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Starbuck singles out dairy to reduce emissions

Starbucks this week released a new plan to cut carbon, waste and water usage in the next decade with expanding plant-based menu options as their top strategy.

A 2018 audit found the coffee giant emitted 16 million metric tons of greenhouse gases with dairy accounting for more than 20 percent of their emissions.

CEO Kevin Johnson recently told Bloomberg he’s pushing consumers to choose milk alternatives made from almonds, coconuts, soy or oats.

Dairy Management Inc., who has worked with Starbucks in the past to increase dairy menu options, says while how the emissions were accounted are unknown, they too share in Starbucks’ commitment to environmental sustainability.

In a statement provided to Brownfield from Executive Vice President of Global Environmental Strategy Krysta Harden, the U.S. dairy community was the first ag sector to commission a full lifecycle assessment in 2008 to understand its environmental footprint.  That assessment found fluid milk accounts for only two percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

From 2008 to 2017, the environmental impact of producing a gallon of milk shrunk significantly and now uses more than 30 percent less water, 20 percent less land and has a 20 percent smaller carbon footprint.