SEATTLE — Starbucks’ push to become a food destination has derailed its aim of making major cuts in energy consumption, the company acknowledged in a corporate responsibility report published Monday.
In 2008, the Seattle coffee giant set itself the goal of cutting back energy usage by 25 percent in its company-run stores by 2015.
But despite investments in store redesign, as well as energy-efficient appliances and light fixtures, its performance was just 4.6 percent better in 2014 than its 2008 baseline, thanks to all those warm pastries and sandwiches.
That puts it farther away from its goal than the previous year — in which Starbucks stores were 7.1 percent more energy efficient than in 2008.
So reaching the original goal, when business is booming? Not likely.
“When we set this aspirational goal, we did not foresee the transformation in our food business, which has increased energy use in our stores,” the report said.
The backsliding in Starbucks’ energy savings goals highlights the huge importance the company’s food business is taking. Starbucks wants to see food sales double to $4 billion a year by 2019 as it serves more pastries, lunch and breakfast sandwiches and even dinner tapas.
The shortfall also underscores how corporate responsibility goals are nice — but don’t really stand in the way of big, profitable revisions of strategy. Even for Starbucks, which says it’s trying to redefine the expectations of a for-profit company and increasingly is pursuing political and social agendas that have nothing to do with its core business of selling coffee.
Its latest such initiative — a campaign to encourage U.S. customers to talk about racism, launched last week — has been widely criticized, but also has attracted support and quite a bit of national attention.
Other goals where Starbucks is facing challenges include the implementation of front-of-store recycling.
Starbucks aimed to offer it in every company-owned store by 2015; but as of last year, only 47 percent have it. The company says it did not foresee “barriers to execution,” including stubborn landlords, tight spaces and the shortcomings of local recycling programs.
The company says it will complete the roll-out of its recycling program this year, but “unfortunately, this does not mean we can provide recycling in every store.”
Starbucks has shown quite a bit of progress in other goals, such as decreasing water use by a quarter (as of 2014, consumption had decreased by 23.1 percent).
The report also says Starbucks is very close to its goal of sourcing 100 percent of its coffee ethically by 2015, meaning that it meets a standard created by Starbucks and Conservation International that ensures the beans are produced through environmentally responsible growing methods, with fair pay and good working conditions for farmers. As of 2014, 96 percent of its coffee met those standards, the report says.
