Starbucks Brews Up a Sustainability Lab in Costa Rica

Starbucks has announced plans to establish a new sustainability learning and innovation lab at its global agronomy headquarters, Hacienda Alsacia, in Costa Rica. The move aims to create a platform for Starbucks employees, students, researchers, and industry leaders to innovate and scale sustainable solutions for pressing environmental and social issues.

Source: Starbucks Coffee/Youtube

Beginning this fall, Arizona State University (ASU) students and Starbucks partners will be the first to access educational programming at the lab. Leveraging ASU’s cutting-edge educational technology and world-class faculty, the lab will offer study abroad opportunities tied to various ASU degree programs, including Sustainability, Sustainable Food Systems, Global Agribusiness, and Environmental and Resource Management. The lab is expected to physically open its doors within the next three years.

Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks’ only company-owned coffee farm, has been a beacon of coffee sustainability for over a decade. It’s been pioneering the creation of new coffee varieties, testing disease-resistant coffee trees, and innovating agricultural practices for a more sustainable future of coffee. With the addition of the new lab, the focus will broaden beyond coffee to address wider social and environmental issues.

Starbucks CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, emphasizes the importance of this project, stating that the lab offers an opportunity for Starbucks to advance its environmental promise to give more than it takes and ensure the future of coffee. Starbucks, which sources 3% of the world’s top-quality arabica coffee from over 400,000 farmers in more than 30 countries, sees its future tied to addressing social and environmental challenges. The company is committed to reducing its carbon, water, and waste footprints by half by 2030.

Arizona State University President, Michael Crow, sees this lab as an exciting new chapter in their long-standing partnership with Starbucks. This initiative aims to take collective action to seek new, sustainable approaches that impact global communities.

Make Some Noise Tee by Tiny Rescue: Climate Collection

Related Content:

• Nestle Promotes Sustainable Coffee Farming With Cash Incentives
• 4 Eco-Friendly Coffee Alternatives to Try!
• 15 Coffee-Flavored Treats For a Java Boost!
• 7 Plants to Grow as a Coffee Substitute
• Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Pollution: 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Caffeine Habit

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!