Starbucks Will Add More Vegan Options And Ditch Plastic

Starbucks has announced it will be adding more vegan food options to be more environmentally-friendly. 

The chain did not reveal when it would start offering plant-based dishes but the spokeswoman told Reuters that the company is exploring meat alternatives for its breakfast menu.

The company set up and list of environmental goals with three main targets for 2030: to cut carbon emissions by 50% in its operations and supply chain, to conserve half of the water used in operations and coffee production, and to reduce by half the waste sent by the company to landfills from stores and manufacturing. 

The chain’s latest sustainability goals also include shifting to more sustainable packaging from single-use cups and plastic and investing in better waste management.

Starbucks measured the carbon, waste, and water footprint within its supply chain and operations around the world with help from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and a sustainability consulting organisation Quantis.

According to the letter from CEO Kevin Johnson, this year the company "...will conduct comprehensive market research and trials to better understand consumer behaviour and incentives to encourage consumer use of reusable containers."

Starbucks uses about 6 billion cups a year at more than 30,000 stores around the world. The chain's abundant use of plastic has been criticised by consumers and environmental organisations for decades.

The company has failed in the past to meet some of its own environmental goals including making 25% of its cups reusable by 2015. 

Kate Melges, a USA Plastics Campaigner at Greenpeace, commented: "While it’s a welcome development that Starbucks is revisiting its sustainability strategy, the company still has a lot to figure out as to how to make it happen as quickly as possible. When it comes to the climate crisis, increasing deforestation, water shortages, and mounting plastic pollution, we don’t have decades to wait for action. Companies like Starbucks needed to be shifting toward truly sustainable, circular practices yesterday. Starbucks’ new sustainability commitments are light on specifics. Without more detailed plans on how Starbucks will make this happen, it's difficult to say the solutions Starbucks pursues will be taking us in the right direction."