A Starbucks store is certified as a “Greener Store” when it successfully meets 25 required standards, as verified by an outside auditor, across eight environmental impact areas such as energy efficiency, water stewardship and waste diversion. The standards were developed in partnership with the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Wildlife Fund</a> and SCS Global Services.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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“The Greener Stores journey is truly a Starbucks-wide effort, from our store designers and construction teams to software developers who ensure we can collect sustainability data on a global scale to our store partners (employees) who encourage customers to use reusable cups or Grounds for Your Garden,” says Grace Yoo, Starbucks Greener Stores global program manager.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Most of them look no different from any other Starbucks store,” Yoo says, “but there are Greener Stores quietly opening and operating all throughout the world, with unglamorous details like energy-efficient dishwashers, water-saving faucets, and carefully thought-out waste diversion signage to help do our part in mitigating the effects of climate change.”&nbsp;

As of April 2023, Starbucks has certified more than 3,500 Greener Stores in the U.S. and Canada. This month, 88 Greener Stores were certified in 18 additional markets around the world, such as Argentina, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Starbucks goal is to certify 10,000 Greener Stores around the world by 2025. &nbsp;

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What makes a Greener Store?&nbsp;&nbsp;

Water Stewardship&nbsp;&nbsp;

At the 2023 Greener Store of the Year in Los Angeles, Starbucks is piloting a water-reclamation project that takes the residual moisture from the store’s ice machine and water-filtration system – that would normally flow into the sewer – and diverts it instead into four 55-gallon storage tanks. Every time the store’s toilet flushes, it uses water from those tanks.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The store has reclaimed about 2,500 gallons of water from January through March 2023, and is using about 27 gallons per day, on average, of reclaimed water to flush the toilets.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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“Out West, in an area where water usage and water rights dominate the headlines, we’re stepping up and trying to help with the problem,” says Matt Robitaille, Starbucks construction program manager who helped design, build and install the system.&nbsp;

Partner Engagement&nbsp;&nbsp;

For more than a year, Becca Rollins, store manager in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has used a reusable cup every day at her store. She knits reusable-cup cozies for her store partners and regular customers, and encourages a back-of-house competition for each partner to track their reusable cup use. Last fall, she even presented a letter to regular customers Russ and Sally, a retired couple who bring their own cups and silverware every time they visit, for being sustainable customers. She estimates they’ve saved 1,500 single-use items from the landfill. She’s also an advocate in her district for the&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2021/starbucks-grounds-for-your-garden-rooted-in-a-mission-to-help-local-communities-grow/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grounds For Your Garden</a> program.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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“About a year ago, I started taking some things a little more seriously as far as imprint and making planet-positive decisions,” Rollins says. “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in this world by everything that goes on. Just focus on the most good that you can do. It matters.”&nbsp;

Greener Store practices have helped Starbucks save almost $60 million in annual operating costs in the U.S., including 30 percent water savings and 25 percent energy reduction when compared to historic store practices. These include efforts such as retrofitting store lighting to LEDs; installing more energy-efficient appliances like Advansys dishwashers and ENERGY STAR certified batch-type ice makers; and standardizing energy-use schedules and heating/cooling temperatures.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Despite challenges to implementation, such as differing rules and availability in each city and town, Starbucks recycles in more than 8,000 company-operated stores across the U.S. More than 3,000 have both recycling and compost services. In Greener Stores, the goal is to align the different rules around waste in each municipality with the workflow and best practices inside each store. That means clear signage around what items go in what bin; the use of an internal Recycling App that sets clear expectations around what things are picked up and when; and locating waste receptables where they can be most efficient – for example, putting a compost bin next to the warming ovens to catch all the parchment paper used to heat up food.&nbsp;

Being smart and efficient about waste can help Starbucks direct less waste to landfills, says Pete Schultze, a district manager in the San Francisco Bay Area who has five Greener Stores in his portfolio. “Taking care of the environment and sustainability, it’s important to our partners,” he says.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Greener Stores feature a number of renewable energy projects such as <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2022/find-an-ev-charger-at-starbucks-stores-from-seattle-to-denver/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EV charging</a> and onsite solar that help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and improve local air quality.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Responsible Materials&nbsp;&nbsp;

Starbucks Greener Stores limit the use of volatile organic compounds, such as paints, coating, adhesives and sealants that can be harmful for the environment and degrade air quality. Other requirements mean mercury-free lighting installed in stores, which increases light quality and also helps eliminate harmful materials that could end up in landfills. &nbsp;

Starbucks is also starting work on an Embodied Carbon Initiative, which will measure, track and assess the lifetime carbon emissions necessary to build, transport and eventually dispose of all its equipment and building materials. The goal, says Jodie Clarke, senior project manager in Global Store Development, is to create new standards, influence more earth friendly practices throughout the supply chain and educate suppliers through a <a href="https://starbucksglobalacademy.com/greener-stores/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Starbucks Global Academy sustainability course</a>, that recently received positive recognition from the <a href="http://biden%20administration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biden administration</a>. &nbsp;

One of the newly-certified international Greener Stores – <a href="https://historias.starbucks.com/en-es/stories/2022/top-5-things-to-see-at-starbucks-new-store-in-antigua-guatemala/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in Antigua, Guatemala</a> – is located inside a preserved and restored UNESCO World Heritage site. The historic, courtyard-style building uses local art, local furniture and local materials.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We refurbished what was already there. We didn’t pour new concrete. We didn’t buy new steel,” says Erica Saraff, senior project manager, Global Store Development-Sustainability. “It’s open-air, so no HVAC system, which is a huge source of electricity use. Using local supplies also means savings on transportation costs.” &nbsp;

“Everything that we’ve built into a Greener Store is a little step,” Saraff says. “When you’re talking about one dishwasher, or one recycling bin, or one light fixture, that’s small. But we have thousands of stores, and all those small things that you do - as a partner, as a customer - make an impact because of our scale. &nbsp;

“If we’re all doing something better, it becomes a much bigger better.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Starbucks is committed to certifying 10,000 Greener Stores around the world by 2025. Learn more about what makes a Greener Store.

What’s inside a Greener Store?

Stories to inspire and nurture the human spirit

Starbucks Stories

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Greener Stores allow Starbucks to test solutions for scale to help the company realize its Planet Positive goals to reduce carbon emissions, water usage and landfill waste by 50%.

The company will open its first Greener Store outside North America in Shanghai, China with a focus on circularity.

Over the next year, Starbucks to continue the international expansion of this program with Greener Stores opening in Japan, the UK and Chile.

As Starbucks celebrates its 50th Anniversary, the company is expanding its open-source Greener Store Framework to help reduce its environmental impact and leverage its scale for good to accelerate the global movement towards a more sustainable future.

Announced in 2018, the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-announces-global-greener-stores-commitment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greener Store Framework</a>, co-developed with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is designed to accelerate the transformation of retail towards lower-impact stores that achieve reductions in carbon emissions, water usage and landfill waste. Starbucks has more than 2,300 Greener Stores in the U.S. and Canada and will begin using the framework outside of North America to achieve its goal of building and retrofitting 10,000 Greener Stores globally by 2025.

“Our work to become planet positive begins with coffee at origin, and carries through to our stores, right to our customers’ hands,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer. “I’m proud to say that our partners’ energy and passion for sustainability pushes us every day and is the reason why we’ve seen great adoption of our Greener Store standards.”

With performance-based standards that incorporate design and extend throughout the life of a store, Starbucks Greener Stores in North America have reduced energy consumption by 30% compared with the company’s prior store designs. That equals the electricity use of more than 30,000 homes per year. Additionally, state-of-the-art technologies treat and conserve water, reducing annual water use by more than 30%, saving more than 1.3 billion gallons of water annually. Meanwhile, 90% of company operated stores have adopted waste diversion and circular practices, including recycling, composting, Grounds for Your Garden, and Starbucks FoodShare. 

“We’ve proven designing and building greener stores is not only responsible, but also good for business,” said Andy Adams, Starbucks senior vice president, Store Development. “In 2018, we created a new benchmark in retail that goes beyond construction and design to address long-term, eco-conscious operations. Today, we expand the Greener Stores benchmark globally to accelerate our progress toward our Planet Positive goals.”

Now, Starbucks is opening its first Greener Store outside of North America in Shanghai,China with a focus on circularity. The Shanghai Greener Store has been designed and built to reduce waste, repurpose goods and serve as a platform for future innovation.

Starbucks will open two additional experiential Greener Stores, like in Shanghai, designed to immerse customers in Starbucks Planet Positive commitments -- the next is planned for Southern California and Starbucks hometown in Seattle, Wash. Looking to the future, Starbucks will extend its commitment beyond company operated stores to licensees, joint venture partners and licensees to innovate and expand sustainability programming to deliver more robust energy, carbon, water, and waste reductions.

Scaling around the globe

Over the next year, Starbucks will continue the international expansion of this program with Greener Stores opening in Japan, the UK and Chile.

Starbucks is also expanding test and learn capabilities for sustainability with innovation test stores that are part of the ecosystem at the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2021/starbucks-announces-new-planet-and-people-positive-research-facility-in-partnership-with-arizona-state-university/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet</a>. The ASU-Starbucks Center, slated to open in December, will include work to inspire others to design, build and operate portfolios of buildings that minimize environmental impacts throughout their life cycle. This includes developing a roadmap for Greener Store education efforts, including a toolkit, and learning library, to be open-sourced and available for Starbucks stakeholders and others via <a href="https://www.starbucksglobalacademy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Starbucks Global Academy</a>.

“Starbucks expansion of the Greener Stores program demonstrates a continued commitment to environmental stewardship and innovation,” said Sheila Bonini Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement, World Wildlife Fund. “By making this program open source, and expanding it globally, Starbucks is creating a path toward a resource positive future within their own four walls and beyond.”

Greening the supply chain

Starbucks commitment to environmentally responsible design, construction and operation extends beyond retail and into its supply chain as well.

As a progression against Starbucks resource-positive goals, the company recently committed to <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2021/starbucks-announces-coffee-specific-environmental-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carbon Neutral Green Coffee</a> and to conserve water usage in green coffee processing by 50%, both by 2030. This work focuses on Origin – or what Starbucks refers to as “the first ten feet” (farm to port).

Key to our Greener Stores framework are efforts to accelerate the clean energy transition through onsite solar, and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2020/starbucks-solidifies-pathway-to-a-planet-positive-future/#:~:text=Starbucks%20has%20sourced%20100%25%20renewable,stores%20that%20use%20the%20energy." target="_blank">new innovative renewable energy investments and contracts</a>. Earlier this summer, Starbucks completed the installation of a 1-megawatt solar array at the Starbucks Carson Valley Roasting Plant and Distribution Center, one of the largest in the world suppling Starbucks products domestically and internationally. On-site solar energy will provide nearly a third of the Roasting Plant and Distribution Center’s electricity for the year.

“At the Carson Valley Roasting Plant, we see the cycle come full circle. Starbucks coffee is both grown by and roasted from the sun,” said Kobori.

Across Starbucks roasting plants, as current roasters reach end of life, the company is replacing them with new roasters that are 40% more energy efficient.

The Carson Valley Roasting plant also leverages electric vehicles to help with daily operations, and in the year ahead, Starbucks will scale electric vehicle fleets throughout its supply chain.

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Greener Stores allow Starbucks to test solutions for scale to help the company realize its Planet Positive goals to reduce carbon emissions, water usage and landfill waste by 50%.

Starbucks Greener Stores accelerate global movement towards a more sustainable future

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This page shows data from our 2019 Report. For the most up-to-date goals and progress, see our <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2022/starbucks-global-environmental-and-social-impact-report-2021/">2021 Global Environmental &amp; Social Impact Report</a>.

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

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

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2019 Report: Leading in Sustainability

This page shows data from our 2018 Report. For the most up-to-date goals and progress, see our <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2022/starbucks-global-environmental-and-social-impact-report-2021/">2021 Global Environmental &amp; Social Impact Report</a>.

Our vision is simple: to produce sustainable coffee, served sustainably. For more than two decades, Starbucks has partnered with Conservation International on C.A.F.E. Practices, our ethical coffee sourcing program. We now source 99 percent of our coffee this way,&nbsp;promoting quality, economic transparency and social and environmental impact with a vision to make coffee&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sustaincoffee.org/">the world’s first sustainable agricultural product in the world</a>.

Climate change represents significant immediate and long-term risks to coffee farmers around the world, and we are taking steps to help ensure the supply of high-quality coffee for future generations. Core to ensuring the long-term sustainability of coffee is also ensuring&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-commits-20-million-for-emergency-relief-to-farmers/">the economic profitability for farmers</a>. We are investing in innovation to offer farmers new&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/starbucks-hacienda-alsacia/">climate-resilient coffee tree varietals</a> and support coffee-farming communities through our&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-more-than-doubles-global-farmer-loan-commitment/">Global Farmer Fund</a> to make sure farmers have access to low-interest financing that will help them reinvest in their farms. We continue to&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-farmer-support-centers/">share what we have learned</a> with others through agronomy training for farmers, whether they sell to us or not. We are also supporting women and families in coffee- and tea-growing communities through&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/the-starbucks-foundations-origin-grants-to-empower-women-and-girls/">Starbucks Foundation Origin Grants</a> that are focused on strengthening their leadership skills and&nbsp;income-generating activities to diversify their income.

We’re also working toward a goal of 100 percent ethically sourced tea and cocoa for beverages by 2020. We are investing in sustainability, issuing our&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/starbucks-completes-issuance-of-third-and-largest-sustainability-bond/">third sustainability bond</a> in May 2019 for investors to participate in socially and environmentally focused projects and leveraging&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/knowledge-is-valuable-coffee-journey-going-digital-for-customers-farmers/">new technology</a> to bring real-time digital traceability to our coffee supply chain.

There is perhaps nothing more recognizable for the Starbucks brand than our cup. Yet our cups and packaging remain one of our biggest environmental challenges.&nbsp;We are looking for new ways to promote reusable cups and better manage the lifecycles of disposable ones. We are testing a variety of greener cups that are both recyclable and compostable in&nbsp;select cities through the&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/closed-loop-partners-announces-12-winners-of-the-nextgen-cup-challenge/">NextGen Cup Challenge</a> and are&nbsp;launching a lightweight strawless lid with a hope to&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/say-hello-to-the-lid-that-will-replace-a-billion-straws-a-year/">eliminate 1 billion single-use plastic straws</a> annually.

Over the past decade we have struggled with our goal to significantly increase the use of reusable cups in our stores. We are continuing to test new ideas and approaches to the challenge. In the UK we conducted a trial of a&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/london-stores-cup/">5-pence disposable cup fee and a 25-pence reusable cup incentive</a>, which increased reusable cup usage for hot drinks sold in stores nationwide from 2.2 to 5.8 percent.

We know that designing and building green stores is not only environmentally responsible, it is good business. We already operate more than 1,600&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/starbucks-opens-1000th-leed-certified-store/">LEED certified stores</a> around the world, making us the world’s largest green retailer. We are building on that legacy by developing a new Greener Store framework for&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-announces-global-greener-stores-commitment/">10,000 stores globally by 2025</a>, which could save $50 million in utilities costs over the next 10 years.&nbsp;And we’re empowering our partners to help us in that effort by offering sustainability certification through our&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-partners-for-sustainability/">Greener Apron</a> program.

Over the past two years, Starbucks has committed to more than $140 million in renewable energy to power our stores, reducing our environmental impact and supporting access to green power. It’s enough to power 100 percent of our more than 9,000 company-operated stores in the United States, and 77 percent of our global operations.&nbsp;

We plan to locally source more than 50 percent of our renewable energy in the U.S by 2020, including from our&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/solar-and-wind-power-fuel-starbucks-store/">new solar farm in North Carolina</a>, which delivers enough clean energy to power the equivalent of the energy consumed by 600 Starbucks stores. And we are partnering with developers to bring new projects online, including a wind farm planned near Olympia, Wash., and a new wind farm in Illinois that will power 360 stores in that state, including the future Chicago Roastery.

Goal: 100% ethically sourced coffee For the fourth year in a row, more than 99% of our coffee was verified as ethically sourced under&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/sustainability-is-at-the-heart-of-starbucks-coffee-sourcing/">C.A.F.E. Practices</a> – that’s nearly 650 million pounds of it. Although we are constantly striving for 100%, it’s that last 1% where some of our most important work happens, bringing on new farmers and cooperatives to help ensure the long-term future of coffee.

Goal: 100% ethically sourced tea by 2020 Our tea is verified as 95% ethically sourced by third-party organizations including the Ethical Tea Partnership and Rainforest Alliance to ensure the tea Starbucks sources is produced with sustainable practices and under safe and humane working conditions.

Goal: Provide 100 million trees to farmers by 2025 Starbucks has donated more than 31 million coffee trees over the past three years (9.4 million in 2018) to farmers in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador. These&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/the-next-generation-of-coffee-trees/">climate-resilient trees</a> replace ones that are declining in productivity due to age and disease, such as coffee leaf rust.

Goal: Invest $50 million in farmers loans by 2020 In 2018, loans reached thousands of farmers in 14 countries to strengthen their coffee farms through tree renovation and infrastructure improvements.

Goal: Train 200,000 coffee farmers by 2020 Our expert agronomists have provided free training to 52,240 coffee farmers through our nine&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-farmer-support-centers/">farmer support centers</a> in coffee-producing countries around the world in the past two years, including 27,938 in 2018. We will explore new ways to further scale our efforts.

Goal: Develop 100% compostable and reusable cups by 2022 We are currently testing a dozen promising cup technologies developed through the&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2019/closed-loop-partners-announces-12-winners-of-the-nextgen-cup-challenge/">NextGen Cup Challenge</a> with the goal of creating an entirely recyclable and compostable cup.

Goal: Double the recycled content of our cups by 2022 Our hot cups currently contain 10% post-consumer fiber (PCF) and we are working to double the recycled content.

Goal: Eliminate single-use straws worldwide by 2020 Since we announced our intention to eliminate single use-straws in July 2018, we developed and engineered&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/say-hello-to-the-lid-that-will-replace-a-billion-straws-a-year/">a new strawlesslid</a> that eliminates the need for a plastic straw and reduces the amount of plastic by 9% versus the traditional lid and straw.&nbsp;We have launched this strawless lid as the default for all iced beverages in Seattle and Vancouver, with&nbsp;sevenmore major markets planned for summer 2019.&nbsp;

*Estimated reduction once fully implemented

10+ Major Cities Currently Recycle our Cups

Goal: Double the recyclability of our cups by 2022 Our cups are accepted for recycling in: Amsterdam; Boston; Dallas; Denver; London; Louisville, Ky.; New York City; San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; and Vancouver, B.C.

Goal: Double the use of reusable cups by 2022 In 2018, 1.3% of customers in company-operated stores in the U.S., Canada and EMEA received a discount for bringing their own mug or tumbler, saving more than 42 million disposable cups. We are working to find new ways to encourage customer adoption of reusables, and to begin to track for-here beverages in our reporting.

Goal: Build and operate 10,000 greener stores globally by 2025 Starbucks has 1,612 LEED-certified stores in 16 countries, including all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.&nbsp;We are also developing a new open-source framework to ensure that all Starbucks stores are delivering high standards of environmental performance.

This year, we will launch the Greener Store framework in 300 stores and will be verifying that these stores are: •&nbsp; 100% powered by renewable energy •&nbsp; 25% more energy efficient •&nbsp; 30% more water efficient •&nbsp; Recycling and diverting waste •&nbsp; Sourcing responsible materials •&nbsp; Delivering a healthy environment •&nbsp; Empowering partners to be sustainability champions

Goal: Invest in 100% renewable energy to power operations globally by 2020 Starbucks purchases enough renewable energy to power 100% of its more than 9,000 company-operated stores in the U.S., Canada and the UK with clean energy. Worldwide, more than three-quarters of Starbucks operations are powered by renewables.

Goal: Empower 10,000 partners worldwide to be sustainability champions by 2020 More than 7,200 Starbucks partners have enrolled in the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/starbucks-partners-for-sustainability/">Greener Apron</a> sustainability training program through the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.starbucksglobalacademy.com/">Starbucks Global Academy</a> with Arizona State University in the United States, Canada and Britain.

<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2019/2018-starbucks-global-social-impact-report/">2018 Global Social Impact Report</a>

2018 Report: Leading in Sustainability - Starbucks Stories

We are committed to 100 percent ethically sourced coffee and reducing the environmental impact of our operations with greener stores, power, cups and packaging.

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2018 Report: Leading in Sustainability

Leading in Sustainability

Learn how Starbucks is working to ensure a better future for people and the planet from ethical sourcing to stores powered by the sun.

We are working to make coffee the world's first sustainable agricultural product.

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We invest in clean, green energy to power our stores, reduce our environmental impact and support access to green power.

We are committed to design, build and operate the world's largest green retail business.

We are working to reduce waste promoting reusability and making packaging sustainable.

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Sustainability commitments at a glance - Starbucks Stories

At a glance: Starbucks sustainability commitments go from farm to straws﻿.

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From ethical sourcing to stores powered by the sun

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Sustainability commitments at a glance

greener stores

greener stores - Starbucks Stories

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Our aspiration is to be people positive—investing in humanity and the well-being of everyone we connect with, from our partners to coffee farmers to the customers in our stores and beyond.

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Coffee is at our heart, inspiring our craft and driving innovation—in our drinks, our food, our stores and new ways we bring the Starbucks experience to you wherever you are.