Starbucks reached a milestone with the opening of the company’s 1,000th LEED-certified store yesterday (October 4).
In 2008, Starbucks made a commitment to build company-owned stores to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards – a rating system that evaluates a building’s environmental performance and encourages sustainable design.
Starbucks has LEED-certified stores in 20 countries and was the first retailer with buildings certified in France, Germany, Spain, Thailand and the Philippines. Starbucks stores currently make up 20 percent of LEED-certified retail projects globally and the company’s most recent certifications demonstrate an ongoing commitment to sustainable design around the world.
“Sustainability is a key element of our approach to design at Starbucks. Our teams have worked hard to design, construct and operate our stores to meet LEED requirements on a global scale, as we continue to push the envelope of what our stores can be in the future,” said Tony Gale, Starbucks corporate architect.
“We hope our success will encourage and influence other retailers to do the same and collectively will make a long-lasting impact on the future of sustainable design.”
The unit that has received the designation as Starbucks 1000th LEED-certified store is located in the Midwest (at Lincoln Way and Lynn Avenue in Ames, Iowa, in the picture). In the store, water use was reduced by more than 50 percent due to low flow sinks and other equipment. Energy use decreased by 30 percent with the installation of LED lighting.
“This store’s location was ideal because it is in close proximity to several bus routes and within walking distance to many neighborhood services,” said Suzanne Sullivan, project manager, Starbucks LEED Execution team.
“The community has embraced the store and we’re finding that customers are curious about green building practices and how more local businesses can incorporate these principles.”
