As a millennial born in 1988, it’s hard for me to think about coffee without thinking about Starbucks in turn. Since expanding across the country in the 1990s, Starbucks has completely changed coffee culture. Some say it’s for the better, some for the worse. But a lasting change, to say the least.
Even Starbucks cups are famous. Chances are you’ve seen it in the regular white and green (if you don’t drink from it at the moment) or in a festive shade of red for the festive season. Either way, it’s instantly recognizable. Or, as Starbucks’ Chief Sustainability Officer Michael Kobori calls it, “ubiquitous.”
But in an interview with CNN Business, Kobori warns that these easily discarded disposable cups are also “the ubiquitous symbol of a disposable society.”
Since Starbucks serves about 6 billion disposable cups a year, he’s not wrong. While glasses are recyclable, that doesn’t stop them from being thrown into landfills, if not right on the streets.
That’s why Kobori shares the company’s new decision to “completely phase out disposable cups” by 2025.
The plan is to make the use of disposable paper or plastic cups much less attractive, like replacing straws with soft drink lids. This includes perhaps charging a small fee to use disposable cups, as well as experimenting with discounts and incentives to get customers on the green side.
By the end of 2022, the company plans to allow customers to use their own reusable mugs, which has been temporarily suspended due to COVID-19. However, this time around, being environmentally friendly could net you 10 to 15 cents. Which, as any coffee addict knows, accumulates easily day after day.
Snow White Coffee GIF Giphy
Starbucks is also considering introducing a “Mug for Rent” program where customers pay a small refundable deposit in exchange for renting a cup.
The company held a two-month beta program in Seattle, Starbucks’ hometown. When customers returned a cup, not only did they get their $1 deposit back, they also received 10 bonus points. While many customers have come to rely on the convenience of Starbucks, the test has been well received. Store manager Kim Davis noted that both baristas and customers were on board, saying “the excitement and engagement was really high.”
There is another major obstacle: the driveway window. Oh, and mobile bookings. So, make two obstacles. These are the simple conveniences that customers expect from Starbucks. This is a brilliant move for the business model, but it makes the sustainability goal a bit more complicated. Especially when you consider that more than half of all sales come from people who drive by in their cars or place orders on the app.
Anne Hathaway Starbucks GIF Giphy
Several store mockups were created to test different options. One of them is obvious: customers simply pass their reusable cups to the barista at the display window. Another way is to have them leave their cup at an earlier waypoint so that the drink is ready as soon as they return to pay. Also, prepare drinks in advance so that you can pour them into reusable cups as soon as the driver arrives. I see the potential for confusion with the latter, but the point is that solutions are being tested.
When it comes to mobile shopping, this seems to be a particularly daunting task. Venti, even. But Starbucks is nothing short of an innovation. More than once, the company’s foresight has completely changed the coffee game. This made hip, non-dairy milk, and “single-origin” plant foods affordable, and folk jazz became the cafe’s official sound. It certainly seems that if any single business entity can guide us as a society towards better coffee habits, it is the one represented by the green mermaid.
May her siren song lead us all to a better, more sustainable future.
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