his Il Giornale coffee bar chain in 1985. Eventually, in 1987, the three owners sold their coffee chain to Schultz. He re-branded his Il Giornale outlets as Starbucks and the coffee chain quickly expanded. From a simple coffee bean retailer, Starbucks is now one of the world's largest retail coffee and tea shop.

The Starbucks main headquarters is located at Seattle, Washington, United States.

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Starbucks has just recently made improvements and changes towards greener business practices. The company has undertaken measures in managing waste, protecting the environment, conserving water and energy usage, and reducing the usage of chemicals in agricultural fields. Imposing environmentalism "from bean to cup," one of their environmental efforts is a partnership with Conservation International (CI) that they initiated in 1998. They promoted the use of ecologically-sound coffee growing practices among their coffee growers to protect biodiversity.

Starbucks also assesses their store operations to cut down waste and conserve energy and water. By installing waterless toilets, cost efficient lightings, and using natural products in its furniture and millwork, Starbucks has made positive changes. Considered a smart move by critics and customers alike, the corporation is slowly shifting into the going-green campaign, setting an example for other business establishments to follow.

Starbucks has also made efforts to reduce post-consumer waste specifically for their beverage cups. The company's effort to redesign its cups started in 1996, in partnership with the Alliance for Environmental Innovation, a joint initiative of Environmental Defense and The Pew Charitable Trust. The hot beverage cups, which were approved by the United States Food and Drug Commission, are made with 10% post-consumer fiber. This reduced their reliance on tree fiber by over five million pounds per annum.

To further reduce waste, Starbucks encourages its customers and partners (employees) to use reusable mugs. Customers who use their own mugs get a $0.10 discount. This effort saves several hundreds of pounds of paper cups from going into landfills.

Starbucks also has its "Transportation Options Program," or TOP, a commuting alternative for the company's employees. The program includes subsidized transit passes, free shuttle buses for local commutes, and perks for carpoolers, pedestrians and bike riders.

Starbucks is trying and doing its best to reduce the impacts of its business to the environment. By developing solutions to the environmental concerns and at the same time understanding the issues, Starbucks is slowly but progressively trying to make way for a green change in the company.

Starbucks Environment Resources