Customer : Recycling

The Newest Ideas in Action

sbx_bean — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:54:00 GMT

We're making progress on ideas that you've shared with us on
My Starbucks Idea. Your ideas continue to inspire us. Keep the ideas coming!

Ideas LAUNCHED

Discount Shipping to Military Bases
Starbucks iPhone App
Display Card Balance on Register

Ideas UNDER REVIEW

Return the Cups with the Inspirational Quotes
posted by coffeecup2009

Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte
posted by valeriea0001

Sugar-free Holiday!
posted by Kluvsflipflops

Ideas COMING SOON

Stop Wasting so Many Pastries!
posted by camille

Make MORE Reusable Venti Tumblers!
posted by tisjustme

Don't Make me Search my Inbox
posted by flukes

New Store Design - University Village, Seattle

_sbx_rnis — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:31:00 GMT

On Tuesday, June 30, the University Village store (located in Seattle, WA) reopened after an extensive renovation. Capitalizing on a long scheduled renovation, the University Village location also underwent many changes to increase environmental efficiency, incorporate local recycled elements and apply for LEED® certification- all of which supports our Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ commitment to environmental stewardship.

As with many of our store designs, there are several ideas that comprise the larger coffeehouse story. Many of the design elements were driven by the desire to incorporate material reuse, energy conservation and waste diversion. A few of these features are new to this store, others we’ve been executing for some time now. Regardless, we’re so excited to share them with our customers; we’ve captured each one on metal “icons” and sprinkled them throughout the store.

The next time you visit the University Village store, take some time to experience these innovative sustainable features:

Material Reuse:
• The slate for the menu boards was recycled from Garfield High School.
• The redwood siding on the exterior of this store was reclaimed from hop-vine poles in Eastern Washington.
• The burlap coffee bags on this wall are repurposed from a Starbucks Roasting Plant in the Seattle area.
• The ash for this table was salvaged from a fallen tree in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood.
• The Douglas fir in these wall fixtures was reclaimed from school bleachers.
• The merbau wood on the exterior entrance mats was reclaimed from existing buildings.
• The structure of this bar incorporates sustainable elements such as reclaimed and recycled materials.
• The Douglas fir in these cabinets was reclaimed from school bleachers.
• The countertop on this bar contains 85% recycled content.
• This informational piece utilizes recycled slate from Garfield High School as well as salvaged metal and wood from the Seattle area.
• The leather on the face of this bar is scrap leather obtained from shoe and automobile factories.
• The metal panels on this community wall were repurposed from old espresso machines.
• The wall tile in this store’s restrooms contains 40% recycled material.

Energy:
• To help reduce our energy needs, this store uses more efficient LED and CFL bulbs.

Waster Diversion:
• The previous flooring in this store was recycled rather than thrown away.
• During construction, over 80% of the waste was diverted from the landfill. Wood, metals and concrete were reused or recycled.

Indoor Air Quality:
• We carefully selected paints, finishes and adhesives that will not interfere with the aroma of our coffee.

Recycle:
• Thank you for helping us reduce waste and care for our planet by recycling.

Greening Our Stores:
• Beginning in late 2010, every new company operated store we open will be LEED certified. The U.S. Green Building Council certifies LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Hand Dryer:
• Using these energy-efficient hand dryers substantially reduces paper towel consumption.

Water:
• We are significantly reducing our use of water with these dual-flush toilets and low-flow faucets.
• The new dipper well (sanitizing sink) in this store provides signifi cant water savings while adhering to health department requirements.

Mugs:
• By using one of our for-here mugs or bringing in your own, you can help us reduce waste and take care of the planet.

Natural Materials:
• The interior entrance mats contain 100% recycled material.

Stop by and let us know what you think. For those of you who live in the area, join us for the grand reopening party tomorrow (July 10)!

Starbucks at Disney Village Paris

_sbx_rnis — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:34:00 GMT

Have you heard the buzz about the new Starbucks store in France? On June 20th, we opened a new store in the Disney Village Paris that is truly in a class of its own. It is the first international store to be built using our new design concept that connects our stores to our coffee heritage. This store is also the 50th Starbucks store in France and marks the 5th anniversary of this important market.

So, what’s so special about this new store? Inspired by artists’ studio environments and modern design in Europe in the 1930’s, this store is not only beautiful but also includes local materials and green design to enhance the customer experience. This new store design is part of our effort to have all of our new company-operated stores worldwide certified by the end of 2010 under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. This is a key component contributing to the Starbucks ™ Shared Planet ™ goals in environmental stewardship.

The LEED ® Green Building Rating System evaluates a building on various criteria including energy performance, indoor environmental quality, community connectivity and regional materials. Accordingly, the innovative design of this store includes the following features:

Adjustable, low-energy lighting system
Mixed-mode HVAC system (mechanical and natural ventilation) saves energy and makes use of existing building tower feature
Large, operable windows provide natural ventilation, ample daylight and fresh indoor air quality
Water efficient fixtures in restrooms and bar areas
Low emitting materials reduce off-gassing and allow the aroma of our coffee to be the star
Salvaged and recycled construction materials & furniture (including reuse of local French wine barrels and authentic champagne riddling racks)
Recycling available for customers and store partners
Measurement and verification plan to monitor energy and water savings over the life of the store

Russell

This blog was inspired by the idea: Starbucks in Walt Disney World, posted by 19072765

What do recycling and gardening have in common?

analimarie — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:51:00 GMT

If you’re anything like me, this is the time of year where you’re stocking up on allergy pills and spending time in the great outdoors. ‘Tis the season to cleanup a local park and work in your garden.

Well, did you know that one of the biggest by-products from our stores is something that you can recycle and reuse in your park or garden? Can you guess what I’m talking about? That’s right- coffee grounds!

We started a program called Grounds for your Garden way back in 1995 and to this day we offer our customers a complimentary five-pound bag of used coffee grounds (at participating stores). These grounds have plenty of uses but one of the best (and easiest!) ways to recycle grounds is to spread them in your local park or garden. Believe it or not, these grounds have a variety of nutrients ideal for enriching garden soil and helping grow a healthy and beautiful garden.

So, next time you visit your local Starbucks, ask the team about the Grounds for your Garden program and pick up a bag of your own.

Happy gardening!

Anali

Coffee Grounds for Compost
posted by calpurniavii

Cup Summit in Seattle

Sue Long — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:15:00 GMT

A top idea on My Starbucks Idea, both from partners and customers, is recyclable cups. This is one of the main reasons we were excited to announce the goal of having a recyclable cup by 2012, in our 2008 Starbucks Global Responsibility report. We recently took a big step towards this goal with our Cup Summit, held on May 12th at the Seattle Support Center. The meeting pulled together key stakeholders in our cup supply chain - paper and plastic manufacturers, cup makers, recyclers, academics working on recyclable materials, nonprofits such as Global Green and GreenBlue who are working to increase recycling, city and state representatives leading the way in recycling, and Starbucks partners who design and buy our cups.

Though hard to believe, this was the first time the entire value chain has been in the same room. Bringing all these various stakeholders together allowed everyone to explore the issues from all points of view. Solid-waste officials recognized that inconsistent municipal regulations are very confusing to consumers and companies, and make a national recycling program very complex. Industry representatives recognized that standing still is not an option, and that leading brands like Starbucks are committing to solve this issue and need their help. All recognized that the solution is not necessarily just about changing the cup materials, but likely involves a combination of strategies: improved recycling systems, development of consistent standards, and material innovation.

While there are some cups available today that some would define as “solutions” such as cups made from corn-based plastics, we must carefully examine the total impact of materials and choose the most optimal solution for minimizing the footprint of the cups, and also consider the availability of recycling or composting services. At Starbucks, we take a hard line here, in that we will never call our cups “recyclable” or “compostable” unless the infrastructure actually exists for our customers to recycle or compost our cups, in their homes, at work and in public spaces. For Starbucks to simply switch our cup materials and tell you that they are now recyclable or compostable, knowing that your community doesn’t accept cups for recycling or doesn’t have access to a specialized commercial compost facility, would be pretty unethical on our part.

The next steps for the stakeholders include setting up an advisory council to guide Starbucks in developing a set of recycling standards for fiber and plastic, evaluating new cup materials, increasing inter-government collaboration to encourage greater consistency in local recycling laws and testing these concepts in 2-3 metropolitan areas around North America

All the attendees of the Cup Summit were very energized by the meeting and look forward to making progress towards the recyclable cup, not just for Starbucks but for the entire industry. We also continue to work on our goal of 25% of cups being reusable by 2015, by increasing use of ceramic mugs in the store or personal travel tumblers when on the go. Stay tuned for reports on our progress.

Recycling
posted by deetfind

Poll Results: Which Cup do you Use at Starbucks?

sbx_bean — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Reusable cups, recycling, and for-here cups have been popular at My Starbucks Idea. Many customers and partners have told us they would like recycling available at Starbucks. We’re working on it. Currently 70% of our stores where we control waste pick-up are recycling. We continue to look for ways to make this happen in more of our locations. We’ve also set a goal – by 2015 100% of our cups will be reusable or recyclable. Visit www.starbucks.com/sharedplanet to learn more.

Recently I asked the MSI community what kind of cup do you use at Starbucks? Here are the results:

At Starbucks I use...

The Starbucks Cup - 64%

Did you know that Starbucks helped pioneer the industry’s first hot beverage cup with 10 percent post-consumer fiber (PCF)? Since adding the new PCF cups to stores in the U.S. and Canada in 2006, we’ve saved more than 44,000 tons of virgin wood fiber, the equivalent of more than 300,000 trees. These cups are recyclable in some cities, like Seattle, and compostable in others, like San Francisco.

For-here Cups – 12%

Starbucks company-operated stores offer "for here" cups. We have porcelain and glassware available for all sizes. Just ask your barista if you would like your drink "for here".

Reusable Tumblers – 24%

We also offer reusable tumblers for sale in all sizes. Pick the one that is right for you. If you enjoy cold beverages starting next month the popular reusable cold cup will be available in the Grande (16 oz.) size and new this year a Venti (20 oz. tumbler) will be available. We also currently have reusable tumblers with post-consumer recycled content in all sizes from Short to Venti!

Some of you have let us know that the cup discount isn't communicated very well. We have now added it back to the menu board in company-owned stores and currently on our home page at Starbucks.com we have a great video to help get the word out. One way you can help with reducing the amount of paper or plastic cups used is to use a reusable cup and when you bring your own, we'll give you 10 cents off at company-owned stores.(Please visit the site to view this media)

Introducing a New Store Design

_sbx_rnis — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Have you heard about the newest Starbucks store in Seattle? On March 13, we opened a Starbucks store in Seattle on 1st Ave @ Pike Street that is truly in a class of its own as it is the first store to be built using our new design concept that connects our stores to our coffee heritage.

So, what’s so special about this new design concept? Inspired by our original store at Pike Place Market, this new store is not only beautiful, it uses local materials and green design to enhance the customer experience. This new store design is part of our effort to have all of our new company-operated stores worldwide certified green by the end of 2010 under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. This is a key component of the Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ commitment to environmental stewardship.

The store at 1st Ave @ Pike Street incorporates reused materials and finishes from the Cascadia bio-region. If you get the chance to visit the store, you will see a series of “green way finding” plaques identifying and explaining specific environmentally smart elements incorporated into the design including:

Material Reuse:
The leather on the face of the bar is scrap leather obtained from shoe and automobile factories.

Table Reuse:
The community table has had many lives. Before arriving here, it graced a local restaurant and before that, a Seattle-area home.

Restroom:
The partitions are made from 100% recycled laundry detergent bottles.

Waste Diversion:
During construction, 99% of the waste was diverted from the landfill. Wood, metals and concrete were reused or recycled.

Energy Efficiency:
In using energy-efficient hand dryers and lighting, this store is committed to reduce energy consumption by 25%.

Recycling:
The condiment station offers an opportunity to recycle both the hot & cold cups (starting March 30 in the City of Seattle).

Thank you for posting your ideas about how to reduce the environmental footprint of our stores on MyStarbucksIdea. We think this new design is the answer to many of them. Be sure to check out any new company-operated stores opening in your area or come visit us in Seattle to experience the new design!