The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
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The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
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Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#2If you dont like the idea of tossing your cup, and you're staying at the store to finish your drink, you can ask for it in a ceramic mug ("to stay", or "for here") instead of a disposable cup.
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#3Excellent article, touching on all the things Starbucks is doing, the complexities at the system level, and the fuzziness of their goals (for example no numerical targets). For me this was the top-level takeaway:
"The complexity dissipates, apparently, when you have the law on your side. Only 5% of Starbucks stores currently recycle cups, and that's mainly in places like Seattle, San Francisco, and Ontario, where it's required by law."
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#4If you dont like the idea of tossing your cup, and you're staying at the store to finish your drink, you can ask for it in a ceramic mug ("to stay", or "for here") instead of a disposable cup.
Definitely. You can often get a discount this way too, since they treat it as a "personal mug" which gets you 10% off (in Quebec, at least).
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#5I don't want to start an environmental flame war, but...
Isn't the disposal of inert materials in landfills one of the lease important environmental problems? Yes, if you're cutting down rain forests to make your cups, infusing them with CFCs, or using terrawatts of fossil-fuel-based power, then there are issues to discuss. But if you're just putting paper in a big pile somewhere, there's basically no issue. For all intents and purposes, our space for landfills is unlimited.
Could someone fill me in on any aspect of this I'm not considering?
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#6Polystyrene foam (styrofoam) is an extremely recyclable material. I don't think many people have access to recycling facilities though. Interesting problem!
EDIT: Another thought: aluminum. It's expensive and highly recyclable. Another benefit is that you have a small army of homeless picking the streets clean of the valuable metal. Can't find a recycling bin? Just toss it in the gutter! It'll find it's way.
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#7I wonder why they don't come up with a cheap, washable cup that the customers 'borrow' for the duration of drinking coffee. You buy a coffee for 3 bucks, you get the cup for a dollar, and you get a dollar back when you return the cup. They wash the cup and use it again. It would be like getting it 'for here', but you give some collateral against the price of the cup, and can leave.
There are enough Starbucks within the US that returning the cup wouldn't be much of a hassle (might even be good for repeat business).
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#8I don't want to start an environmental flame war, but... Isn't the disposal of inert materials in landfills one of the lease important environmental problems? Yes, if you're cutting down rain forests to make your cups, infusing them with CFCs, or using terrawatts of fossil-fuel-based power, then there are issues to discuss. But if you're just putting paper in a big pile somewhere, there's basically no issue. For all…
Well, if we were recycling all our current paper based waste then less rain forests would have to be cut down to keep up with demand.
Have been thinking about advertising catalogues you get in the mail and phone books as well today, both products that use a lot of paper for marginal benefit these days.
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#9I wonder why they don't come up with a cheap, washable cup that the customers 'borrow' for the duration of drinking coffee. You buy a coffee for 3 bucks, you get the cup for a dollar, and you get a dollar back when you return the cup. They wash the cup and use it again. It would be like getting it 'for here', but you give some collateral against the price of the cup, and can leave. There are enough Starbucks within t…
Or make it compulsory to bring your own cup, which they also sell in store if you don't yet have a suitable one.
This would be great but given the competitive nature of the industry would only work in certain locations where people are more environmentally conscious.
Re: The Starbucks Cup Dilemma - Corporate Social Responsibility
#10Bridgehead, a local coffee shop here in Ottawa, claims their cups are 100% compostable. Assuming that's true, why doesn't Starbucks just switch to these cups? I didn't notice any different in quality.