Enviromental Concerns

The procedures of Starbucks stores across the globe are having a detrimental impact on the environment. On average, each of the 19,736 stores worldwide uses ‘6.78 kilowatt-hours of electricity, 0.058 thermos of natural gas and 94 litres of water per square foot per month ’. Starbucks takes little consideration for global depleting energy sources and fails to take measures to reduce its energy output. In 2008, Starbucks’ in the U.K. and the United States were targeted for wasting up to 23.4 million litres of water per day by continuously keeping a tap running in its 10,000 stores, seriously wasting and neglecting diminishing global water supplies. The bulk of Starbucks’ environmental waste takes place during its packaging and retailing stages. The extensive manufacturing process during the assembly of Starbucks’ coffee cups requires 90% new paper to be produced. Paper must be harvested from trees and then turned to wood chips in a machine, rather than using recycled paper fibres. Due to the plastic lamination lining, Starbucks cups are unable to be recycled and will therefore end up in landfill. For a company producing over 2 billion paper cups per year, only 18% of Starbucks’ stores containing recycling facilities . Through their deceptive marketing techniques and overuse of resources, Starbucks completely fails to uphold their environmentally sustainable image.