Starbucks Coffee encourages Plastic cups over Reusable ones.- Since covid19, Starbucks has reopened their Seattle Headquarters; they have decided to eliminate plastic cups and disposable paper and have been replaced by reusable options.
Also, they are very adamant about bringing this change to their cafes around the world. Starbucks runs through approx. 7bilion disposable cups every year. They aim to eliminate this disposable cup policy and allow their customers to carry their own reusable cups in the USA and Canada for every Starbucks order, as per their annual meeting held this year. Even for drive-through and takeaways, which still use disposable cups and bags to deliver food.
40 percent of companies’ packaging waste is due to its use of disposable cups and lids, according to Michael Kobori, Chief sustainability officer at Starbucks. Starbucks is trying to be the industry leader, or can say a trendsetter, to make reusable cups a daily operational thing in all their cafes globally. But it is extremely challenging for the company and may impact the profits of the company if they completely eliminate the disposable cups from their cafes. There’s going to be a task in motion for several years of research how that can be possible for Starbucks to go completely disposable free.
Amelia Landers, vice president of product innovation at Starbucks quoted “doing so many tests of how it is most convenient for our customers and won’t slow the drive-through line down for the person behind you and is also operationally friendly for our partners”.
The company has decided to cut its waste and carbon emissions in half by 2030 and aims to become a 100 percent environmentally friendly organization. Starbucks has offered 10 percent discounts to their customers, encouraging them to use mugs or personal reusable dishes, since the 1980s. This year, Starbucks has changed its policy in most of its cafes in the USA: a 10percent fee on your bill if you ask for a single-used cup. And good news for those who carry reusable cups or their own mugs will get a 50percent discount on their coffee orders. This is a little experiment in action by the Starbucks team to make sure they change the mindset of their customers and encourage environmentally free behavior from both sides.
Cafes like O’ahu, Hawaii, and on Arizona State University’s campus are trying some innovative ways to promote cup-washing stations to get your cups cleaned and ready for a new coffee whenever you wish. Cafes in Japan, Singapore and London are testing new ways where they promote borrowing a cup, where the customer returns the cup back and has it professionally washed so it can be used by another customer. You can deposit 1 dollar or pound to take the cup with you, enjoy your coffee and then when you return the cup you get your deposit back.
In South Korea, stores in Jeju and Seoul have already switched over to eliminate disposable cups completely by 2025.
We are all aware of global waste made by food chains around the world. They are a very serious concern in today’s world as it is affecting people and the environment. Governments around the world have shown concern over this and asked major food giants to have a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach.
Starbucks is one of the companies who have adapted and have always supported serious policies to make sure they don’t promote plastic waste or any kind that is harmful for the environment. Being one of the largest coffee stores in the world, they sell a lot of coffee cups daily and want to make sure they are not the primary reason for any environmental disasters. As per their press release issued by Starbucks Coffee Company, to try best and sustainable practices to make their cafes the best possible experience for both customers and partners.
Starbucks has always been in the news for their commitment to social causes, sustainable operations to support the global environment and racial justice in their staff and interactions with customers. Starbucks has been one of those companies who also started to hire physically challenged people to encourage everyone to be a part of society. Investors, who are concerned about the environmental, social and sustainable behavior of a company before investing, strongly suggest that companies have a clean approach to their actions, especially in 2022 and beyond. Companies like Starbucks don’t forget their values even when they go on loss, as per investment reports Starbucks stock were down by 26percent over the last 12 months due to the conflicts in Ukraine. Even with losses, Starbucks stood up to their values and has been adapting these reusable policies to save the earth. Star customers are very happy with the initiative formed on reusable cups. As per a small survey done at a café in the USA, Starbucks globally stands at a market value of $91.1 billion.
