Temporary hot brown liquid containment apparatus.

Dear Starbucks,

You consume way too many paper cups.  Cup summit be damned, you need to help change behavior.

ONE

Take your menu and lower price of all your products by 10 cents; the amount saved by bringing in a reusable container.  Then "charge" a paper-cup fee of 10 cents for anyone without a cup.  This will not alter the actual cost of anything, but by switching from a 10 cent discount incentive for those of us with travel mugs, to a 10 cent punitive charge to those of us without, it becomes psychologically more powerful.  Prices don't change, but I can guarantee it will change behavior.  I'm sure "management" doesn't like the idea (who likes fees?), but if they did something like this, it would at least be news worthy.  In other words, Starbucks could very publicly make their case, and a decision like this, if successfully implemented, could be a retail game changer, perhaps nudging Walmart to start charging for bags.  Paradigm shifts and all that.

TWO

Hear me out Starbucks.  This is the Christmas tchotchke of the year.  Go tech with the RFID chips that are already in many cards, or go low tech with a unique barcode.  Either way, you pay with your mug, not a card.  This is another behavior changing concept.  You don't get your prepaid coffee without your mug.  Plus, this means people might actually reload their cards (mugs), instead of throwing them away.  Keep your normal cards too, it's low risk.

Thanks for listening Starbucks.  By implementing these ideas, you can save trees, and trees = money.

Further reading: FastCompany.
Further watching: TED

Presentation Complete.
GeorgeP