We know this is important to our customers, to us and to the planet.

What we are doing

Despite the many challenges, we are rolling out recycling and waste reduction on many fronts.

Recycling in stores

In many of our stores located in regions where waste is commercially recycled, we recycle at least one type of waste – but, in general, this happens behind the counter, out of customers' sight. Recycling depends on the availability of commercial recycling services where our stores are located. Unfortunately, some local communities that offer full residential recycling provide minimal or no commercial recycling. And in the case of stores that operate in leased spaces, the property owners control waste collection and recycling.

However, we still need to focus on what we can do and how we can work with others to make recycling easier for us and for our customers.

Reusable cups - Paused during the COVID-19 period

Reducing the environmental impact of our cups depends on the success of two interrelated efforts: developing recyclable cup solutions and significantly increasing the use of reusable cups by our customers. Many customers are also working to reduce their own environmental impact. Customers who stay in the store can also request that their drinks be served in a ceramic mug. Every unused paper cup helps keep our forests intact.

Greener cups

Over the years, Starbucks has launched several initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of our disposable cups.

• In 2006, we launched the industry's first paper cup for hot beverages, with 10% post-consumer recycled fiber.

• In 2008, we produced a new plastic cup with a lower environmental impact than our original plastic cups.

• In 2009, we held a Cup Summit in Seattle, bringing together every facet of our paper and plastic cup value chain to agree on the criteria for a fully recyclable cup solution.

We are committed to doing more and continuing to research new ways to reduce the environmental impact of our disposable cups and other packaging.

Compost

We launched Grounds for Your Garden in 1995, which offers customers free bags of used coffee grounds to enrich garden soil. And where commercial composting is available, many stores can divert other food waste and coffee grounds from the trash.

Much of the water we use in our stores goes to brewing coffee and tea beverages, in addition to “behind-the-scenes” operations such as running dishwashers and ice machines. We are working to better understand how we use water and how we can use it more responsibly.

What we are doing

We are implementing new alternatives to the utensil cleaning system — low-flow taps or aerators — which we believe will significantly reduce water use across the planet.

We continue to include water-saving technology in our equipment specifications. For example, in our U.S. stores, our mechanical dishwashers use less than one gallon (4 liters) of water per cycle, with the use of high-pressure spray arms.

In many markets, we use pressurized water taps to clean blender jars instead of running water. We also program our espresso machines to release less water when rinsing cups. In addition, we train our partners to keep the cooling coils on ice machines clean, in order to reduce the latent heat from the machines and minimize ice melting.

Designing, building and operating our stores in ways that reduce our impact on the planet. We are incorporating everything from responsibly sourced furniture and building materials to energy- and water-efficient measures into our store designs.

To guide our efforts, we are using the US Green Building Council®'s LEED certification program as a benchmark for success. (LEED® is short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

What we are doing

Since 2001, we have helped lead the work with other retailers and the USGBC to create a system for certifying retail stores and store prototypes. This volume certification process will pre-certify our green stores at the model, construction and operational strategy level. We will then continue to be held accountable through spot checks and ongoing reviews, in order to ensure we meet the high standards we set for ourselves. This is a huge opportunity for the USGBC and retailers. Traditionally, only one facility participates in LEED® certification at a time, making the process difficult for retailers with hundreds of stores.

Our ongoing efforts to make our stores sustainable include a combination of design elements:

• Energy savings through more efficient lighting and air conditioning systems with environmentally friendly refrigerants.

• Guiding contractors to use less toxic materials and methods to improve the indoor air quality of our stores.

• Achieving water savings by using low-flow water taps and valves.

• Reducing waste by requiring recycling of cardboard and milk cartons in all of our LEED® Certified stores (where recycling is available).

• Diverting construction waste from many of our LEED® Certified stores to recycling centers (where recycling is available).

• Reducing our carbon footprint by sourcing construction materials regionally whenever possible.

• Providing environmental education messages in our LEED® Certified stores for our customers.