The company has made an impressive commitment to recycle all post-consumer paper (hot) and plastic (cold) beverage cups left in its stores by 2015, including finding markets where these materials will be recycled. It's also encouraging that the 3 billion paper coffee cups it sells in the U.S. market annually contain 10% recycled fiber content.

We filed a shareholder resolution in 2011 asking the company to broaden its recycling commitment, which recieved 8.1% support from shareholders. Senior Program Director Conrad MacKerron presented the proposal at the meeting in March of 2011. His blog post leading up to the vote was published on Triple Pundit. Read the Seattle Times article about the shareholder meeting here or the investor fact sheet As You Sow distributed here.

Following additional talks, we believe the company is making additional serious efforts to address some of the concerns below and so we did not file a proposal for 2012. We support the company's pioneering efforts to find recycling markets for all plastic and paper cups left in its stores and to work with its suppliers and brand peers to expand container recycling opportunities.

That said, we will continue to engage the company to improve its current polities:

Starbucks' Frappucino bottles and Doubleshot cans are widely sold in grocery and convenience stores nationwide. They are a significant part of the value, visibility and future growth of the brand. The company needs to develop recycled content and container recovery goals as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé Waters have done.

Read the text of our proposal here.

Read the fact sheet for investors here.