Aiming to reduce our carbon emissions in line with climate science.
The science has been made clear: to avoid its worst effects, society must limit global warming to 1.5°C. To play our part, we’re on a journey to change, improve and adapt the way we do business.
This means we are focusing on efforts to reduce carbon emissions in our business operations (Scope 1 and 2) and in key hotspots within our supply chain (Scope 3), in line with our 2030 SBTi validated target. Published in March 2022, we aim to halve our emissions per coffee serving by 2030 (2019 baseline).
One of the most important actions we’re taking is working closely with the suppliers of our key ingredients — coffee and milk. Learn more about how we’re supporting responsible sourcing through partnerships with organisations like the Rainforest Alliance here.
In 2017, we opened our new state-of-the-art roastery in Basildon, Essex, which achieved the BREEAM Outstanding accreditation. Some of the features included investing in new equipment and processes to help drive energy efficiencies (compared to our previous roastery), solar panels on the roof of the building, electric car chargers, LED lighting and a rainwater harvesting system.
Even the location of our roastery was especially chosen to improve efficiency. Being so close to Tilbury Docks, our Rainforest Alliance Certified™ green coffee beans only have to travel 14 miles to our roastery, halving the original journey distance they used to take to our previous roastery in Lambeth!
Through our store opening and refresh programmes, we aim to improve the energy efficiency and resource use of our stores. By investing in upgraded equipment and LED lighting, we are reducing our impact while continuing to deliver a great coffee experience for our customers.
We’ve also developed five ‘Eco Pod’ stores, including Parc Tawe in Swansea Retail Park and Wrekin Retail Park in Telford. These stores feature rainwater capture systems, photovoltaic panels, and sustainable timber frames. These initiatives help us collect data to test new efficiencies and explore ways to save energy.
Food waste is a huge challenge globally and we all have a part to play in reducing it. We've been working to reduce food waste through taking a range of actions in-store and with our partners:
Improving our food ordering system and range decisions to reduce the potential of food waste.
Selling any unsold food at a reduced price in stores or through Too Good To Go Surprise Bags.
Donating surplus food from our warehouses to FareShare, which then redistribute this food to a range of charities and community groups across the UK.
Any food that cannot be eaten is sent back for anaerobic digestion, where it produces green biogas rather than going to landfill.
We have a long standing relationship with Too Good to Go to support redistribution of surplus food. Since our partnerships in 2021, we have saved over 3 million Surprise bags through the Too Good to Go app - a milestone reached as of January 2025!
To get a Costa Surprise Bag, head to the app here.
We're committed to uplifting the communities we're a part of and acting on the issues that matter most to them.
