Starbucks Opens LEED Certified Roasting Plant
You may have heard in October of last year about Starbucks wasting more than 6 million gallons of water per day. The employees at each store were instructed to leave a dipper well tap on at all times as a means of sanitizing utensils. In response to the criticism it received, the company introduced an “interim operational procedure,” which meant, rather than having water running all day, the tap would be turned off and utensils would be washed after each use. Seems obvious, yes? Maybe all that caffeine reduces our common sense capabilities? Anyone up for a new study?
In an effort to become more environmentally friendly without the result of bad publicity, Starbucks announced last week the opening of its first roasting plant, which has been awarded LEED® Silver certification for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The plant is located in Calhoun County in South Carolina.
Twenty percent of the building materials were made from recycled content and more than 75 percent of construction waste was recycled. The facility features efficient lighting and water fixtures and a drought tolerant landscape, and wind energy will be used to power a portion of the its operations.
Starbucks says that many of the green elements implemented in the design of this project are also being integrated into other roasting plants and retail stores, and the company has committed to LEED certification for all new company-operated stores by the end of 2010.
Starbucks opened its first LEED certified store in Hillsboro, OR, in fall of 2005.
Photo: camouflagedoors via Creative Commons license
