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With dairy emissions accounting for 22% of Starbucks global carbon emissions, the coffee chain has partnered with farmer owned dairy cooperative Arla Foods to work on a three-year pilot to create an industry-leading sustainable sourcing blueprint. This blueprint will go on to support its dairy suppliers across Starbucks Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

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Arla’s farmer-owners are some of the most carbon-efficient dairy farmers in the world, already <a href="https://www.arlafoods.co.uk/4a483c/globalassets/sustainability/forward-thinking-dairy/arla-climate-checks-report.pdf">producing milk with around half the emissions of the global average</a>, making them the obvious choice to help Starbucks meet its aspiration to become resource positive.

The pilot will see Starbucks work directly with 14 Arla farmers in the UK to identify innovative new farming practices and industry-leading methods to significantly reduce the emissions associated with dairy production. Starbucks and the selected Arla farmers will focus on three key areas: environmental stewardship, animal health and welfare, and ensuring profitability for the farmers through the industry-leading Arla UK 360 farm standards programme.

The sourcing blueprint will be underscored by Arla’s sustainability research and development work, and independently validated by a third party, who will help support and advise on developing industry best practices.

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Alex Rayner, General Manager at Starbucks UK, said: “This partnership with Arla and the dairy farming community underpins our commitment to produce high quality and responsibly sourced products.

“Starbucks and Arla share a commitment to upholding the highest standards in agriculture. As a farmer-owned business, Arla’s approach – including their cooperative principles – make them the right partner for us.

“Purchasing sustainable dairy is integral to our work expanding our environmentally friendly menu options while enhancing the Starbucks Experience. Customising beverages has and always will be at the heart of Starbucks, and this programme will help ensure that best practice carbon reduction strategies are being implemented across our entire milk and dairy alternative selection."

The 9,400 dairy farmers that own Arla Foods have been working to produce more sustainable dairy for over two decades. At the heart of its production methods are emissions reductions, actions that boost natural cycles, and a commitment to some of the highest standards of animal welfare. These on-farm methods go on to produce some of Britain’s best-loved dairy products such as Lurpak and Arla Cravendale.

Speaking on the announcement, Graham Wilkinson, Group Senior Agriculture Director at Arla Foods comments, “It is a huge testament to the sustainable farming practice of our owners that Starbucks has chosen Arla to support its sustainable sourcing development work. Our carbon net-zero ambition recognises the importance of both lowering emissions and providing a helping hand to nature, but it is hugely important that Starbucks has also acknowledged the importance of taking a farmer-first approach to deliver this.

“I hope it also provides reassurance to Starbucks customers to know that behind every cup is a combined effort to support farmers to run profitable and sustainable dairy farms.”

Mark Glanvill is one of the Dairy farmers who has been selected to be part of the programme. He farms in the Southwest of England with 280 cows on a farm that has been passed down through generations of his family since 1816. Mark works to keep his carbon footprint as low as possible, with a particular focus on limiting the feed brought on farm, using natural fertilisers and reducing chemical usage wherever possible. Like most Arla farmers, he calculates his carbon footprint annually to identify ongoing areas where he can continue reducing his emissions.

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Starbucks will also be working with scientists from <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.nature.org/en-us/">Th</a><a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.nature.org/en-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">e Nature Conservancy</a>, a global, and environmental stewardship non-profit who will support the partnership.

Forming work to meet Starbucks’ ongoing commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 globally and become a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-announces-multi-decade-aspiration-to-become-resource-positive/">resource positive</a> company, this collaboration with Arla also serves to help meet Arla’s science-based targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent per kilo of milk over the next decade and to reach carbon net-zero by 2050.

Starbucks to work directly with farmers to help reduce emissions - Starbucks Stories EMEA

Starbucks Stories EMEA

Starbucks to work directly with farmers to help reduce emissions

From January 2022, Arla and Starbucks will develop and pilot a new sustainable dairy sourcing blueprint for Starbucks, designed to help reduce the coffee chains carbon emissions from dairy At the end of the three-year pilot, Starbucks hopes to scale the blueprint to support Starbucks dairy suppliers across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The […]

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https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2021/starbucks-to-work-directly-with-farmers-to-help-reduce-emissions/

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Each year since 2001, Starbucks has reported on its efforts to make a positive impact in the communities it serves. Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson reflects on our progress and shares the company’s results for the 2019 fiscal year.

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Dear Starbucks partners, customers and stakeholders:

As we provide our 19th annual update on our global social impact activity, we also sit at a significant time in history that’s requiring major changes to our business around the world as <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/navigating-through-covid-19/">quickly and dynamically</a> as possible to meet the needs of our partners, customers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starbucks partners are showing how resilient they are in ways no one dreamed about a year ago. They’re upping the ante every day on what our company represents: Using the ritual of connecting over coffee to uplift the everyday experience and drive deeper human connection.&nbsp;

Each one of us at Starbucks is forever changed from this pandemic, as are the communities we serve. It has underscored how important serving our customers and communities is to us, and it’s brought new perspective and resonance to the ability Starbucks has to make the world a better place. This time is historic in an additional way, as many of our communities are coming together to protest racial injustice and highlight the vast improvement necessary in the way society treats people of color. Clearly, current events are showing us that executing our global social impact agenda successfully is now more important than ever.

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Decades ago, Starbucks developed an agenda of global social impact priorities. In broad strokes, our investments have centered around balancing our role as a for-profit company with the betterment of people and the planet.

That means we invest in people – especially our partners, so they in turn can support people in the communities we serve. It also means we recognize healthy human lives depend on healthy ecosystems, so we work to better the health of our natural resources. As a result, we now have a long-term aspiration to be a resource positive company – storing more carbon than we emit, providing more clean freshwater than we use, and eliminating waste.

We can be proud of our Global Social Impact progress in fiscal year 2019. We continued working to put partners first and create a culture where everyone is welcome, including conducting a first-time, third-party <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/update-on-starbucks-ongoing-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-efforts/">Civil Rights Assessment</a> that we continue to consider and implement. We worked to strengthen the communities where Starbucks partners live and work, expanding innovative grants, investments and community service models.

We also invested in the future of greener cups, packaging and retail, foreshadowing a much <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-announces-multi-decade-aspiration-to-become-resource-positive/">larger aspiration</a> we announced in January 2020. We invested heavily in supporting coffee communities, including dispersing a $20 million <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-commits-20-million-for-emergency-relief-to-farmers/">Emergency Farmer Relief Fund</a>&nbsp;to support smallholder farmers in Central America experiencing the effects of low global coffee prices.&nbsp;

As a testament to our increasing commitment to our people and planet priorities, we were proud late last year to hire our first global chief officer of sustainability, Michael Kobori; our first global chief officer of inclusion and diversity, Nzinga Shaw; and our first global chief officer of ethics and compliance, Tyson Avery.&nbsp;

Now in mid-2020, the world has changed, the needs are even greater, and we continue to thoughtfully examine how Starbucks can most responsibly and constructively serve our communities and our planet going forward.&nbsp;

The crisis we are navigating has underscored that our world is small, and we need to take care of it and each other. We understand the interdependency of the health of humanity and the health of the planet. We embrace diverse voices participating in these conversations, so we can hear varying points of view to make the best decisions. We feel the threat of greater economic disparity in the future, as COVID-19 is often impacting socioeconomically disadvantaged communities more than others.

From the onset of the pandemic, we have moved swiftly to take actions to address our people and planet priorities. We’ve acted to address urgent needs related to COVID-19 as detailed and updated <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/what-customers-need-to-know-about-starbucks-response-to-covid-19/">here</a>. As an example, Starbucks has committed to a first-of-its-kind <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/starbucks-commits-10m-usd-in-covid-19-relief-for-partners-around-the-world/">$10 million emergency relief fund</a> for partners in both company-operated and licensed retail store markets around the world.&nbsp;

In the U.S. and Canada, we were able to provide <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/our-continued-support-of-u-s-partners-during-covid-19/">temporary benefits</a> for partners, more support for <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/as-food-bank-need-spikes-starbucks-and-feeding-america-fight-hunger-together/">food banks</a> and <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-gives-1million-cups-of-free-coffee-to-first-responders-in-us-and-canada/">free coffee</a> for first responders and frontline healthcare workers. Starbucks partners are <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/good-things-are-happening/">innovating</a> in other timely, locally meaningful ways. Our <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/asia/stories/2020/starbucks-partners-offer-support-to-frontline-workers-across-asia/">partners in Asia</a> have led the way in organizing food and coffee donations to hospitals, nonprofits, local police and health officials, and other frontline workers. And our partners around the world have echoed those demonstrations of gratitude.

During the pandemic, we’ve had to pause on allowing reusable cups. But we continue our commitment to shift to more reusable packaging as well as more fully recyclable and compostable packaging, ensuring we also prioritize health and safety. This requires innovation from our own experts as well as many other alliances.

Meanwhile, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/the-starbucks-foundation-donates-more-than-3m-to-global-covid-19-relief-efforts/">The Starbucks Foundation</a> continues to invest millions of dollars to support a variety of organizations, extending emergency assistance to those in need while also helping to build a path towards recovery and resilience.

Making a positive social impact runs deep at Starbucks. Since the beginning, our purpose has gone beyond profit. We believe in the pursuit of doing good. The idea of Starbucks being a Third Place for the community to gather means our stores have often served not only as a place for human connection, where everyone can feel welcome, but also as a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/?s=disaster relief">beacon of hope and resilience</a> during crisis – whether that’s the aftermath of an earthquake, hurricane or a wildfire, or now as we re-open and strive to provide some normalcy in the midst of the global pandemic.

As always, Starbucks partners are the best champions of how to serve their own communities. We’re finding success when we gain insights from the field, provide resources and tools to help inform local decisions, and enable partners to take actions that are locally relevant. Just as this approach applies to navigating the day-to-day COVID-19 situation as it varies in markets around the world, it also applies to defining relevant community service activities and guiding The Starbucks Foundation’s approach to addressing local communities’ needs. And it applies to our teams in our nine Farmer Support Centers in coffee-growing regions worldwide as they serve the needs of coffee farmers and their communities.

Because of our partners’ inspiring daily actions, I’m more optimistic than ever that we can overcome this global challenge and emerge with deeper perspective about the role we should be playing as a for-profit enterprise that also has a great deal of power to make positive global social impact.

As Starbucks approaches its 50th anniversary in 2021, I hold those thoughts in my mind every day – that as we evolve our business in major ways, we must stay true to our heritage and what we stand for: People positive, planet positive and profit positive, working as partners to create a different kind of company for the next 50 years.

Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president and ceo

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A message from Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson: Our 2019 impact - Starbucks Stories EMEA

A message from Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson: Our 2019 impact

Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson reflects on our social impact progress and shares the company’s results for the 2019 fiscal year.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/a-message-from-starbucks-ceo-kevin-johnson-our-2019-impact/

Expanding on our <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-sustainability-timeline/">history in sustainability</a> and progress in building a more sustainable <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/building-a-sustainable-future-for-coffee-together/">future for coffee</a>, we announced in January of 2020 a multi-decade aspiration to be a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-announces-multi-decade-aspiration-to-become-resource-positive/">resource-positive company</a>,&nbsp;giving more than it takes from the planet. The announcement included science-based preliminary <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/infographic-starbucks-sustainability-commitment/">target reductions</a> of carbon, water and waste&nbsp;by 2030. Informed by an <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2020/01/Starbucks-Environmental-Baseline-Report.pdf">environmental baseline report</a> it&nbsp;outlined five strategies to move forward, such as shifting away from single-use to reusable packaging, and finding better ways to manage our waste. We’ll share new commitments in the spring of 2021 as we celebrate Starbucks 50th anniversary.

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Goal: 100% ethically sourced coffee For the fifth year in a row in FY19, more than 99% of our coffee was verified as ethically sourced under <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/cafe-practices-starbucks-approach-to-ethically-sourcing-coffee/">C.A.F.E. Practices</a>. Although we are constantly striving for 100%, the last 1% is where some of our most important work happens, bringing on new farmers and cooperatives to help ensure the long-term future of coffee. We continue to work as part of the <a href="https://www.sustaincoffee.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sustainable Coffee Challenge</a> to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product and improve the lives of at least one million people in coffee communities around the world.

Goal: Provide <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2017/starbucks-100million-coffee-trees/">100 million coffee trees</a> to farmers by 2025 Starbucks has donated coffee trees over the past four years to farmers in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador. These climate-resilient trees replace ones that are declining in productivity due to age and disease, such as coffee leaf rust, and help improve the quality and yields of their harvests. As of June 2020, the next 10 million are being distributed, with close monitoring of potential complications related to COVID-19.

Goal: 100% ethically sourced tea We continue to work toward our goal of 100% ethically sourced tea, making significant progress from 95% in FY18 to 99% in FY19 by sourcing tea from farms that have been certified through Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, or Fair Trade. *As purchased by Starbucks global tea sourcing team.

Goal: Train 200,000 farmers by the end of 2020 Our Global Agronomy Center and Farmer Support Center at <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/this-earth-day-meet-some-of-the-people-working-to-make-coffee-sustainable/">Hacienda Alsacia</a> in Costa Rica and our eight other Farmer Support Centers around the world provide open-source training and other resources to coffee farmers. In FY19 alone, we trained nearly 88,000 farmers.

$46 million invested in farmer loans; $20 million in FY19 emergency relief funds

Goal: Invest $50 million in farmer loans by the end of 2020 As of June 2020, we have invested more than $49 million in the Starbucks <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-more-than-doubles-global-farmer-loan-commitment/">Global Farmer Fund</a> to support farmers. This comes in addition to relief funds, such as the $20 million we dispersed in FY19 to many of our smallholder farmers in Central America who experienced the effects of low global coffee prices.

Goal: Empower at least 250,000 women and families in coffee, tea and cocoa growing communities globally by 2025 Through 18 grants totaling more than $5 million since 2018, The Starbucks Foundation is <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/the-starbucks-foundations-origin-grants-to-empower-women-and-girls/">supporting women and families</a> in coffee- and tea-growing communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America in many ways, including leadership skills, income-generating activities and healthier homes.

12 major cities recycling Starbucks cups; trialing of new cup technologies

Goal: Double the recyclability of our cups from 2016-2022; develop 100% compostable and recyclable hot cups by 2022 In 2016, 24% of Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada accepted our hot cups for recycling; in 2019, this number increased to 25%. Work accelerated in 2019, as the NextGen Consortium, of which Starbucks is a co-founder, identified 12 winning <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/closed-loop-partners-announces-12-winners-of-the-nextgen-cup-challenge/">cup technologies</a> of the NextGen Cup Challenge. In-store <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-trials-a-nextgen-cup-solution/">market testing began</a> in the spring of 2020 with a cup that is industrially compostable as well as recyclable in markets that accept hot cups. We continue to research and test cup liner solutions that will make our cup easier to recycle and compost, while also working with the Consortium to improve recycling and composting infrastructure. In Europe, Starbucks launched a £1 million <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2019/uk-cup-fund-boosts-recycling-by-35-million-paper-cups-per-year/">Cup Fund</a>&nbsp;supporting ambitious recycling projects in conjunction with the environmental charity Hubbub.&nbsp;

Starbucks cups currently are accepted for recycling in Amsterdam; Boston; Chattanooga; Dallas; Denver; London; Louisville; New York; San Francisco; Seattle; Vancouver; Washington, DC; and many smaller cities.

Goal: 20% recycled content in our hot cups by 2022 Starbucks hot cups currently contain 10% post-consumer fiber (PCF), and we are working to double the recycled content to 20% as well as reduce the environmental impacts of sourcing virgin wood paper fiber we source.

2.8% reusability rate in measured markets

Goal: Double the use of reusable cups from 2016-2022 In 2019 we implemented new ways to track reusable cup usage, and we tracked a 2.8% reusability rate in company-operated stores in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and EMEA. This meant that customers received a discount for bringing their own cup or used a ceramic mug offered in store, saving more than 105 million disposable cups. China is not yet included in this metric, with a tracking program now in development there. In Europe, Starbucks conducted the first ever&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/starbucks-uk-launches-first-ever-airport-reusable-cup-trial-at-gatwick-airport-in-london/">airport reusable cup trial</a>&nbsp;at London’s Gatwick Airport.&nbsp;

We continue to conduct research and evolve our strategy to encourage customer adoption of reusables.

Continued rollout of strawless lids and sustainable material straws

Goal: Eliminate single-use plastic straws globally by the end of 2020 In 2019 Starbucks continued the expansion of <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/say-hello-to-the-lid-that-will-replace-a-billion-straws-a-year/">lightweight strawless lids</a> for cold beverages, as well as rollout of alternative material straws. By the end of calendar year 2020, we anticipate that all company-owned stores and the majority of licensees will have eliminated single-use plastic straws. However, regulatory and manufacturing challenges in light of COVID-19 threaten the ability to fully roll out a new sustainable material straw in the U.S. and Canada by the end of 2020, with a new anticipated goal date of spring 2021. Starbucks will continue to provide straws to customers who <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/follow-up-to-starbucks-sustainability-news/">need or request them</a> in our stores.

741 stores globally that reflect the Greener Stores framework

Goal: Build and operate 10,000 greener stores globally by 2025 Starbucks has built more than 1,600 LEED®-certified stores around the world, and in early FY20, the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/asia/stories/2019/starbucks-reserve-roastery-shanghai-celebrates-leed-platinum-achievement/">Shanghai Roastery</a>&nbsp;set a new benchmark in green retail as the first in mainland China’s food retail industry to be certified LEED Platinum. Now in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and in collaboration with other nongovernmental organizations, we’re going beyond LEED, expanding the scope and breadth of our greener stores commitment with an open-source <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-announces-global-greener-stores-commitment/">Greener Stores framework</a> for design, construction and operation.

Goal: Empower 10,000 partners to be sustainability champions by the end of 2020 In FY19, we surpassed our goal and as of April 2020 have more than 26,000 Starbucks partners enrolled in the Greener Apron sustainability training program through <a href="https://www.starbucksglobalacademy.com/greener-apron" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Starbucks Global Academy</a>.

72% of global operations powered by renewable energy

Goal: Invest in 100% renewable energy to power global operations globally by the end of 2020 Starbucks purchases enough renewable energy to power 100% of its company-operated stores in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Worldwide in FY19, 72% of Starbucks operations were powered by renewables. This is down from 77% in FY18, driven in part by&nbsp;a transition away from company-owned renewable energy-powered markets in EMEA, as well as an increase in stores in markets where Starbucks is still building a path toward renewable energy, such as China and Japan.

As we work to buy more renewable energy, we also continue to invest in solar and wind farms, with 2019 highlights being investments in a large&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/solar-and-wind-power-fuel-starbucks-store/">wind farm</a>&nbsp;in Illinois and&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/starbucks-and-cypress-creek-solar-farms-team-up-to-power-360-stores-in-texas/">solar farms</a>&nbsp;in Texas.

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2019 Report: Leading in Sustainability - Starbucks Stories EMEA

Starbucks 2019 Global Social Impact Report: Leading in Sustainability goals and progress.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/2019-report-leading-in-sustainability/

2019 Report: Leading in Sustainability

Starbucks chief executive officer Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday a renewed focus on sustainability, all with an eye toward someday “<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/message-from-starbucks-ceo-kevin-johnson-starbucks-new-sustainability-commitment">giving more than we take from the planet</a>.”

“Our aspiration is to become resource positive -- storing more carbon than we emit, eliminating waste, and providing more clean freshwater than we use,” Johnson, wrote in a letter posted Tuesday.

His letter included preliminary targets for 2030 as well as the company’s commitment to be transparent in its reporting against short- and long-term goals. He also vowed to work with Starbucks partners, customers and other stakeholders on this journey. The company will spend the next year continuing to test and learn before formalizing these sustainability targets as part of the company’s 50th anniversary in 2021, he wrote.

“Our&nbsp;eyes&nbsp;are&nbsp;wide open&nbsp;knowing that&nbsp;we do not have all the answers or&nbsp;fully understand&nbsp;all&nbsp;the complexities and potential consequences,” Johnson wrote. “Now, it’s time to create an even broader aspiration –&nbsp;and it’s work that will require visionary thinking, new ways of working, investment of&nbsp;resource&nbsp;and urgent action.”

Starbucks has over 31,000 stores worldwide with 400,000 partners serving 100 million customers a week and the road ahead will require commitment and creativity from partners and customers across the globe as well as from entrepreneurs, non-profits and suppliers, he said.

Here are five important things to know about Tuesday’s announcement:

1. Starbucks wants to halve its carbon emissions, waste output and water impact in the next decade while growing the business at the same time

Johnson’s letter outlined three preliminary targets: By 2030, Starbucks will aim to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent; reduce waste sent to landfills from stores and manufacturing by 50 percent, driven by a broader shift toward a circular economy; and will also conserve or replenish 50 percent of the water currently being used for direct operations and coffee production.

2. There’s a new way to track progress

 Starbucks has long used science-based research to assess progress. Now, the company has also released a comprehensive environmental footprint&nbsp;of carbon emissions, water use and waste in Starbucks global operations and supply chain. Created in partnership from Quantis and World Wildlife Fund, it will serve as a baseline for measuring future progress. “As we move forward, we will be transparent in reporting short- and long-term progress against our goals,” Johnson wrote. 

3. From more plant-based food and beverages to reusables, Starbucks is looking far and wide for opportunities to transform

Starbucks identified key areas in which it can make big impacts by 2030, including expanding plant-based and environmentally friendly menu options; shifting from single-use to reusable packaging; investing in innovative agricultural, water conservation and reforestation practices; looking for ways to better manage waste (including food waste) in stores and in communities; and developing more eco-friendly operations, from stores to supply chain to manufacturing. 

4. Yesterday’s groundwork = a head start

Over the years, the company has partnered with other organizations and invested in ways to bring sustainable practices to scale, including the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/20-million-people-fed-through-starbucks-foodshare-program/">Starbucks FoodShare</a> program, <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/closed-loop-partners-announces-12-winners-of-the-nextgen-cup-challenge/">NextGen Cup Challenge</a>, becoming a leader in <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment/leed-certified-stores">L.E.E.D.&nbsp;(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)</a> stores, investments in renewable energy and a goal to eliminate plastic straws by the end of 2020. It has also spent two decades, in partnership with <a href="https://www.conservation.org/">Conservation International</a>, to achieve the milestone of sourcing 99% of coffee ethically through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/farmer-support/farmer-loan-programs">C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity)&nbsp;practices</a>. Research shows that implementing C.A.F.E. practices over the years has more than halved what the company’s carbon footprint would have otherwise been.

“This pledge to become ‘resource positive’ is bold and necessary – exactly what I’ve come to expect from Starbucks,” said Dr. M. Sanjayan, chief executive officer of Conservation International. “For more than two decades, Conservation International has partnered with Starbucks to source coffee in ways that are good for the people and the planet. We succeeded – today, 99% of Starbucks&nbsp; is ethically sourced – but we have not rested. Now we are working to bring the entire coffee sector along to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product. This is what it will take to meet today’s challenges: bold vision paired with action that does not rest.”

5. A greener green apron

Starbucks partners are mobilizing for change in increasing numbers. More than 18,000 partners have enrolled in an online “Greener Apron” course on sustainability and environmental stewardship in the last two years, and the number continues to grow. Lisa Ference, a store manager in Conway, Ark., is among those. Her “aha moment” came a few years ago when an oil spill near her home devastated a local lake, and ever since she’s felt strongly about getting involved and speaking up for wildlife and the environment. She was thrilled by Tuesday’s news from Starbucks.

“I feel certain that over the next decade we will become the model for other companies seeking to become resource-positive as this is, in my opinion, also the pathway to sustaining our business in the long term,” she said. “There are so many reasons to be grateful for this company, but the most important is that our mission and values are a reflection of my own. Sustainability is a flagship issue in my personal journey, one that I feel incredibly passionate about, and it’s a privilege to work for an organization that doesn’t wait to be summoned to act. We do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

The announcement is an important moment for Starbucks, said Sheila Bonini, senior vice president leading private sector engagement for <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a>, the world's leading conservation organization. Bonini said a lot of companies make environmental commitments, but what excites her most are the moments down the road when those companies get to celebrate each step toward meeting those goals.

“I’m impressed with Starbucks leadership – with their ambitious strategy to tackle sustainability as well as their humility and willingness to look at all parts of the business to try to achieve it,” Bonini said. “We are already starting to see some catastrophic effects of climate change. It’s clear our level of consumption and production today is more than the planet can take. We all need to address it. We need to address it yesterday.”

She believes it’s important for companies to not only make it easier for people to act sustainably, but to help them understand why it’s important. 

“People want to be green, but we have to help them get there,” she said. “We’re all partners in this.”

https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2020/01/Starbucks-Sustainability-Commitment-Infographic.pdf

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<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2020/01/Starbucks-Environmental-Baseline-Report.pdf">2018 Starbucks Environmental Baseline Report</a>

5 things to know about Starbucks new environmental sustainability commitment - Starbucks Stories EMEA

5 things to know about Starbucks new environmental sustainability commitment

Starbucks announced “a bold, multi-decade aspiration” to cut carbon, water and waste each by 50 percent by 2030 and give back to the planet by someday becoming resource positive.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/5-things-to-know-about-starbucks-new-environmental-sustainability-commitment/

A Letter to Our Starbucks Partners, Customers and All Stakeholders:

At Starbucks, we live our mission of inspiring and nurturing the human spirit every day through the convening power of coffee.&nbsp;As ceo, I am joined by a leadership team privileged to steward&nbsp;our company into the future, staying true to this enduring&nbsp;mission, sharing success with our partners and leading with environmental consciousness.&nbsp;As we approach the 50th anniversary of&nbsp;Starbucks in 2021, we&nbsp;look ahead with a heightened sense of urgency and&nbsp;conviction&nbsp;that we must challenge ourselves, think bigger and do much more in partnership with others to take care of the planet we share.&nbsp;Today,&nbsp;I’m excited to be able to share with you&nbsp;our commitment&nbsp;to pursue&nbsp;a bold, multi-decade aspiration to become resource positive and give more than we take from the planet. This is an aspiration that we take on, recognizing it will come with challenges and will require transformational change. Like most things that are worthwhile, this will not be easy. It will require all of us to play a role, and so we invite you to join us.

As many of you know, sustainability has been at&nbsp;Starbucks&nbsp;core since the beginning&nbsp;and consistent with our belief that we can build a great business that scales for good. And for many of us, it’s personal. Every day,&nbsp;our partners bring a sense of community and connection to our customers around the world.&nbsp;And every day, partners and customers take pride in our ethical and sustainable sourcing standards for coffee and our longtime support for coffee communities. 

We know that leadership in sustainability takes&nbsp;commitment, investment, innovation, partnership and, yes, time. It took nearly two decades of dedicated effort in partnership with Conservation International to achieve the milestone of sourcing 99% of our coffee ethically through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/farmer-support/farmer-loan-programs">C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity)&nbsp;practices</a>. Our environmental footprint research shows that by implementing these standards,&nbsp;we have more than halved what our coffee’s carbon footprint would have been otherwise.

Becoming a leader in <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment/leed-certified-stores">L.E.E.D.&nbsp;(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)</a> stores took partnering with experts at the U.S.&nbsp;Green Building&nbsp;Council&nbsp;and a commitment&nbsp;to bring sustainable practices to scale.&nbsp;

Along the way, we have shared&nbsp;with&nbsp;the world&nbsp;what we&nbsp;have&nbsp;learned&nbsp;through open-source agronomy,&nbsp;farmer support centers&nbsp;and&nbsp;industry consortiums.&nbsp;Since 2001,&nbsp;we’ve published an annual&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/2018-starbucks-global-social-impact-report/">Global Social Impact Report</a>&nbsp;– one of the longest-running and transparent reporting commitments of any public company. These annual reports not only highlight our progress but also reinforce our accountability for goals and aspirations which evolve with new information, innovation and&nbsp;important lessons&nbsp;when we fall short. For example, we established reusability and recycling goals in 2008 that&nbsp;were&nbsp;unprecedented for our industry&nbsp;but also largely dependent on radical changes in customer behavior. What we learned was that, absent the same rigorous analysis, partnerships and investments that made us leaders in sustainable coffee and green building, our results underperformed our high expectations and underscored the need for a different approach.

Today,&nbsp;more than ever, the world needs leadership in environmental sustainability.&nbsp;We agree with the consensus of scientific experts who note that without drastic action from everyone – governments, companies and all of us as individuals – adapting to the impact of climate change in the future will be far more difficult and costly, taking a toll on our supply chains, our business, and more importantly, the lives of everyone involved, including coffee farmers, our suppliers, Starbucks partners, customers and every community we serve.&nbsp;

Now, it’s time to create a new, bold, broad aspiration –&nbsp;and it’s work that will require visionary thinking, new ways of working, investment of&nbsp;resources&nbsp;and urgent action. In that sense, I see today as a milestone for our business as we declare our concern about our planet’s future and commit to do more. 

Our&nbsp;aspiration&nbsp;is to become resource positive – storing more carbon than we emit, eliminating waste, and providing&nbsp;more clean freshwater than we use.&nbsp;This aspiration is grounded in Starbucks mission. By embracing&nbsp;a longer-term economic, equitable and&nbsp;planetary&nbsp;value proposition for&nbsp;our company,&nbsp;we&nbsp;will create greater value&nbsp;for all stakeholders.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Recently,&nbsp;we worked&nbsp;with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Quantis to quantify the carbon, waste and water footprint of our operations and supply chain across the globe. This was the first time we had conducted this footprint assessment&nbsp;for all three of those areas,&nbsp;globally.

These benchmarks&nbsp;provided&nbsp;a&nbsp;clear&nbsp;starting point, which&nbsp;led us to define&nbsp;five&nbsp;environmental strategies that will begin to move us&nbsp;toward a resource-positive future:

1.&nbsp;We will expand plant-based options,&nbsp;migrating&nbsp;toward a more environmentally friendly menu.

2.&nbsp;We will shift&nbsp;from single-use&nbsp;to reusable packaging.&nbsp;

3.&nbsp;We will invest in innovative&nbsp;and regenerative&nbsp;agricultural practices, reforestation, forest conservation and water replenishment in our supply chain.

4.&nbsp;We will invest in better ways to manage our waste, both in our stores and in our communities, to ensure more reuse,&nbsp;recycling&nbsp;and elimination of&nbsp;food waste.&nbsp;

5.&nbsp;We will innovate to develop more eco-friendly stores, operations, manufacturing and delivery.

While&nbsp;we’re&nbsp;confident these strategies&nbsp;are&nbsp;directionally&nbsp;right, our&nbsp;eyes&nbsp;are&nbsp;wide open&nbsp;knowing that&nbsp;we do not have all the answers or&nbsp;fully understand&nbsp;all&nbsp;the complexities and potential consequences.&nbsp;We&nbsp;do&nbsp;know&nbsp;that this journey will require&nbsp;new innovations and&nbsp;creative&nbsp;ideas from entrepreneurs, non-profits, our suppliers, our licensees, our partners and our customers.&nbsp;We will&nbsp;also&nbsp;be working in concert with&nbsp;the <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/">Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)</a> to help track our progress in conjunction with other companies.

As we&nbsp;move forward,&nbsp;we will be transparent in&nbsp;reporting&nbsp;short- and long-term&nbsp;progress against our&nbsp;goals.&nbsp;We’re starting by&nbsp;setting&nbsp;three&nbsp;preliminary targets&nbsp;for 2030 that will be the focus of our research and operational plans over this next year:

On Starbucks 50th&nbsp;anniversary in 2021, we will formalize our 2030 environmental goals based on what we have learned&nbsp;between now and then. Specifically, this year we will conduct comprehensive market research and trials to better understand consumer behavior and incentives to encourage consumer use of reusable containers. Working in collaboration with experts and advocates, this research will help inform aspirational and attainable reusability goals in various markets and globally by next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;

For all of us as stakeholders, I want to reemphasize that the journey we undertake is not only the right one for Starbucks&nbsp;responsibility as a corporate citizen of the world&nbsp;but&nbsp;is&nbsp;also&nbsp;fundamental to our brand relevance and, therefore, our overall business results.&nbsp;As such,&nbsp;we&nbsp;remain committed to our long-term, double-digit EPS growth model and&nbsp;will continue to&nbsp;deliver targeted financial results by&nbsp;prioritizing the right investments across our partners, customers and planet in support of our “Growth at Scale” agenda.

Today is a milestone&nbsp;for our business as we declare our concern for our planet’s future and commit to do more.&nbsp;I invite you to join us.

A message from Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson: Starbucks new sustainability commitment - Starbucks Stories EMEA

A message from Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson: Starbucks new sustainability commitment

Starbucks announces preliminary targets of cutting carbon, water and waste 50 percent by 2030 and to ultimately become resource positive.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/message-from-starbucks-ceo-kevin-johnson-starbucks-new-sustainability-commitment/

Today, Starbucks&nbsp;chief executive officer Kevin Johnson unveiled a multi-decade aspiration to be a resource-positive company,&nbsp;giving more than it takes from the planet. The announcement included science-based preliminary target reductions of carbon, water and waste&nbsp;by 2030, and outlined five strategies the company has identified to move toward them.&nbsp;

A comprehensive, data-driven environmental footprint&nbsp;of&nbsp;carbon emissions, water use and waste in Starbucks global operations and supply chain informed the five strategies to prioritize work: &nbsp;

The company’s aspiration to become resource positive is grounded in Starbucks mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, cup and neighborhood at a time.&nbsp;The company will spend the next year continuing to test and learn before formalizing these sustainability targets as part of the company’s 50th&nbsp;anniversary in 2021.&nbsp;

Starbucks announces multi-decade aspiration to become resource positive - Starbucks Stories EMEA

Starbucks announces multi-decade aspiration to become resource positive

The announcement included science-based preliminary target reductions of carbon, water and waste by 2030, and outlined five strategies the company has identified to move toward them.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/starbucks-announces-multi-decade-aspiration-to-become-resource-positive/

Today in <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/message-from-starbucks-ceo-kevin-johnson-starbucks-new-sustainability-commitment">a public letter</a> citing the company’s enduring mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit, Starbucks chief executive officer Kevin Johnson announced a multi-decade commitment to be a resource-positive company, aspiring to give more than it takes from the planet.

The announcement included science-based preliminary targets for the reduction of carbon emissions, water use and waste by 2030, and outlined five strategies the company has identified to move toward them. 

Infographic: Starbucks Sustainability Commitment - Starbucks Stories EMEA

Infographic: Starbucks Sustainability Commitment

Starbucks ceo Kevin Johnson announced a multi-decade commitment to be a resource-positive company, aspiring to give more than it takes from the planet.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2020/infographic-starbucks-sustainability-commitment/

Sustainability has been at our core since the beginning, back when Starbucks began in 1971.&nbsp;Over the years,&nbsp;with the help of our partners, customers, industry experts and advocates, we’ve looked for ways to help protect our planet, including 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 more. We recently announced a new sustainability commitment to be resource positive, including preliminary goals of reducing carbon, water and waste 50 percent by 2030.

To learn more, read on for an&nbsp;at-a-glance look at Starbucks sustainability milestones:

Opens its first store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, selling whole bean coffee, tea and spices.

Begins its first test of a coffeehouse concept, serving to-go beverages in paper cups.

Unveils Starbucks Mission Statement: “To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.” 

Establishes environmental mission statement, committing to “a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our business.” 

Rolls out <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-coffee-grounds-for-the-garden/">Grounds for Your Garden</a> program in U.S. and Canada.

Establishes a relationship with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund to explore ways to reduce the environmental impact of its cups.

 Introduces soymilk, Starbucks first non-dairy milk alternative. 

Develops a cup sleeve made from recycled content to help eliminate the practice of double-cupping.

Establishes The Starbucks Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen communities around the world by creating opportunities for populations that face barriers, advancing sustainability initiatives and promoting civic engagement. 

Forms partnership with Conservation International&nbsp;to create Starbucks first ethical sourcing program.

Issues its first <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/global-report">Corporate Social Responsibility Report</a>.

Introduces ethical coffee-sourcing guidelines developed in partnership with Conservation International.

Partners with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to develop the LEED for Retail program.

Launches C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices with Conservation International, with SCS Global Services overseeing the verification system of suppliers. 

Opens first Farmer Support Center opens in Costa Rica. Since then, eight other centers have opened around the world to support coffee farmers with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Publicly reports its first inventory of greenhouse gas emissions.

Makes its first renewable energy purchase, equivalent to 5 percent of U.S. stores' electricity consumption. 

Designs and builds its first LEED certified store in Hillsboro, Ore.

Quadruples renewable energy purchases to equal 20 percent and begins buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) in partnership with World Resources Institute’s Green Power Market Development Group. Designated as one of the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-02/documents/2006awards.pdf">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partner of the Year</a>.

Launches the retail industry’s first hot beverage paper cup with 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber (PCF).

Announces 2015 “Shared Planet” commitments, including goals to ethically source 100 percent of its coffee, build LEED-certified company-operated stores and cover 100 percent of U.S. store operations with renewable energy. Implements global LED lighting conversion program.

Commits $20 million to a variety of farmer loan funds, providing coffee farmers access to capital to cover expenses during the growing and harvesting cycles and make strategic investments in their farms. 

Partners with Conservation International to launch climate change campaign and five-year global commitment to support farming communities and encourage the protection of their land, water and forests.

Introduces a new polypropylene plastic cup that uses 15 percent less plastic than previous cups and emits 45 percent less greenhouse gas during production.

Hosts first Cup Summit in Seattle, inviting local governments, cup manufacturers, recyclers and stakeholders to find a comprehensive recyclable cup solution.

Opens Farmer Support Center in Kigali, Rwanda.

Unveils new, locally relevant design strategy to reduce environmental impact and incorporate reused and recycled elements. Starbucks becomes one of the first retailers to join USGBC’s LEED Volume Certification pilot program.

<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2009/starbucks-opens-leed-certified-coffee-roasting-plant/">Opens LEED-certified roasting plant</a> in Sandy Run, S.C.

Hosts second Cup Summit in Boston and announces Paper Recovery Alliance with the Foodservice Packaging Institute.

Opens Farmer Support Center in Mbeya, Tanzania.

Rolls out <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/earthsleeve-global-rollout/">cup sleeves</a> made from less paper and more post-consumer content, saving nearly 100,000 trees each year.

Starbucks Mexico opens its <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/store-design/chalpultepec-reforma">first LEED® certified store</a> and achieves the Silver Certification level, making it the first LEED® Silver store in Latin America.

Committed to helping coffee growers and workers who represent Starbucks collective supply chain, Starbucks opens <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-farmer-support-centers/">its second Farmer Support Center</a> in Latin American and the Caribbean region in Manizales, Colombia.

Opens its first <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2013/innovative-new-drive-thrus/">store made from reclaimed end-of-life shipping containers</a>. Starbucks would go on to open more than 45 of these modular stores in the United States, and <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-opens-first-container-store-in-taiwan/">more around the world</a>.

Opens Farmer Support Centers in Manizales, Colombia and Yunnan, China.

Purchases Hacienda Alsacia, its first 240-hectare coffee farm in Costa Rica, to serve as a global agronomy Research and Development facility and working farm. 

Offers a $1 reusable cup in the U.S. and Canada, and a £1 cup in the United Kingdom to help reduce cup waste.

Starbucks Japan offers environmentally friendly napkins made from 70% post-consumer recycled milk-carton fiber and 30% FSC®-certified paper.

Opens 500th LEED®-certified store, more than any other retailer in the world.

<a href="https://news.starbucks.com/news/recycling-in-one-of-the-worlds-largest-coffee-roasting-plants">York Roasting Plant</a> achieves 100% zero waste certification.

Is a founding partner with Conservation International and other industry leaders to launch the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/making-coffee-the-worlds-first-sustainably-sourced-agriculture-product/">Sustainable Coffee Challenge</a>, an effort to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product.

Launches <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/one-bag-for-every-tree-10-million-trees-milestone/">One Tree for Every Bag</a> program, which provides more than 25 million rust-resistant coffee trees to farmers whose farms are affected by coffee rust. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Purchases enough renewable energy to power 100% of its company-operated stores in the U.S., Canada and UK. 

Reaches <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-ethical-sourcing-program/">99% ethically-sourced</a> coffee milestone with Conservation International.

Achieves its 25 percent water reduction target through global water conservation measures.

Announces additional commitment of $30 million as part of its <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-more-than-doubles-global-farmer-loan-commitment/">Global Farmer Fund</a> program, which supports coffee farmers in improving the infrastructure on their farms and replacing older coffee trees with new ones.

Introduces coconutmilk, a non-dairy milk alternative.

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