Sustainable Starbucks built in six days

Starbucks Canada is opening the first sustainably constructed Starbucks drive-thru store in Abbotsford, Canada.

The store was constructed in just six days with near-zero construction waste. It is also designed to reduce energy needs for heating and cooling compared to standard construction builds.

Starbucks worked with Vancouver-based green building company, Nexii Building Solutions, to construct the store.

Vice president of Store Development at Starbucks Canada, Catherine Anderson, says buildings and construction can have a substantial impact on Canada’s environmental goals.

“We are excited to lead the industry in modelling the benefits of green construction and share what we learn with others to help action meaningful, global change,” she says.

The Canada Green Building Council reports buildings are responsible for almost 40 per cent of global carbon emissions, and 50 per cent of global material use.

Nexii used optimised manufacturing and a simplified assembly process to build the store, which allowed the company to reduce construction waste. Panels for the store’s roof and walls were also designed and manufactured off-site.

CEO of Nexii, Stephen Sidwell, says all aspects of the Nexii system are designed with sustainability at the core.

“Nexii panels create a thermally efficient, airtight envelope,” he says.

“The Starbucks building will require less energy to heat and cool compared to standard construction builds, greatly improving energy efficiency over its building lifecycle.”