Starbucks Tops All Other Companies In The World With This Green Certification

It comes as no surprise to most that Starbucks is the world's largest coffee chain. There's basically a Starbucks on every corner in New York City, right? But would you believe that Starbucks is also the world's most environmentally friendly company in the world, too? Well, believe it. On Sunday, Starbucks announced that it just opened its 700th LEED-certified location worldwide, and that number is officially the most of any company on Earth. So how did Starbucks pave its way to being the greenest company on the globe? Simple: with big numbers. Starbucks has more than 20,000 stores around the world. By making a large number of those stores LEED certified, the company was able break the threshold for corporate eco-friendliness. Officially, Starbucks has LEED-certified locations in 19 countries. Starbucks has been opening stores that adhere to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for 10 years. The company opened its first LEED-certified store in Oregon in 2005. If you're worried about this being a flash-in-the-pan, you should note that Starbucks says it's “committed to nearly double the number in 2016 with a total of 1,200 LEED certified stores,” in a press release. That's a 70% increase in one year! So there you have it. You can be environmentally conscious and enjoy a double chocolate chip frappuccino at your local Starbucks.