Sustainability alert: Starbucks pledges to become 'resource-positive’ in coming decades

Seattle-based Starbucks has announced it intends to become “resource positive” in the coming decades, storing more carbon than it emits, eliminating waste and providing more clean, freshwater than it uses.

The company calls the effort a multidecade aspiration and plans to start with preliminary 2030 goals to cut emissions in its operations and supply chain in half, send half as much waste to landfill from its stores and manufacturing and conserve or replenish half of the water it uses from its operations and coffee production.

“As we approach the 50th anniversary of Starbucks in 2021, we are looking ahead with a heightened sense of urgency and conviction that we must challenge ourselves, think bigger and do much more in partnership with others to take care of the planet we share,” Starbucks chief executive officer Kevin Johnson says.

The company, alongside McDonald’s, Yum! brands, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Wendy’s, partnered with New York-based circular economy investors Closed Loop Partners on the NextGen Cup Challenge, seeking to commercialize a compostable and recyclable fiber cup. Starbucks also has pledged to eliminate plastic straws by the end of 2020.

In response to the company’s new sustainability commitment, Greenpeace USA Plastics Campaigner Kate Melges comments, “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.”

Melges adds, “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.”

Nestlé commits to food-grade recycled plastics

Nestlé, Vevey, Switzerland, has announced it will invest up to 2 billion Swiss francs to lead the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions.

The company says that most plastics are difficult to recycle for food-grade packaging, which leads to “a limited supply of food-grade recycled plastics.” To create a market, Nestlé says it plans to source up to 2 million metric tons of food-grade recycled plastics, allocating more than 1.5 billion Swiss francs to pay a premium for these materials between now and 2025.

The move builds on its 2018 commitment to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 as well its goal to cut its use of virgin plastics by a third by 2025.

“We are taking bold steps to create a wider market for food-grade recycled plastics and boost innovation in the packaging industry,” states Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestlé.

Andrew Morlet, CEO of U.K.-based Ellen MacArthur Foundation, says, “Achieving the commitments announced today will significantly contribute towards realizing this vision.”

Matthias Wüthrich, senior campaigner at Greenpeace Switzerland, comments, “It is encouraging that Nestlé has finally committed to reducing its reliance on virgin plastic and recognizes that its dependence on fossil fuel-derived plastic is contributing to climate change."

He adds, "Nestlé has an opportunity to show real leadership and we encourage the company to focus its efforts towards the elimination of all throwaway packaging.”

Taco Bell introduces global sustainable packaging commitments

Taco Bell, Irvine, California, is joining other global brands in making new sustainable commitments in 2020.

By 2025, the brand aims to make all consumer-facing packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable in all stores worldwide.

In addition, recycling and/or composting bins will be added to all restaurants, where infrastructure permits, the company says, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) will be removed from all consumer-facing materials.

Benioff Ocean Initiative, The Coca-Cola Foundation announce $11M to clean up rivers

Nine river cleanup programs across the world have been selected to receive a total of $11 million over the next three years as part of a partnership between The Coca-Cola Foundation and the Benioff Ocean Initiative based at the University of California Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute.

The partnership combines The Coca-Cola Foundation’s commitment to support behavioral change projects regarding recycling and the Benioff Ocean Initiative’s expertise in developing innovative ways to collect and analyze waste from our rivers and oceans and address the plastic crisis, the company says in a news release announcing the funding.

The programs selected for funding span four continents: Asia, Africa, North America and South America. The Marea Verde project to clean up the Matias Hernandez River in Panama is the first to be awarded funding.

“Panama contributes to marine trash with an estimated 100,000 plus tons per year,” says Mirei Endara, co-founder of Marea Verde. “From the characterization pilots carried out in our river site, we know that over 55 percent of this trash is plastics.

With this funding, we will be able to integrate technology and artificial intelligence into our project, which will help us be more effective in collecting trash at our river site, generate pertinent data and develop the capacity to work with communities in this watershed. Our ultimate goal is to provide best practices that may be replicated in other watersheds in Panama and the world.”

Eight other programs in Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Ecuador, Mexico, Thailand, Jamaica and Kenya are also being finalized for funding. Details of these, including the specific rivers and locations, will be announced in the future.