How Starbucks Is Saving Some Green With Its New Store Initiative

September 17, 2018 by Chris Lange

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is planning to open 10,000 new “greener stores” by 2025 as part of its green initiative. The coffee giant announced earlier this summer that it was doing away with plastic straws.

The “Starbucks Greener Stores” framework will be built upon comprehensive performance criteria that help ensure the company’s approach to designing, building and operating its company-owned stores sets a new standard for green retail.

Over the next year, Starbucks will develop an accredited program to audit all existing company-operated stores in the United States and Canada against the framework criteria, culminating in 10,000 “greener stores” globally by 2025, encompassing existing stores, new builds and renovations. The Starbucks Greener Stores framework will also be open-sourced to benefit the broader retail industry.

While this idea sounds great on the environmental aspect, it also saves some green on the books as well. Overall, Starbucks Greener Stores framework is anticipated to save the company an incremental $50 million in utilities over the next 10 years. This builds on Starbucks’ 10-year legacy of utility cost savings attributable to greener store practices, which already equates to roughly $30 million in saved annual operating costs.

Erin Simon, Director of research and development at World Wildlife Fund, U.S., commented:

This framework represents the next step in how Starbucks is approaching environmental stewardship, looking holistically at stores and their role in helping to ensure the future health of our natural resources. When companies step up and demonstrate leadership, other businesses often follow with commitments of their own, driving further positive impacts.

Shares of Starbucks were last seen trading at $54.40, with a consensus analyst price target of $57.88 and a 52-week range of $47.37 to $61.94.

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