By Marianne Wilson

(November 18, 2009) Starbucks Coffee Co. has expanded its commitment to the environment with two major initiatives. The chain has entered into the construction phase of the U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Volume Certification program, which will enable it to reduce the environmental impact of its stores on a global scale with significant cost and time efficiencies. It also has embarked on a companywide LED lighting conversion program.

“Our new green construction methodologies and lighting efforts have the rigor to help us achieve our environmental goals and the flexibility to support our scale,” said Arthur Rubinfeld, president, Starbucks Global Development.

As part of the LEED Volume Certification program, Starbucks must certify at least 10 pilot stores (new construction and renovations) within six months.  The chain’s first Volume Certification pilot opened in November in San Diego, Calif. Other announced locations include Seattle; Bellingham, Wash.; Detroit; Atlanta; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; New York City; Toronto; Manila, Philippines; Fukuoka, Japan; Taipei, Taiwan; and Lisbon. The Detroit location will be one of Starbucks’ kiosk locations.

Once the stores’ environmental strategies are audited and approved, they can be replicated elsewhere, allowing Starbucks to reach its goal of achieving LEED certification for all new company-owned stores. The USGBC is working with Starbucks (and other Volume Certification pilot contributors) to develop resources that will help integrate the adoption of LEED into the standard design, construction and operations practices of participating organizations.

Starbucks is no stranger to the LEED program. Six locations (not associated with the pilot program) have either achieved or are currently registered for LEED certification. Also, the company’s support center is Seattle is LEED Gold certified.

Lighting: On the lighting front, Starbucks is converting the halogen and incandescent lighting in its stores to LED lights. The program is the result of an alliance with GE Consumer & Industrial to develop a solution that will help reduce energy consumption as well as utility and maintenance costs at Starbucks stores around the world. Lighting accounts for 13% of energy use in a standard Starbucks.

The chain has began implementing the LED conversion program in all company-owned U.S. stores, and has already completed installations in more than 1,000 locations to date. It will expand the program to international markets in March 2010, and hopes to complete installation in more than 8,000 company-owned stores around the world by the end of 2010. Starbucks estimates the LEDs will result in a 7% per-store reduction in energy use, which will contribute to the company’s goal of achieving a 25% reduction in energy use by the end of 2010.

Starbucks first explored switching out its incandescent and halogen lighting with LEDs in 2008. But it couldn’t find a commercially available product that met its functional and aesthetic requirements. It reached out to GE to identify a solution. With input from Starbucks, GE developed a highly energy-efficient LED product that also complements the chain’s store-design strategy and fits existing fixtures.

“Our team jumped at the chance to create a GE-quality LED solution that could meet Starbuck’s stringent efficiency and color-quality requirements,” said Michael Petras, president and CEO, GE Consumer & Industrial’s lighting and electrical business.

Starbucks’ aggressive moves on the conservation front will have far-reaching environmental and financial impacts, according to Petras.

“Other GE customers will benefit from these achievements,” he added.

To see a video about Starbucks’ new environmental initiative, go to
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