How do World-renowned Coffee Companies Manage Carbon Emissions? A Case Study of Starbucks

Abstract

Carbon emissions are a major factor influencing climate change. Climate change also has ecological impacts, such as loss of biodiversity and loss of ecosystem functions and services. Starbucks is a large multinational company which aims to reduce their environmental impact. Starbucks’ carbon emissions in 2018 were 16,706 thousand metric tons, including 320 thousand metric tons of direct scope 1 emissions, 1,094 thousand metric tons of indirect scope 2 emissions and 14198 thousand metric tons of indirect scope 3 emissions. Huge carbon emissions and pressure from stakeholders forced Starbucks to launch a carbon management program in 2018. Therefore, this article focuses on the assessment of Starbucks' carbon management practices. The company’s primary strategy for emissions reductions is to switch from single-use plastics to reusable and recyclable materials in the packaging of its products. Another measure is the development of regenerative agriculture, joining the effort to protect and restore forests and reduce the amount of water used in coffee processing and production. Starbucks' practices ensure that carbon emissions are avoided as much as possible while the company operates normally. Furthermore, as Starbucks itself has a significant carbon footprint and has the most emissions in its sector, the company should work to reduce their carbon footprint as well as strengthen its regulatory efforts and controls where it has not implemented measures to reduce emissions, such as the carbon footprint of Starbucks' transportation of ingredients.