Seattle-based coffee chain introduces disposable cup charge across its Czech Republic stores as part of a global effort to become a ‘resource positive company’ by 2030
Starbucks will also begin trailling its Cup-Share scheme across the UK, France and Germany in 2021 | Photo credit: Starbucks Coffee Company
Starbucks has introduced a CZK 10 ($0.46) charge for disposable cups across its Czech Republic stores. In a statement on its Czech website, Starbucks said the initiative would support its goal to become a globally
resource positive company by 2030.
“In connection with our global commitment to become a completely ‘resource-positive’ company by 2030, we are introducing a one-time fee for disposing of paper cups. We donate all the proceeds from this fee to the Sázíme Budoucnost initiative and its projects for planting trees and restoring the Czech landscape.” the company wrote.
Starbucks' Czech resuable cup scheme, which offers customers a CZK 10 discount for each beverage purchased, is growing '100% year-on-year', the company added.
The Seattle-based coffee chain operates around 50 coffee shops in the Czech Republic and is the third-largest branded coffee chain in the country, behind Costa Coffee and market leader McCafé.
The Czech disposable cup charge comes as Starbucks seeks to reduce cup waste across its European business and globally. In June 2021, the coffee chain announced it would begin
trialling a resuable cup initiative across the UK, France and Germany. The Cup-Share scheme involves customers paying a small deposit for a cup that can be used up to 30 times before being returned to stores.
Starbucks has a long history of seeking to reduce cup waste from stores. In 1998, it became the first coffee chain in the UK to offer customers a £0.10 ($0.14) discount for reusable cup use, which it increased to £0.25 in 2008.
In 2018, Starbucks introduced a £0.05
disposable cup charge across its UK stores following a three-month trial. According to the Seattle-based coffee chain, the initiative resulted in an 126% uplift in the use of reusable cups at participating stores. In January 2020, it introduced a €0.05 disposable cup charge across its German stores following a trial in Hamburg.