Students who spend their late nights with a cup of Starbucks may be reaching out for more caffeine to get them through a virtual quest to solve global warming after the coffee giant released a new environment-conscious video game.
Starbucks and the environmental organization Global Green USA have partnered to launch Planet Green Game, which allows players to track their own environmental impact. The two organizations say they aim to promote the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to combat global warming.
In the game, players choose a character and a mode of transportation to navigate through the fictional city of Evergreen, where they receive suggestions for reducing their “carbon footprint” and learn how to influence legislators and corporate leaders to take action against global warming, said Sam Boykin, spokesman for Global Green, a nonprofit organization that provides environmental education for corporations and lawmakers.
The goal of Planet Green Game, which was released last week and has drawn more than 10,000 players, is to educate a wide audience about environmental protection through better daily choices, Boykin said.
“People are well aware of the threats of global warming, but not as clear about what they can do about it,” said Global Green USA Communications Director Ruben Aronin. “It’s an easy way for people to have a little fun and learn more about what their choices are.”
According to Starbucks’s Annual Report, the coffee conglomerate has worked to improve its environmental reputation by increasing the use of renewable wind-power energy and producing coffee cups made of 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber.
Starbucks has encountered fierce criticism from various environmental organizations, however, about its controversial use of virgin tree fiber in paper products and for the lack of certified Fair Trade coffee available to consumers.
In 2005, Organic Consumers Association launched a campaign against Starbucks, according to the group’s website, citing the exploitation of African coffee growers and Starbucks’s use of milk from cows injected with a genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST.
“They have practices that are questionable,” said Steve Smith, a Greenpeace spokesman. “There is obviously more that can be done: Introducing more varieties of Fair Trade coffee and making cups more forest- friendly.”
Despite criticism, Stephanie Bittner, director of brand advertising and communications for Starbucks, said the company is committed to renewable energy and recycled materials.
“We are one of the top purchasers of renewable energy certificates in the United States, and we use sustainable building components in building design,” Bittner said.
The launch of Planet Green Game has received positive feedback from many environmental organizations and consumers, she added.
Bittner said Starbucks has reached out to the college community through music bands of company employees, who have contributed to Starbucks’s efforts by providing songs featured on the video game’s soundtrack and by promoting the game on MySpace.com.