Post by account_disabled on Mar 4, 2024 22:10:41 GMT -5
Learn about Starbucks' next steps in renewable energy and regenerative agriculture
The coffee giant has announced new January targets and confirmed that its new long-term sustainability vision will become “resource positive”. This ambition was announced shortly after Starbucks named a new head of sustainability, Michael Kobori, formerly of Levi Strauss.
According to information from edie , although a full guide to compliance is not expected to be published until next year, the company announced several first steps at its biennial Investor Day event on Wednesday (December 9). Speakers reiterated the company's overall ambitions for 2030 along with its priorities for international growth following the Copenhagen Conference on December 19.
Starbucks Chairman and CEO Kevin Johnson revealed that the company is planning to install on-site solar power at hundreds of its US stores over a 24-month period as part of a new diversified renewable energy portfolio. He will also sign a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with a solar farm in Virginia that will be completed in 2022.
This announcement came in the same week that Chile Mobile Number List McDonald's completed new VPPAs for two large wind farms and a large portfolio of solar projects across three US states.
Starbucks has allocated more than $140 million to purchasing renewable energy over the past two years and claims this has enabled generation equivalent to 77% of its global annual energy demand.
The new projects will take it beyond the 100% mark and as such will count part of the impact as carbon offsetting. About 50% of emissions from US-based roasting and beverage manufacturing plants operated by Starbucks can be treated in this way.
Regenerative agriculture and low carbon menus
Johnson also announced a series of new goals and initiatives around supply chain sustainability and low-carbon products.
Starbucks this month signed its intention to support the Dairy Net Zero Initiative, for example. The scheme aims to connect end-user companies with dairy farmers and other supply chain workers to implement low-carbon production methods and improve water efficiency and management.
An investment package of $50 million has also been allocated to the Global Farmers Fund. This initiative supports coffee farmers around the world to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices to improve soil health and performance while reducing water consumption, fertilizer and pesticide use, and emissions.
In the final phase of the business, Johnson confirmed that all Starbucks stores in the United States will begin stocking oat milk. Stores already carry soy milk and almond milk, but oat milk is considered more sustainable, as it requires less water to produce and has less risk of deforestation.
The FAIRR investor coalition had predicted that 2020 would be a decisive year for the transition to plant proteins. For several years now he has been following the ways in which concerns about animal welfare, nutrition and climate impact have changed diets.
In 2020, more consumers also adopted plant-based diets as a way to save money and in response to reports of COVID-19 outbreaks in meat factories.
The conversation at Starbucks Investor Day was lighter on details about plans to reduce waste. This is perhaps to be expected, given that many food and drink businesses have had to pause or reduce reuse initiatives amid lockdown restrictions. Earlier this year, Starbucks switched to straw-free lids for cold drinks across Canada and the U.S., in a move designed to improve recyclability.
The coffee giant has announced new January targets and confirmed that its new long-term sustainability vision will become “resource positive”. This ambition was announced shortly after Starbucks named a new head of sustainability, Michael Kobori, formerly of Levi Strauss.
According to information from edie , although a full guide to compliance is not expected to be published until next year, the company announced several first steps at its biennial Investor Day event on Wednesday (December 9). Speakers reiterated the company's overall ambitions for 2030 along with its priorities for international growth following the Copenhagen Conference on December 19.
Starbucks Chairman and CEO Kevin Johnson revealed that the company is planning to install on-site solar power at hundreds of its US stores over a 24-month period as part of a new diversified renewable energy portfolio. He will also sign a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with a solar farm in Virginia that will be completed in 2022.
This announcement came in the same week that Chile Mobile Number List McDonald's completed new VPPAs for two large wind farms and a large portfolio of solar projects across three US states.
Starbucks has allocated more than $140 million to purchasing renewable energy over the past two years and claims this has enabled generation equivalent to 77% of its global annual energy demand.
The new projects will take it beyond the 100% mark and as such will count part of the impact as carbon offsetting. About 50% of emissions from US-based roasting and beverage manufacturing plants operated by Starbucks can be treated in this way.
Regenerative agriculture and low carbon menus
Johnson also announced a series of new goals and initiatives around supply chain sustainability and low-carbon products.
Starbucks this month signed its intention to support the Dairy Net Zero Initiative, for example. The scheme aims to connect end-user companies with dairy farmers and other supply chain workers to implement low-carbon production methods and improve water efficiency and management.
An investment package of $50 million has also been allocated to the Global Farmers Fund. This initiative supports coffee farmers around the world to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices to improve soil health and performance while reducing water consumption, fertilizer and pesticide use, and emissions.
In the final phase of the business, Johnson confirmed that all Starbucks stores in the United States will begin stocking oat milk. Stores already carry soy milk and almond milk, but oat milk is considered more sustainable, as it requires less water to produce and has less risk of deforestation.
The FAIRR investor coalition had predicted that 2020 would be a decisive year for the transition to plant proteins. For several years now he has been following the ways in which concerns about animal welfare, nutrition and climate impact have changed diets.
In 2020, more consumers also adopted plant-based diets as a way to save money and in response to reports of COVID-19 outbreaks in meat factories.
The conversation at Starbucks Investor Day was lighter on details about plans to reduce waste. This is perhaps to be expected, given that many food and drink businesses have had to pause or reduce reuse initiatives amid lockdown restrictions. Earlier this year, Starbucks switched to straw-free lids for cold drinks across Canada and the U.S., in a move designed to improve recyclability.