Starbucks Shared Planet

After hundreds of comments on My Starbucks Idea calling for recycling and improved social responsibility, Starbucks is upping their environmental efforts through a new program called “Shared Planet.” This commitment to doing business responsibly entails several “aspirational goals” to keep the company in the green.

According to a recent blog post by senior vice president Michelle Gass, they plan to meet the following goals by 2015:

• Environmental stewardship: 100% of our cups will be reusable or recyclable, and we will significantly reduce our environmental footprint through recycling, energy and water conservation and green construction.
• Ethical sourcing: buy and serve 100% responsibly grown and ethically traded coffee.
• Community involvement: contribute one million community service hours annually.

… We want to care for our communities because it is community that makes us who we are – that third place in your neighborhood.

The third place? Or the third Starbucks in your neighborhood? Indeed, their store on every corner philosophy has raised protests against the perceived cookie cutter culture they are propagating, as well as potential harm to small businesses in the community.  In fact they were recently forces to shutter most of their Australian stores. Their renewed focus on community and environment is definitely a step in the right direction for them–and everyone, really.

It will be interesting to see whether they act on more of the Starbucks Ideas, like this one, which has garnered 131 comments and 7650 points:

PLEASE Don’t make Starbucks KID/ BABY friendly!

We all go there to get away from them, it’s a coffee shop not Chuck E Cheese!!

Starbucks Shared Planet