Press release, embargoed for publication until 00.01am, 8th January
PUSH FOR REUSABLE CUPS HAS AMBITIONS TO SAVE 150 MILLION PA P E R C U P S A Y E A R • Hubbub testing new approaches to reusable behaviour • First campaign sees Huey Morgan urge people of Manchester to Grab Your Cup • Research reveals forgetfulness stops 1 in 3 people from using reusable cup Today, environmental charity Hubbub is announcing their ambition to double the uptake of reusable cups for hot drinks. The initiative has been built using funds collected from Starbucks 5p charge on drinks purchased in a paper cup across its stores nationwide. Currently 3 billion paper cups are used every year in the UK and it’s estimated that less than 5% of all hot drinks are sold to people bringing a reusable cup. Efforts to increase this figure have seen Starbucks shift sales in reusable cups to 5%, up from 2.2% two years ago. Hubbub plans to work with major retailers and independent coffee shops to raise this to 10% of all sales, which would see a reduction of at least 150 million paper cups a year. Research1 released today by Hubbub found that Britons buy an average of 4 take away hot drinks each week, with 1 in 5 buying at least one a day. The research also found that over twothirds (69%) of people have their own reusable coffee cup but only 1 in 6 say they remember to use them every time they buy a hot drink. The most common reason for this gap in reusable cup usage is consumers forgetting to take their cup with them when they leave home in the morning. Hubbub also found that the number of people using reusable cups drops off during the day as people feel uncomfortable asking retail outlets to wash their cups and refill them. Hubbub will be running a range of innovative behaviour change campaigns throughout 2020 to shift this, starting with the Grab Your Cup campaign kicking off in Manchester. As caffeineseeking commuters return to work from the Christmas holidays, a new ear worm will be reminding them to leave home with their reusable cup. From today, music lovers in Manchester will wake up to a new jingle on radio stations, Spotify and YouTube, created by Fun Lovin’ Criminals front man, producer, BBC Radio 2 and 6 DJ and all-round legend, Huey Morgan. Grab Your Cup aims to remind people to take their reusable cups in the morning, remove any feelings of awkwardness they may have about taking a reusable cup to a store and shift widespread behaviour by making it the norm to drink from a reusable cup. High street chains Caffe Nero, Costa, Greggs, McDonald’s and Starbucks are being joined by independent stores across Manchester to share the message and this will be supported by adverts in the heart of the city.
Results from the Manchester Grab Your Cup campaign will be assessed by an independent agency and then widely shared to inspire more ambitious reuse campaigns in other cities throughout the year. Huey Morgan said: “Helping rid the planet of unnecessary plastic and single use coffee cups is something I feel really strongly about. My kids are always talking about it, so I was very inspired to get involved. I wanted to make a great song with an important message - hopefully something that cheers people up, gets in their heads and helps them to do their bit for the planet! So, grab your cup cos you know what’s up!” Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “In Greater Manchester we are determined to eliminate single-use plastics and we can all do our bit to make that happen. While our cafes, hotels and restaurants all play a huge part in this, we need our residents to make responsible decisions, such as carrying and using their own reusable coffee cup rather than using a single-use one. If we all make an effort to make these small changes, we really can make a difference.” Gavin Ellis Co-founder and Director, Hubbub said: “We’re really pleased to have Huey’s support to share the message that a reusable cup is the best environmental option for takeout teas and coffees, and it saves money too. This collaboration is a first of its kind for an environmental charity, and Huey has come up with a real ear worm which will help make sure that people remember to grab their reusable cup on the way out of the house. This is the first of a number of new approaches we’ll be testing to see if we can shift the needle on reusable cup uptake through positive and playful campaigns.” Haley Drage Vice President, Public Affairs, Starbucks EMEA said: “We’re proud to continue our work with Hubbub trialling out of store waste management solutions and raising awareness of the benefits of reuse. The Grab Your Cup campaign in Manchester is a unique way to encourage people to always carry their reusables whilst on-the-go and addresses on of the key barriers to more customer adoption. We are excited to try something new and see the kind of impact that it can have” The animated video and audio track by Huey Morgan can be downloaded from here.
ENDS For more information, please contact the Hubbub team at Barley Communications: Phoebe Campbell on 07725178044 or phoebe.campbell@barleycommunications.co.uk Sam Williams on 07949607029 or sam.williams@barleycommunications.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
For more information contact Hubbub. 1
Survey of 3,003 national representative UK adults conducted by Censuswide in June and July 2019
ABOUT HUBBUB Hubbub is an award-winning charity that inspires ways of living that are good for the environment. Hubbub designs campaigns that make environmental action desirable; disrupting the status quo to raise awareness, nudge behaviours and share systems. Hubbub have transformed the approach people take towards communicating environmental issues and since 2014 they have built collaborations with over 700 organisations, from international businesses to local authorities and community groups. This includes bringing together all the major coffee cup retailers to collect and recycle 5 million coffee cups in 1 year, and 25 businesses to improve recycling on-the-go in Leeds. Hubbub designed IKEA’s ‘Live LAGOM’, the world’s biggest consumer sustainable behaviour change campaign and created Mothercare’s ‘Gift A Bundle’ campaign, redistributing good quality outgrown baby clothing. Hubbub also runs campaigns to reduce food waste, tackle litter and promote sustainable fashion. www.hubbub.org.uk Twitter: @hubbubuk
A B O U T S TA R B U C K S Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with more than 30,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at https://stories.starbucks.com/ and www.Starbucks.com.
A B O U T G R E AT E R M A N C H E S T E R C O M B I N E D AUTHORITY (GMCA) The campaign is being supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). Greater Manchester is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2038 and a number of actions are being taken to help achieve this. This includes work to encourage people to become more responsible consumers – empowering individuals that small changes count. Last year a campaign was launched to make Greater Manchester the first city-region to ditch single-use plastics. Plastic-Free Greater Manchester puts Greater Manchester at the forefront of taking action to eliminate single-use plastics. It targets businesses and local people, encouraging them to make the shift away from single-use plastics to renewable alternatives. Those leading the campaign to be plastic-free include GG Hospitality, Manchester Central, Manchester Marriot Victoria and Albert Hotel, Grafene Restaurant and Bar, Eclectic Hotels, Manchester Art Gallery, Best Western Plus Pinewood in Wilmslow and Real Junk Food Manchester. Link: https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/