The Starbucks restaurant chain announced the certification of its first two Greener Stores in Panama, as the company accelerates the international expansion of its open source scheme focused on reducing global carbon emissions, water consumption and waste sent to landfills by 50% by 2030.

The certified stores without those that are located in Terrazas de Coronado in Chame and Royal Plaza Villa Lucre in Panama City and operated in partnership with Caribbean Coffee Traders Ltd, the stores will help reduce the environmental impact, offering customers a range of options adapted to their preferences and at the same time guaranteeing sustainable practices and materials.

Both stores adhere to the Greener Stores scheme, through a more efficient use of resources, including water waste management, the use of responsible materials and sustainable waste management techniques.

In addition, the stores are designed to reduce water use by 40% by optimizing water filtration and low-flow plumbing accessories and processes, the designs also allow energy-efficient stores through 100% LED lighting, resulting in store-level energy efficiency of +10% compared to non-LED ones and an improvement in HVAC energy efficiency of 8% compared to the standard.

Sofía Moreno, Country Manager of Starbucks Panama, said that the first two certified stores in Panama bring them one step closer to achieving their sustainability goals as a global brand.

“We hope to have more certified stores in the coming months and we are proud of our Greener Apron certified partners for their passion for becoming ambassadors of sustainability and practicing ecological practices in our stores to reduce our carbon footprint,” he added.

The scheme for Starbucks Greener Stores was developed in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to accelerate the transformation of the retail industry towards lower-impact stores that demonstrate reductions in carbon emissions, water consumption and landfill waste.