Starbucks up green energy, cuts water use, pilots new EMS

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Co. met its 2010 goal of purchasing renewable energy equivalent to half of the electricity used in its North American company-owned stores, the company reported in its tenth annual "Global Responsibility Report." The report details Starbucks’ fiscal 2010 performance in environmental stewardship, ethical sourcing and community involvement.



Starbucks, which purchased 58% of renewable energy in 2010, has been named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the fourth-largest purchaser of renewable energy in the United States. The company is raising its sights with a new goal to make 100% of the electricity used in global company-owned stores renewable energy equivalent by 2015.



As noted in the report, Starbucks did not achieve its goal to reduce energy consumption by 25% in company-owned stores by 2010. The company has pushed out the 25% reduction goal to 2015.



Starbucks said it piloted a new energy management system in 2010 in 10 U.S. stores, which validated its potential to reduce energy consumption through remote monitoring and control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. The company will expand the pilot program in 2011 to confirm its findings across a larger portfolio of stores.



Starbucks said it made meaningful improvements in 2010 toward reaching its goals related to recycling, water conservation, and green building. It said is currently on track to reach goals such key areas as:

• Water conservation: Reduced water consumption by 21.6% over 2008 levels, nearing its stated goal of a 25% reduction by 2015.


• LEED-certified stores: Completed pilot phase for the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Volume Certification pilot program. It is the company’s goal to build all new, company-owned stores to achieve LEED certification beginning in December 2010.


• Recyclable cup solution: Making progress to develop comprehensive recycling solutions for its paper and plastic cups by 2012 by testing recyclability of cups in a New York pilot.

To read the report, go to starbucks.com/2010report.