As part of Starbucks 2020 commitment to “reduce waste by 50 percent by 2030” Starbucks made the following bold announcement on January 3, 2024, “Starbucks Becomes First National Coffee Retailer to Accept Reusable Cups for Drive-thru and Mobile Orders,” and set a goal for all of your packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2030.

A visit to any Starbucks store will quickly show that Starbucks' plan to reduce waste by 50 percent by 2030 falls short. Many baristas are not aware of the bring your own cup program; there is confusing or mislabeled signage on compost, waste, and recycling bins; and Starbucks’ own app indicates that customers ‘may use your own cup,’ but the option is only offered at the end of ordering and with only a 10 cent discount.

Starbucks uses more than 8,000 plastic cups and plastic-lined paper cups per minute! According to your own reporting, Starbucks distributes about 6 billion disposable cups and mugs worldwide each year. Most of this ends up in landfills, the environment, or is incinerated.

It’s time for Starbucks to effectively put into practice their commitment to reduce their plastic pollution impact. For Starbucks to truly be the “first national coffee retailer to accept reusable cups,” you need to do more to follow your words with action. Starbucks marketing prowess is apparent in the many successful seasonal promotions, and they need to use that expertise to promote reusable cups.

We are calling on Starbucks to prominently and consistently promote, activate, and incentivize your reusable cup program, specifically to:

1. Use clear and consistent signage at register and all points of sale (online, apps, at register, in stores).

2. Promote incentives to customers to bring their own cups with single-use cup fees of 25 cents or more, and/or implement a “bring your own cup” promotion encouraging customers to bring their own cups multiple times to gain access to exclusive offers and discounts.

3. Implement clear signage at the waste bins, to let customers know that single-use paper and plastic cups are not recyclable.

4. Encourage customers to enjoy their drinks on premises with reusable ceramic and glass cups, and foodware along with metal cutlery.

5. Put the same effort into promoting your reusable cup program as you do for your seasonal drink and cups campaigns by providing each Starbucks store, employee, app, and online promotion, the necessary support signage, training, and promotional materials.

In taking these steps Starbucks can become a leading company on reuse and refill in the U.S. and make a significant contribution to scaling true solutions on behalf of the entire beverage sector. Will you rise to the challenge, Brian? Will you bring the old fashion coffeehouse feel back and stop polluting the planet with single-use paper and plastic?