Sustain Word

The Official Blog of The Hoots Group- The Green Builder and Remodeler for Atlanta

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My son Daniel adding Starbucks grounds to our compost bin

Starbucks Coffee.

Yes- I do like their coffee.  If I did not think that they could make a difference or would change I would not waste my time trying to give them suggestions.  I actively encourage their store managers to to green, but I am not too sure what influence they have on store policy.  They are also doing some things correctly.  To the left there is a picture of my son Daniel adding coffer grounds to out compost bin.  Yes- I was able to resist the temptation to stick my face in the bin to absorb the great coffee smell!

I buddy of mine pushed my to write my own post on Starbucks.  He posted a funny experience that he had a while back on his blog.  Here is his experience there.  Green to the scene blog

Let’s start out with the positives- what are they doing correctly?

  1. The use recycled content sleeves on their cups
  2. They let people come pick up their used grounds to use in their gardens
  3. I heard that they treat their employees well and have benefits- good job!

Room for improvement:

  1. Not sure if they use fair trade coffee- heard that they did not.  I did not verify yet.
  2. They do not recycle their plastics in the store!  I ask them every time where to recycle and they say “We should, but they don’t.”  One store said that Waste Management actually separates the trash at the transfer station.  Not to sure if I believe them, however it is a better answer than we know better but we are too stubborn to change.
  3. Green buildings?  As a green builder I am not too sure what is green about their construction.  I would love for one of my readers to tell me that they are all LEED certified.  Where is the renewable energy on the rooftops of all of the stores?

PS- if you work  for Starbucks, or know someone that works at their corporate office have them contact me to get the more in depth audit.  I will work for coffee!

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2 Responses to “Starbucks needs a green overhaul”

  1. georgiagreenteam says:

    This reminds me: I need a Quad Venti Three-Equal Latte.

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