Starbucks Unveils Global Greener Stores Commitment

Starbucks Coffee Company announced the Starbucks Greener Stores framework and a commitment to design, build and operate 10,000 “Greener Stores” globally by 2025. 

Over the next year, Starbucks said it will develop an accredited program to audit all existing company-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada against the framework criteria, culminating in 10,000 greener stores globally by 2025, encompassing existing stores, new builds and renovations.

“Simply put, sustainable coffee, served sustainably is our aspiration,” said Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of Starbucks, in a statement. “We know that designing and building green stores is not only responsible, it is cost effective as well. The energy and passion of our Green Apron partners has inspired us to find ways to operate a greener store that will generate even greater cost savings while reducing impact.”

Announced during the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, the framework is anticipated to save the company an incremental $50 million in utilities over the next 10 years. This builds on Starbucks' 10-year legacy of utility cost savings attributable to greener store practices, which already equates to approximately $30 million in saved annual operating costs.

With this commitment, Starbucks will also further enable its more than 330,000 partners globally to be informed and engaged in sustainability, adding to a burgeoning group of partner advocates through Partners for Sustainability and the Greener Apron voluntary certification program with Arizona State University.

The greener stores framework will be co-developed by experts including World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and will be audited and verified by SCS Global Services, a third-party verification organization that also oversees Starbucks Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices. The framework will be open-sourced to enable other retailers to engage in this initiative.

“This framework represents the next step in how Starbucks is approaching environmental stewardship, looking holistically at stores and their role in helping to ensure the future health of our natural resources,” said Erin Simon, director of research and development at World Wildlife Fund, U.S., in a statement. “When companies step up and demonstrate leadership, other businesses often follow with commitments of their own, driving further positive impacts.”

“Willingness for Starbucks to independently verify a large-scale complex deployment of a robust, impact-driven and an innovative multi-attribute Greener Stores program to address climate change, demonstrates leadership, integrity and transparency, which are core values shared by SCS,” said Stanley Mathuram, vice president at SCS Global Services, in a statement.