Boston, April 1, 2025 – Starbucks Corporation*, the world’s largest coffee chain, has agreed to disclose more details on its transition to reusable cups and ensure the accuracy of its recycling labels. These commitments came in response to a shareholder proposal filed by Green Century°, an environmentally responsible mutual fund, asking the company to address risks posed by its plastic waste.
“Single-use plastics cost the economy up to $120 billion every year, making plastic reduction a high priority issue for investors,” said Leslie Samuelrich, President of Green Century Funds. “We applaud Starbucks for strengthening its efforts to reduce plastic pollution by using more reusable cups and only labeling plastic as recyclable if it is widely recycled in practice.”
Starbucks agreed to share actions and plans to increase adoption of reusable cups by early 2026, building on the company’s existing efforts to bring ceramic mugs back to stores as the default option and accept reusable cups for drive-thru and mobile orders in the U.S. and Canada. Starbucks has also agreed to internally assess customer-facing recyclability claims against the FTC Green Guides in 2025 and subsequently remove any misleading labels.
Reusable Packaging Cuts Plastic Pollution
Only 9% of plastic waste globally gets recycled, while every year approximately 33 billion pounds of plastic enters the marine environment. Tiny pieces called microplastics have been found in human bodies and linked to cancer, respiratory disorders and neurological symptoms.
Reusable packaging is widely accepted as one of the most effective ways to avoid plastic waste, reduce costs, and respond to changing consumer preferences: in a recent survey, 72% of respondents believe that companies should reduce their use of single-use plastic.
“Starbucks’ efforts to scale up reusable cups and ensure that its recycling labeling is accurate are important steps in the right direction,” said Frances Fairhead-Stanova, a shareholder advocate at Green Century. “We need more companies to follow Starbucks’ lead and cut plastic waste by investing in reuse systems.”
According to the FTC Green Guides, a product or package should only be marketed as recyclable if the necessary infrastructure exists to recycle it. Most plastics do not meet this standard, making plastic reduction and reuse systems key to alleviating the plastic pollution crisis.
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About Green Century Funds
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (the Funds).
The Green Century Funds are a family of fossil fuel-free, environmentally responsible mutual funds. Green Century Capital Management hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.
*As of December 31, 2024, Starbucks Corp comprised 0.00%, 0.41%, and 0.00% of Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please visit www.greencentury.com, email info@greencentury.com, or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.
This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.
The Green Century Funds are distributed by Distribution Services, LLC. 4/25. Distribution Services and Green Century are not affiliated.