Starbucks first Greener Store in Japan aims to cut waste
Located in the grounds of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, the Wadakura Fountain Park Store is designed to reduce its carbon, water, and waste footprint, in support of Starbucks global resource-positive goals
The store will serve as a sustainability hub, informing Starbucks Greener Stores expansion across Japan
Starbucks today announced its first Greener Store in Japan, as the company accelerates the international expansion of its open-source Greener Store Framework in support of its global goal to reduce carbon emissions, water usage, and waste sent to landfills by 50% by 2030.
Located in the Outer Gardens of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, the Wadakura Fountain Park Store has been designed with the aim of reducing its in-store waste by 40% compared to other Starbucks stores in Japan. In addition, carbon emissions by 30% and water consumption by 20% will be reduced by applying the Greener Store Framework to the store.
Opening its doors on December 1, the store will serve as a sustainability hub where Starbucks can test and scale solutions to inform its Greener Stores expansion across the market.
“Our Greener Stores allow us to test and learn how we can build and operate even more sustainable stores and inspire our partners and customers to adopt more eco-conscious behaviors,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer. “Our first Greener Store in Japan expands on recent innovations in the market, and is a testament to the passion and energy of our partners in creating solutions to reduce our environmental impact.”
“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Starbucks and the 25th anniversary of Starbucks Japan, we want to ensure we are creating a sustainable future for the next generation,” said Takafumi Minaguchi, Starbucks Japan ceo. “Through this new store experience, we hope to inspire our customers to join us in reducing waste, leading to planet-positive business operations, and making steady progress together towards the realization of a sustainable society.”
The store adopts enhanced operations and design features that invite customers to join Starbucks on its resource-positive journey:
Enhanced customer experience that integrates reusable behaviors into everyday routines
- By providing customers with a range of options suited to their preferences, Starbucks aims to reduce single-use cup usage by 75% at the store.
- Through a new reusable to-go cup pilot, Starbucks will encourage customers to switch to reusables by providing a stainless-steel tumbler for to-go orders, which can be collected at the stores, sanitized, and reused. The service will be available in participating stores in Tokyo, and free of charge for customers through the initial trial period.
- Customers can also bring their own cup or tumbler to enjoy a 20-yen (tax excluded) discount, as well as enjoy their beverages in-store served in For-Here Ware.
Responsible design and construction with a focus on circularity
- The store repurposes materials to create a welcoming third place environment that celebrates circularity. From artwork created using recycled canvas and fishing nets, floor tiling made from coffee grounds, to refurbished furniture made to last, the store showcases how waste materials can be transformed to create beautiful aesthetics that inspire reusable behaviors.
- In addition, 85% of construction materials used to build the store have been recycled, and 15% of materials recycled into biomass fuel.
Pioneering lower-impact store operations
- The store will reduce carbon emissions and water consumption by introducing renewable energy-powered cleaning stations and innovative water circulation systems that recycle more than 98% of the water used for washing hands.
- Customers can order a range of food options from a digital menu, which replaces the standard food display case, to further reduce food waste.
Starbucks Japan has recently transitioned to renewable energy across all its company-owned stores nationwide, and continues to pilot reusable cup programs to encourage customers to adopt more reusable behaviors in their everyday routines.
Starbucks Greener Store Framework was co-developed with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to accelerate the transformation of retail towards lower-impact stores that achieve reductions in carbon emissions, water usage, and landfill waste. Starbucks will leverage insights from this store to inform its Greener Stores expansion across Japan and the wider region, with the company aiming to have new stores in Japan opening from October 2022 designed to meet the Greener Store Framework.
With more than 2,300 Greener Stores in the U.S. and Canada, the Wadakura Fountain Park Store is Starbucks second store outside North America to be certified under the Greener Store Framework, following the Shanghai Greener Store, which opened in September 2021. Starbucks will open two new Greener Stores in the UK and Chile in 2022, as it advances towards building and retrofitting 10,000 Greener Stores globally by 2025.
For more on how Starbucks is expanding the Greener Store Framework globally, visit Starbucks Stories.
