Impakter
  • News
    • Culture
      • Art
      • Cinema
      • Entertainment
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Photography
    • Style
      • Architecture
      • Design
      • Fashion
      • Foodscape
      • Lifestyle
    • Society
      • Business
      • Foreign Affairs & Politics
      • Health
      • Tech
      • Science
      • Start-up
    • Impact
      • Environment
      • Eco Life
      • Circular Economy
      • COP26
      • CityLife
        • Copenhagen
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle
        • Sydney
      • Sustainability Series
        • SDGs Series
        • Shape Your Future
        • 2030: Dream or Reality
      • Philanthropy
        • United Nations
        • NGO & Charities
        • Essays
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Contributors
    • Global Leaders
    • Write for Impakter
      • Republishing Content
      • Permissions and Copyright
      • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Culture
      • Art
      • Cinema
      • Entertainment
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Photography
    • Style
      • Architecture
      • Design
      • Fashion
      • Foodscape
      • Lifestyle
    • Society
      • Business
      • Foreign Affairs & Politics
      • Health
      • Tech
      • Science
      • Start-up
    • Impact
      • Environment
      • Eco Life
      • Circular Economy
      • COP26
      • CityLife
        • Copenhagen
        • San Francisco
        • Seattle
        • Sydney
      • Sustainability Series
        • SDGs Series
        • Shape Your Future
        • 2030: Dream or Reality
      • Philanthropy
        • United Nations
        • NGO & Charities
        • Essays
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Contributors
    • Global Leaders
    • Write for Impakter
      • Republishing Content
      • Permissions and Copyright
      • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Eco Life

Spotlight on Starbucks: The Complete Cost of a Cup of Coffee

Starbucks, the largest coffee corporation in the world, continues to grow by the year. But what are the inevitable drawbacks of this company’s tremendous success?

byRachel Cross
February 22, 2022
in Eco Life, Food & Drinks
Basket of coffee beans featured on the Starbucks website.

Basket of coffee beans featured on the Starbucks website.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A Venti vanilla iced latte with oat milk costs $7.17 at an Upper West Side Starbucks location in New York City. A customer who purchases this latte every day would spend around $50 per week or $200 per month while a personal espresso machine sustains a one-time cost between $150 and $300.

But remember, Starbucks customers aren’t just paying for their handcrafted drink. These paramount prices encompass every aspect of the brand’s image and experience including employee expenses, suitable ingredients, and of course, each product’s disposable packaging. 

Afterall, Starbucks sources their coffee beans from more than 30 different countries around the world and works with over 400,000 farmers. Each year, the corporation buys approximately three percent of the world’s coffee supply.

Coffee farm featured on the Starbucks website. 2,880 × 1,620

Creating Corporate Criteria

Recognizing their monstrous position and control in the coffee industry, Starbucks initiated a curriculum to ensure ethical sourcing practices. Their program, Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E) Practices began in 2004 with the goal of protecting the well-being of coffee farmers and their communities. There are more than 200 indicators in the program that hold the corporation and their suppliers accountable to accurately report on every aspect of the sourcing process. 

Starbucks is one of the first corporations in the coffee industry to set ethical sourcing standards. These policies are a progressive start to much needed revisions but there are still lots of changes to be made. 

Impakter’s Evaluation

Evaluation and rating of Starbucks Corporation from IMPAKTER INDEX.

Our IMPAKTER SUSTAINABILITY INDEX assesses the Environmental Social Governance (ESG) policies and actions of global companies. Additionally, we verify claimed certifications. Each company is rated from A-F. Starbucks received a mediocre rating of C. 

Starbucks has clearly invested effort and currency into its sustainability practices, but they have yet to receive any awards for their work. We believe this is because they have failed to reach some of their core goals involving waste production and recycling management.

Unmeasurable Waste & Inadequate Recycling

According to Clean Water Action, an organization supporting environmental protection, Starbucks uses more than 8,000 paper cups per minute. This totals to more than four billion cups per year and requires the harvesting of about 1.6 million trees.

Starbucks paper cups carry all hot coffees, teas, and espresso drinks. Unfortunately, the insides are lined with a polyethylene plastic coating which prevents the cups from being recyclable.

Statista measures Starbucks’ fourth quarter 2021 revenue to have reached $8.1 billion. We cannot definitively state the number of their plastic cups, disposable forks, or double layered wax paper bags that were added to landfills as a result of these sales. However, we can assume most of the waste produced by Starbucks customers is not recyclable and therefore, ends up being thrown away. 

Cups to be sent to a landfill, from Clean Water Action. 1,024 × 678

Although Starbucks pledged to create a fully recyclable cup in 2008, they’ve yet to follow through with this commitment. According to Mongabay News, in 2021, 83% of customers believed their paper cups could be recycled but unfortunately, this is not the truth. 

The Customer’s Role

Each cup of coffee, each doppio espresso, each egg bite, or bacon gouda sandwich costs more than just what you pay for them. There is an expansive chain of events taking place before and after you consume any fast food product.   

It only takes a small effort to make your next order a little less wasteful. You may consider bringing a personal, reusable cup instead of perpetuating Starbucks’ profound plastic problem. You could take your food to-go instead of eating in the café with their disposable utensils. 

The Puffin Cup made by Articus on IMPAKTER ECO Marketplace.

Our IMPAKTER ECO Marketplace features The Puffin Cone Cup, a reusable thermos cup that can keep your drink cold for six hours or hot for three. Articus, a sustainable brand founded in 2018, donates 25% of their profits to conversation programs in the Arctic that work to protect all endangered species including the Atlantic Puffin. 

Optimally, you can choose to save plastic and your money by embracing your inner-barista and preparing your coffee at home. 

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: Basket of coffee sourced beans from Starbucks.com. Featured Photo Credit: 672 × 378.

Tags: Coffeecoffee farmersFast FoodRecyclingStarbucks
Previous Post

Ukraine: War! Russian Troops in the Donbas

Next Post

New WWF Survey Reveals Overwhelming Support for UN Plastic Treaty

Rachel Cross

Rachel Cross

Born in Rhode Island, Rachel is based in New York City where she studies Advertising & Marketing Communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her passion for effectual writing and love of fashion drew Rachel to Impakter. As an eco-lifestyle columnist, she covers a variety of topics including fashion and beauty, food and drinks, pets, and travel.

Related Posts

H&M Sustainability
Eco Life

The H&M Greenwashing Scandal: Has Business Learned the Lesson?

February 27, 2023
Green and blue markers
Eco Life

Greenwashing Warning Signs: How to Spot Them

January 31, 2023
Patagonia vs The North Face Sustainability
Eco Life

Sustainability Battle of Brands: Patagonia vs The North Face

January 30, 2023
Next Post
New UN Treaty Focused on Plastic Pollution

New WWF Survey Reveals Overwhelming Support for UN Plastic Treaty

Recent News

A Universal Basic Income pilot program in Ireland is paying 2,000 artists €16,900 a year to focus on creative pursuit.

Basic Income for Artists: The Gateway to a New Economy?

April 1, 2023
Believe Trans People.

Believe Trans People.

March 31, 2023
autism acceptance week

Autism Acceptance Week: A Time to Campaign for Change

March 31, 2023
impakter-logo-light

Impakter informs you through the eco news site and empowers your sustainable lifestyle with its eco products marketplace.

Visit here IMPAKTER ECO for your eco products needs.

Registered Office Address

32 Lots Road, London
SW10 0QJ, United Kingdom


IMPAKTER Limited

Company number: 10806931

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

About Us

  • Team
  • Contributors
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Partners

By Audience

  • Lifestyle
  • Green Finance
  • Culture
  • Society
  • Style
  • Impact

Impakter Platforms

  • Media
  • Index

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Culture
    • Style
    • Society
    • Impact
  • Business Hub
  • Sustainability Index
  • About
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

Impakter.com uses cookies to enhance your experience when visiting the website and to serve you with advertisements that might interest you. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.