In 2019, the company commissioned environmental and behavioural experts, Hubbub to do a U.K. study on the factors that contributed to customers not using a reusable cup. Key findings include:
Trewin Restorick, CEO, Hubbub said:
“It is massively encouraging to see the steps that Starbucks is taking which makes it as easy as possible for people to choose a reusable cup. The company has run reuse trials to understand what incentivises customers to act and pioneered different pricing mechanisms. Building on this expertise, they have set out bold plans, using their scale and influence, to chart a new way forward that could change the entire industry.”
Starbucks Path Towards Increased Reuse:
Starbucks stores in Europe, Middle East and Africa have been on a journey to decreasing the number of single use paper cups that leave its stores. Key activities include:
- 1998, 2002, 2004 – Upon opening in each market, Starbucks stores in the U.K., Germany and France offer a discount on beverages served in a reusable and ceramic cup to customers.
- July 2018 – Starbucks voluntarily introduces the 5p charge on single use plastic cups to all stores within the U.K., working with environmental and behavioural change experts, Hubbub.
- April 2019 – Starbucks and Hubbub launch the 1m Cup Fund, the U.K.’s largest grant fund offering grants of £50,000 – £100,000 to bolster and scale up cup recycling.
- April 2019 – Starbucks conducts the first ever airport reusable cup trial at London’s Gatwick Airport to drive consumer behaviour around reusables.
- August 2020 – Within the U.K., Starbucks EMEA is one of the first large scale coffee houses to bring back the use of personal cups with a completely contactless process to address health and safety concerns of the transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
- May 2020 – Starbucks U.K. collaborates with Circular&Co to produce 20K reusable cups out of paper cup waste supporting the development of a circular economy. The Cornwall based company was able to move production from China to a specialist manufacturing facility in Perranporth – creating 11 new high-skilled jobs for the region.
- December 2020 – Starbucks stores across EMEA eliminate all plastic straws and introduce the strawless lid, removing the need for a straw altogether for our iced beverages.
- June 2021 – Starbucks collaboration with Circular&Co producing reusable cups from paper cup waste expands to offer the merchandise across the rest of its 43 countries in EMEA.
Starbucks Global Environmental Ambitions:
In January 2020, Starbucks launched its new sustainability strategy to set the company on a path to a resource-positive future. This means Starbucks aims to store more carbon than it emits, eliminate waste, and provide more clean water than we use. Its 2030 goals include:
- 50% reduction in carbon emissions
- 50% reduction of water usage through conservation or replenishment of water used for direct operations and coffee production
- 50% reduction in waste sent to landfills
For more information, please contact a member of the Starbucks® press team at [email protected].
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