NextGen Cup Challenge: Starbucks commits US $10M to partnership seeking recyclable cup designs

Starbucks has announced a US $10 million investment in a partnership with Loop circle to deliver compostable, recyclable cups within three years. The global giant has battled campaigner pressure in the past weeks, due to accusations of them making environmental pledges in vain. These included a commitment to providing 100 percent recyclable cups and selling 25 percent of drinks in reusable cups, both by 2015. Campaigners flagged that the deadline had passed without the goals being “fulfilled.”

WorldPackagingOnline has reported on the environmental pressure facing Starbucks from the SumOfUs campaign. The demands were framed amid the backdrop of a range of corporations and competitors making environmentally conscious decisions.

For example, direct competitor Costa Coffee has introduced a ban on plastic straws. McDonald's has just signed a pledge of global recycling goals. And, UK grocer Iceland recently committed to phasing out all plastic packaging within five years.

WolrdPackagingOnline reached out to Starbucks for a comment on their so-called “decade-old promises” being unfilled.

In response, Starbucks called attention to a new partnership with Closed Loop Partners and its Center for the Circular Economy to establish a consortium to launch the NextGen Cup Challenge.

“Our store partners proudly pour sustainably sourced coffee in our 28,000 locations around the world, but everyone wants to take our ability to serve it sustainably to the next level,” says Colleen Chapman, vice president of Starbucks global social impact overseeing sustainability.

“No one is satisfied with the incremental industry progress made to date; it’s just not moving fast enough. So today, we are declaring a moon shot for sustainability to work together as an industry to bring a fully recyclable and compostable cup to the market, with a three-year ambition,” added Chapman.

Through the NextGen Cup Challenge, the consortium will award accelerator grants to entrepreneurs working on ideas that could lead to the development of more sustainable cup solutions and, invite industry participation and partnership on the way to identifying a global solution.

"Through this partnership, the Challenge will enable leading innovators and entrepreneurs with financial, technical, and expert resources to fast-track global solutions, help get those solutions to shelf, through the recovery system and back into the supply chain" said Rob Kaplan, managing director of Closed Loop Partners.

As well as invite outside parties for green cup ideas, Starbucks will continue with its internal research. The Starbucks Research and Development team is initiating a trial of a new bio-liner, made partially from plant-based materials for its paper cup. The internal trial, expected to take six months, will test not only for environmental impact but whether the cup’s liner can stand up to stringent safety requirements and quality standards when filled with a hot liquid.

“Developing a plant-based liner that stands up to hot liquids and is commercially viable is incredibly hard, but we believe the solution is out there, not just for cups but for other exciting applications, like making straws greener, in the future,” said Rebecca Zimmer, director of global environmental impact.

This partnership should be fulfilled within three years, taking us to 2021. Arguably, it is stringent for Starbucks to keep up with industry developments around rescuable packaging, as consumers are more and more invested in the environmental impact of their coffee cups.

By Laxmi Haigh

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