LOS ANGELES - Starbucks Corp. said Thursday that 5 percent of the electricity it needs to power its company-owned US stores this year will be bought from renewable energy sources such as wind power.
The move will cut the coffee shop chain's emissions by 2 percent, an amount comparable to removing about 3,200 cars from the road, Starbucks said in a statement.
Long regarded as a leader in US corporate social responsibility initiatives, Starbucks said the decision to source more renewable energy came after a review of its greenhouse gas emissions last year.
Similar recent moves include a pledge last year that by the end of 2005 Starbucks' 4,500 US company-owned stores will use paper coffee cups made partially from recycled material.
A reduction in carbon dioxide emissions directly affects Starbucks' business, the company said, because climate changes brought about by those emissions can affect coffee farming and production.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
