Photo: Arizona State University/Starbucks
Starbucks has partnered with Arizona State University to open an innovation center dedicated to testing environmental sustainability initiatives.
Scheduled to open in December 2021 on ASU’s Tempe campus, the ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet in the first year will focus on:
- Greener stores: The center will develop and open-source solutions to design, build and operate buildings that minimize environmental impacts throughout their life cycle.
- Food and wellness: Alternative menu items, including plant-based offerings and protein sources, will be explored that empower customers to make the right choices and that promote environmental practices.
- Community betterment: The center will work on inspiring local partners to become “Community Champions” by offering training, support and a community development playbook to help enhance civic infrastructure and activity in their neighborhoods.
- Innovation test stores: ASU’s four campuses in Phoenix are home to nine Starbucks stores that will act as innovation labs to test strategies developed at the research center. In-store testing will include plant-based food and beverage offerings designed to reduce carbon intensity, strategies to improve recycling and circularity (including reusables) and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
- ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of People and the Planet – Starbucks
- Starbucks, ASU partner on new research and rapid innovation facility – Arizona State University/Starbucks
- Starbucks Commits to a Resource-Positive Future – Starbucks
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