THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Starbucks introduces reusable cups

Starbucks introduces reusable cups

As part of its efforts to reduce its environmental footprint and positively impact the communities it serves, Starbucks is launching reusable hot and cold cups in its Thai stores.

For Bt150, the reusable cup is nearly identical to Starbucks iconic white cup and made from polypropylene, which is specially designed to make the cup sturdier than paper. Customers also receive a Bt10 discount for each purchase with a reusable cup.
Globally, an estimated 600 billion paper and plastic cups are distributed annually. Since 2014, Starbucks has offered the reusable cup in the US, Canada and the UK and so far, has sold more than 25 million globally.
“We’ve seen an increase in public awareness and concern for the plastic waste issue in recent years. We’re proud to provide a reusable option in all Starbucks stores in Thailand without making sacrifices to our customers’ daily coffee ritual,” said Nednapa Srisamai, managing director of Starbucks Coffee (Thailand). “We’ll continue to work with all related parties to find solutions and encourage our customers to choose reusability whenever possible.”
Since the beginning of its business operations in Thailand in 1998, the company has been encouraging customers to reuse their cups, and since 2013, has offered a Bt10 discount to those who purchase a beverage with their personal cups. Together, Starbucks and customers in Thailand have helped save more than 10 million single-use plastic and paper cups.
In addition, the company joined the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2001 and collaborated with them to develop the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for new construction and commercial interiors and achieve “greener stores”. As of 2019, Starbucks is operating more than 1,500 LEED-certified stores in 20 countries. In line with the company’s global direction, Starbucks Thailand has committed to the green store initiative and achieved more than 50 LEED-certified stores and aims to design, build, and operate 10,000 stores globally by 2025.
Last year, Starbucks committed US$10 million to develop a fully recyclable and compostable hot cup, in partnership with Closed Loop Partners, through the NextGen Cup Challenge, and just announced plans to trial cup technologies in several markets worldwide over the next year. The company is also working to phase out plastic straws from its more than 30,000 stores worldwide by 2020, eliminating more than 1 billion straws a year – a goal that was announced last July. Plastic straws will be replaced by a newly redesigned, lightweight recyclable strawless lid that will begin rolling out this summer in select cities. 
 

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