Growing up in Vienna, a city whose coffee house culture is famous around the world, coffeehouses were the epicenters of my friends’ and my world. That’s where we met people, that’s where we planned our future.
For this reason, it would make sense that I like or even love Starbucks, but I don’t buy their products. Instead, I buy coffee energy drinks from a company who sells 95% of their products in 16oz aluminum cans (which contain 73% recycled aluminum and can be recycled again and again, infinitely). To bring awareness to the importance of recycling aluminum, this company also partners with Pocono Raceway and NASCAR Green. Anybody who brings an empty can of one of their products to the “Monster Energy NASCAR Free Friday”-races receives free admission.
This company addresses the issue of packaging their drinks in the most sustainable and consumer friendly way. (In 2018, the industry recycling rate was 63.6% or 56.2 billion cans.)
“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” — Rosalynn Carter
Right now, cutting CO2 emissions is the task of the hour.
Starbucks calls themselves a global leader in sustainability, but I have issues with that statement.
However, Starbucks’ Environmental Baseline Report does not mention
that the corporation’s main business strategy is to Embrace Drive-throughs
because 70% of their sales come from their drive-through windows. That
information is found in major business publications.
In their environmental action plan, Starbucks talks about
building LEED certified stores and their plans to donate 100 million healthy
coffee trees by 2025. Starbucks also tests recyclable, compostable cups and they
want to encourage their customers to favor alternative milks (almond, coconuts,
soy or oats) because, by Starbucks’ account, dairy products are the biggest source
of carbon dioxide emissions across their operations and supply chain.
“Their operations”? In other words, Starbucks, the #2 quick-service restaurant chain in the United States in 2018 (by systemwide sales), encourages their customers to
choose alternative milks so “their (Starbucks’) operations’ carbon dioxide emission
numbers” look better while, at the same time, they encourage customers to use
their drive-throughs “for convenience” and to boost their bottom line.
Why not go all the way?
Since Starbucks wants to encourage customers to drink alternative milks, why not also encourage them to park their car and step inside one of their beautiful stores? Of course, walking inside a store isn’t as “convenient” as using a drive-through but, let’s face it, there is absolutely nothing “convenient” about the climate emergency. Great leaders will say that, or even shout it out loud.
At Starbucks, the average drive-thru wait time is 4.44 minutes, one
of the slowest in the quick service food industry. As pointed out in one of my blogs, idling a car for 4.25 minutes leads to the car emitting around 250 grams
of CO2. (When I myself tested Starbucks’ drive-through service, it took 8 minutes
and 39 seconds to receive one latte and one sandwich, on a Sunday afternoon, at
4:55 pm.)
Here is the math
(2)
According to estimates by Tom Cook, principal at restaurant consultant King-Casey, 70 % of
Starbucks’ sales come from the drive-through windows.
(3)
70% of 3.85 billion paper cups equals almost 2.7
billion paper cups.
(4)
If we estimate, that, on average, every customer
who used one of Starbucks’ drive-throughs purchased 2.7 cups of latte, this
equates to 1 billion customers using a Starbucks drive-through in 2017, or 83.3
million per month.
What about other quick service food industry businesses?
Most interestingly, at least one of them, McDonalds, found a business strategy to attract a key group of customers without relying on drive-throughs – almost 50 years ago, in the 70’s.
Even though only 2% of customers think that McDonalds offers
the best burgers (Statista), McDonalds is the #1 quick-service restaurant chain
in the U.S., by systemwide sales. You might ask, “How is this possible? People
buy burgers they don’t like best?”
Indeed, 80% of children like visiting McDonalds best, most likely, courtesy of McDonalds offering playground areas and Happy Meals with a toy. Therefore, if, hypothetically, drive-throughs would be outlawed tomorrow, most likely, parents of young children would still visit McDonalds so they can buy Happy Meals for their children.
“People will sit up and take notice of you if you will
sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up and take notice.” — Harry
Selfridge
Today, identifying key groups of customers is a key element of any marketing strategy.
Millions of people are protesting the climate emergency,
right now. This huge key group is up for grabs. Still, citing security reasons,
most fast-food restaurants with drive-throughs don’t serve customers on bicycles
or electric scooters.
I believe the argument doesn’t hold water and a few businesses have found solutions.
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” – Peter Drucker
Starbucks’ main business strategy also lacks vision when it
comes to local politics. Acknowledging the growing climate crisis, 20 U.S. states
and 50 cities signed a pledge to abide by the Paris agreement even though the U.S.
government withdrew from it. In fact, some U.S. Cities Are Banning New Fast-Food Drive-Throughs now.
But, regardless of how quickly other cities join this group,
it’s fairly obvious that the next generation won’t use drive-throughs. Can anybody
imagine Greta Thunberg’s young fans idling their cars in a drive-through while waiting
4.44 minutes for a latte? This up-and-coming generation will be drinking coffee
in less than ten years, hence favoring drive-throughs as a business strategy is
not a long-term strategy.
“Coffee is a way of stealing time which should by rights belong to your older self.” — Terry Pratchett
Like everybody over the age of thirty, I can see our climate
changing right in front of my eyes, and I believe we must do everything to stop
that process because our older selves should still enjoy coffee, the leisurely
way. Having experienced a few minor hurricanes, I know that after disaster
strikes, people need to worry about other things than the quality of their
coffee.
None of us wants to see more climate disasters hence “great
leaders” will point out everything that needs to be done, including that drive-throughs
should be reserved for the elderly, the disabled, and mothers with young
children in the car.
*
Do you boycott any businesses because they could do more to
fight the climate emergency?
*
Visit our Facebook page: Earthday = No-Idling Day – Home
Gisela Hausmann is a creative provocateur, nonfiction writer, and environmentalist. Her work has been featured in regional, national, and international publications including Success magazine and Entrepreneur, and on Bloomberg's podcast "Decrypted."
She tweets @Naked_Determina.
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© 2020 by Gisela Hausmann
We don't really boycott, but we try to buy fresh produce and things locally to support small farmers and cut down on costs of transporting goods.
ReplyDeleteExactly, @Jessica Adams, that's so important. Now I will admit, as a "coffee-addict" I enjoy drinking invigorating boosters, especially on a long drive, but there are alternatives produced by companies whose environmental plans are more to my liking.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in a sustainable coffee house in my area. The Starbucks are closing down here. Many people don't like them and their coffee tastes charred. The coffee houses here have put in uncomfortable chairs and taken out the nice leather armchairs in front of a fireplace that they used to have, because they don't want customers to stay long. Turnover, sell more coffee, and their cups are paper or styrofoam, their snacks are packaged in a lot of plastic which gets thrown away. I grew up loving coffee houses, too, but there is no choice left anymore.
ReplyDeleteI don't boycott as a strategy but do support local farmers and local produce, farmers' markets, and local eateries if I can. There is a small coffee supplier at the farmers' market I always buy coffee from. Or make my own and put it in a thermos if I'm traveling!
@Kenna, you are right. Starbucks has so many problems that Wikipedia features a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Starbucks page. When I lived in Wilmington, NC, I favored the (local) Port City Java coffee house chain. Their coffeehouses are American versions of European coffeehouses. I think all but one even had a fireplace which they kept running in the winter. Lovely. Just the kind of place one wants to visit to recharge.
DeleteHere in the Greenville, SC area, I drive to Travelers Rest, which is only 5 miles from my home. Tiny, charming coffee houses where they serve coffee in real mugs, not in plastic or Styrofoam cups.
"On the road" but also when I need an extra energy boost I drink Monster Energy coffee, exclusively. I take the cans home and recycle them.
We don't have to give up our small pleasures to save the planet, we just need to adapt a bit and support companies who do the heavier lifting.
Great blog Gisela! I don't formally boycott any business, just give them minimal patronage. I have not been in Starbucks for years and only then it was because I had a gift card. Just this evening I attended a city council meeting in Hiawatha, IA where they were discussing a plan to create a walking district with ordinances regarding the facades facing the street and how the roofs should be constructed. I stood up and raised the issue that they incorporate the potential for solar panels into their plans for roof ordinances. If you use almond milk you should be aware of how water intensive it is to grow the almonds in water short California. This could raise the carbon cost substantially, depending on the rainfall.
ReplyDeleteThank you, @Charles for standing up for solar energy. The city of council of Hiawatha is lucky to have you participate in these meetings that are going to influence our future – decisively.
DeleteAnd, yes, I am with you on the issue of almonds. I read that almond farming is one reason why in parts of California the groundwater is almost depleted. That’s also the reason with I don’t drink almond milk. This particular example shows that we need scientists to help us find best solutions.
The carbon footprint of an almond plantation is much better than the one of a dairy farm BUT, like you pointed out almonds need an awful lot of water to grow (1,900 gal/ lb). Business Insider had a great chart illustrating the problem: https://www.businessinsider.com/amount-of-water-needed-to-grow-one-almond-orange-tomato-2015-4
It’s time that corporations, states, and countries worldwide, start worrying about the big pictures instead of talking about their own achievements only. There is no “i/my/me” when it comes to the environment but only “our” environment. (The smog from the Australian bushfires made it to New Zealand and from the U.S. Coast all the way to Peru.