Starbucks Japan opens green drive-thru store
The store is described as being focused on “coffee grounds circularity”.
Starbucks opened a new drive-thru store in Togane City in Japan, the second one certified under the chain’s Greener Stores Framework, aimed at accelerating the transformation of retail towards lower-impact stores that achieve reductions in carbon emissions, water usage and landfill waste.
A collaboration between Starbucks Japan, Togane City and Sanyu Plant Service Corporation, used coffee grounds from the new store will be recycled into cattle feed, and through the coffee company’s grounds circularity loop, milk from participating dairies is then used to create handcrafted beverages at around 200 stores across the Kanto and Kansai areas, including the new drive-thru.
Other food waste from the store will be turned into compost to grow produce directly at the rest stop in Togane City, in cooperation with Chiba Prefectural University of Agriculture.
The store features local Sambu cedar and Japanese yew trees, the official trees of Togane City. As part of the global brand’s efforts to reduce carbon by 50% by 2030, the store is powered by solar panels on the roof and locally-generated renewable energy, and will include batteries that can provide backup power in the event of an outage.
