By reducing, reusing and recycling our resources we can have a positive impact on the world around us and not only create, but secure a brighter future for all of us.
Our pledge to become a resource positive company through setting and achieving target reductions of carbon, waste and water by 2030 is more than just an ambition, it’s an intrinsic part of how we conduct our business, interact with suppliers
and serve customers.
As we prepare to celebrate our half century, these aspirations take on an even greater significance. They reflect what will be our lasting legacy, the culmination of 50 years of focus, consistently setting environmental and sustainability
milestones, as well as reshaping and reimagining what we do and how we do it.
Over the years we’ve made fundamental changes to our operations to lessen our impact on the world. These include introducing a cup sleeve made from recycled content, ethically sourcing 99% of our coffee, co-developing the LEED for Retail
program, investments in renewable energy, championing the creation of a recyclable and compostable paper to-go cup and much more. How we work with our partners has set a benchmark for how companies cooperate with producers. The coffee
we buy is 99% ethically sourced, meaning producers get a fair price for their hard work. We’ve donated 100 million coffee trees to farmers to help grow their source of income and we’re a founding member of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge
which, by working with 100 industry members, aims to make coffee the first sustainable agricultural product in the world.
But rather than rest on our laurels, we’re committed to keep striving forward, to do more of what is good for the environment in order to reduce what is bad.
The Starbucks Sustainability Commitment has set preliminary targets that will be reached by 2030. They include a 50% reduction in carbon emissions, a 50% reduction in water used in direct operations and coffee production, achieved
through conservation or replenishment, and a 50% reduction in the amount of waste that is sent to landfill. In our stores, we’ll meet these targets by expanding plant-based options on our menus, shifting to reusable packaging
and away from single-use products and through managing the waste we create in a better, more sustainable way. Our stores will become even more eco-friendly, as will our operations, manufacturing and delivery systems. We’ll
also make investments in regenerative agriculture, reforestation, forest conservation and water replenishment in our supply chain to create an expansive eco-system of sustainably focused operations throughout our entire network,
from the plantation to your local Starbucks.
We recognise that these targets represent a bold undertaking: they’re a challenge not only for us and our partners, but also for our way of working and our way of thinking. However, they’re a challenge that must be overcome. They will
be approached with a heightened sense of urgency, conviction and a firm belief that by thinking big, doing more and making a concerted effort to lessen our negative impact on the world and work with nature to care for this wonderful
planet we all depend on.