Starbucks Coffee

Very cool.

How more / less expensive was it to build this way vs. your other non-LEED plants?  

How much, if anything, will you save with the reduced power & water usage?

Will some of this technology be retrofitted to other non-LEED plants? (even if they don't get full certification)

Will you install solar panels on the roof or parking lot?

All great ideas.  The Green Initiative team should check out this decision over in food .........All of us who support Socially Responsible behavior, need to also read the following thread from the "Food" side of Starbucks.  

They purport to support reduction in carbon footprint , building community and their "green initiatives"??  How can they be considering an idea like this??  

Do the people in the Social Responsibility offices talk to the people making these buying decisions - they are going to end up with serious egg on their faces...... here is the link (or go to the food section and read the "Baked Goods: Local vs National" and comment!)  

mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaList

Link has changed, try this one:  mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaView

Overall I praise the effort to make SBUX "end to end" green -  and not just at the store level (which is harder in some ways with commercial recycling challenges etc).  

I know that up front you had to pay more to make this building green - but expect that over time it will "pay off" from reduced waste and energy costs. And the PR and employee benefit of using recycled materials etc is not a "lost" benefit.

American business is in LOVE with the short term. No firm is immune from this. The classic business book "Built to Last" is something of a joke for example in the era of AIG.

Green investing in buildings pays off over time and anyone willing to make that mid-long term investment deserves credit. With the added bonus of simply doing the right thing.