Innovating for a new paper cup.
Our paper cups represent more than half of all the paper Starbucks buys, and we’ve spent more than ten years looking for opportunities to decrease their environmental impact. For example, we spent several years working with our suppliers to 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.
Resource savings from post-consumer fiber cup
| FISCAL YEAR | RESOURCE SAVINGS | EQUIVALENCY |
| 2008 | 17,153 fewer tons of virgin wood fiber | 118,754 trees |
| 2007 | 15,966 fewer tons of virgin wood fiber | 110,000 trees |
| 2006 | 11,300 fewer tons of virgin wood fiber | 78,000 trees |
We're proud of the trees saved through the PCF cup. But these cups cannot be recycled in many paper recycling systems because of their plastic liner, which provides rigidity and protects the paper from the hot beverage.
As a result, we’re now working toward a goal of 100 percent of our cups being reusable or recyclable.
What we’ve been doing.
100% reusable or recyclable cups
We are working to develop a recyclable paper cup that minimizes its environmental impact over its entire lifespan – the materials used to make it, the impact of the way it’s manufactured, and the way it is disposed of after use. Our first step will be to engage key stakeholders (manufacturers, non-governmental organizations and government officials) to get their feedback on potential solutions.
Other paper products
Starbucks considers environmental impacts when we purchase paper, and we’ve tracked the recycled and unbleached fiber content of our paper purchases for seven years. Along with paper cups, our paper uses includes pastry bags, napkins, packaging and office paper (see charts above). As members of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition we’re actively exploring more sustainable alternatives to conventional packaging and evaluating ways to analyze material choices.
Hurdles.
In fiscal 2008, Starbucks purchased 2.7 billion paper cups. The move to a recyclable cup will be groundbreaking – but the scale and complexity of the effort is a significant challenge. We must be sure that the cups can be ethically sourced and responsibly manufactured. We’re also working to make sure we consider how the cups are disposed after they are used. And we must ensure that recycling is available in our stores. Finally, that means we must also work with communities to make sure our cups can be recycled or composted.
What we’re working on.
Our goal is that by 2015, 100 percent of our cups will be reusable or recyclable. To help achieve this goal, we’ve made the following commitments:
- Supporting the development of and launching a recyclable cup by 2012
- Reducing cup usage in our stores by 25 percent by using reusable mugs instead
- Having recycling available in our stores where commercial recycling is available
- Re-establishing ceramic mugs as our global standard for our customers who enjoy their beverages in our stores
