SEATTLE - Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq: SBUX) is dedicating a month to promote environmental awareness in stores throughout the United States and Canada starting today through Earth Day (April 22, 2004). The first-of-its-kind campaign for Starbucks will engage millions of customers in a dialog of environmental stewardship.

The campaign highlights leading environmental initiatives the Company has undertaken and simple steps customers can take everyday to reduce their environmental impact at their local Starbucks and in their everyday lives. Starbucks will promote its year-round commuter mug discount where customers receive a $.10 beverage discount when using a reusable mug or tumbler for their favorite beverage. Starbucks also encourages its customers to take advantage of its Grounds for Your Garden program, offering complimentary spent coffee grounds to customers, parks, schools and nurseries for use in gardening.

To feature the meaningful contributions individuals can make in their everyday lives to improve their environmental footprint, Starbucks will include the following five tips from Earth Day Network (www.earthday.org) on its insulating cup sleeves: (1) factor in fuel efficiency when shopping for a new car; (2) make your environmental voice heard by registering to vote; (3) measure your environmental footprint at earthday.org; (4) equip your home with Energy Star certified products; (5) use an energy efficient showerhead.

“Starbucks has an opportunity to make a significant impact with this campaign. We hope that by sharing stories of environmental stewardship we will inspire our customers, partners (employees), and even other companies to make environmental responsibility a way of life,” said Orin Smith, president and ceo of Starbucks Coffee Company. “While we are dedicating this time in our stores to the environment, we recognize that environmental stewardship is an everyday commitment and a long-term investment in our future.”

Starbucks has implemented a number of practices and programs to reduce its environmental footprint. Starbucks has selected the following initiatives to highlight during the month-long campaign:

• Earthwatch expedition sponsorship: Starbucks will sponsor 10 winners on an Earthwatch expedition to assist in restoring Costa Rica’s rainforest on a local ten-hectare coffee farm. Customers can enter to win sponsorship of this Earthwatch Institute expedition online at www.starbucks.com/earthwatch from March 17 through April 22, 2004.
  
• Local Earth Day events and environmental partnerships: Thousands of Starbucks partners in the United States and Canada will celebrate Earth Day by volunteering their time to the environment in local communities.
  
• Waste reduction efforts in stores: In March, Starbucks is giving every store partner in the United States and Canada a reusable tumbler to reduce the use of paper cups while on their shift. Other efforts that will be featured include: reducing the size of paper napkins and the thickness of plastic store garbage bags to eliminate more than 1.8 million pounds of solid waste in 2004, and installing energy-efficient lighting and water-efficient rinsers.

Starbucks Coffee Company is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 7,500 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The Company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business.

Starbucks Corporation

Starbucks Corporation

It's the way we do business Contributing positively to our communities and environment is so important to Starbucks that it's a guiding principle of our mission statement. We jointly fulfill this commitment with partners (employees), at all levels of the company, by getting involved together to help build stronger communities and conserve natural resources.

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