Dunkin' Donuts opens 1st green store

Does not matter. Dunkin donut is so not 'GREEN' anyway, I am really pissed at the foam cup. What's with that? And the Ice-coffee, everyone is asking for an extra foam cup so they can hold their cup, so not GREEN, so not cool, their coffee sucks anyway. I don't go to Dunkin Donut.

I agree with CarrieP. For DD to say they're "Green" is a joke. I think they are the only coffee chain still using foam cups. I also think it's hilarious how DD tries to pitch their new "Smart" menu (i.e. low calorie/fat foods). From a chain that JUST introduced the wholewheat bagel last year!! What a joke!! Also, don't know if people pay any attention to their ad campaigns making fun of other, not to be mentioned coffee chains (that usually have higher quality coffee), but mirror GOP political ads/strategy...pitching lower class blue collar people against the latte drinking educated. DD, are blue collar workers incapable of making the connection that a "venti" probably means "a large" gauging from the difference in price??!

It's shouldn't be surprising though, they do cater to a less intelligent GOP folk who probably think global warming is not man-made. DD is a sell-out turned fast food chain.

Aside from DD not being green in general, LEED isn't even that green. It's a lot of wasted money so architects can feel warm and fuzzy at the end of the day. A good number of LEED certified buildings aren't any more energy efficient that the typical building. So with DD still using foam cups and likely generating just as much waste at this location, a few CFLs and a LEED label hardly makes it green.

I hope this is the beginning of a true effort on DDs part. It has to start somewhere.
I do agree however, the FOAM AND PLASTIC CUPS NEED TO GO

A good start but the FOAM CUPS NEED TO GO!

1

Folks, Dunkin has one store that operates in an environmentally sustainable fashion and it sounds like they would like to have more. It takes a serious plan, time and funding. But I have to agree that those foam cups got to go!!
Steve, Lakeville....

Leave it to someone who doesn't like Dunkin's to think that the so-called global warming fad is man-made. You dipstick.

Right folks. Cause those chemically coated paper cups and earthy-toned sleeves are just the perfect answer to this issue. Give me a break you bigots!

You people are nuts. The foam cups are the best thing about Dunkin Donuts. There's nothing worse than getting a hot cup of coffee that is too hot to hold and then gets cold before you're done drinking it.

FOAM CUPS ARE RECYCLABLE. It's #6 plastic. Spread the word!

Wow, I didn't think Dunkin' Donuts caters to the "GOP." Blue collar people probably go there because they cannot afford coffee that costs twice as much and pretty much taste the same. Whether you like their coffee or not, you have to applaud their marketing strategies to cater to environmentally conscious consumers and the younger, hip, citizens who drink lattes who usually go to starbucks and other more expensive chains.

Typical whining from a bunch of entitled so called "environmentalists". You have nothing better to do than complain and be critical, while offering no solutions. When is the last time you recycled your $5 Starbucks paper cup, or are they all in the back seat of mom's Volvo? Dunkies may not be the best, but I wish I had their lines of cars and customers lined up to buy a simple product from me.
Offer a solution that works or go back to Cambridge and feel proud of being anti-social.

Its funny that you can almost tell who is who by what coffee they drink in Boston. But I am sorry, coffee-snobs, that Seattle-based company isn't doing a whole lot of "green" either, unless you count the $4 they gouge you for a cup of coffee. And I am sorry, selling granola or a CD from an iTunes-recommended environmental activist/songwriter isn't going to save the Earth.

What utter nonsense. Enough said!!

Sad that DDis slammed for trying. Is there only one winner, and no one else gets any credit for even trying? Every little bit helps, folks

That is great news if those cups are recyclyable. If so, why haven't they put recycling bins so that they can recycle? Why? I think its because they couldn't care less about recycling, being green or healthy, they just care about making as much money as possible. This "green" store is just another PR/marketing idea.

I don't think DD's coffee is cheaper. If you just want to have black coffee, the price is essentially the same, doesn't matter where you get it. The thing is though, most people don't know the foam cups are recyclable and even if they do, there is no recycle bins on the streets that you can throw your cup in. Same thing with paper cups, although they are biodegradable. They should charge people less if they bring their own thermos. That's green and encouraging people to reuse cups.

As Al Gore said, "Global warming is due to DD foam cups."

I guess I don't understand .....what is so green about DD? Is it the building itself ?
Their products certainly add to the trash heaps of America.....let's gather up all of their trash bags at the end of any given day & deliver them to DD headquarters & we can demonstrate a pile'o' "green" for them to deal with

I don't think the article gives enough info to really assess how "green" a move this is on DD's part. It seems everyone's slamming DD general practices while not really having anything to say about this particular site (which may be using more environmentally friendly materials). Maybe if we were given a bit more info on this specific franchise, there'd be more to say.

Here's a green alternative. Make your coffee at home.

I have emailed Dunkin Donuts several times about its Green efforts and have NEVER gotten a response. My main frustration is that many of its stores in the Boston area put a plastic cup inside a styrofoam cup so that the drinker's hands don't get wet from condensation or too cold from the ice in the coffee. I think we all can agree styrofoam is bad, but can someone please explain to me the reason for needing two cups? If anything, just use a styrofoam cup. Double the cup, double the waste. Instead of building one LEED certified store, Dunkin Donuts should simply reduce its waste by asking its franchises not to give two cups for every iced drink. If Dunkin Donuts wants to be a socially responsible company, it should promote environmentally friendly practices throughout its entire company.

A good measure of DD being green is the number of clearly marked DD cups littering our roadways. Seems to talk to the environmental leanings of those that drink their brew. I, for one, would NEVER throw stuff out my car window. Perhaps DD should print their "no liter" message in spanish.
Perhaps they should have recycling bins in front of all stores to receive their cups.

I would appeal to DD to actually sprinkle a little content in their future press releases. What "environmentally friendly features" can customers look forward to? How about some specifics we can understand, appreciate, and hopefully look forward to someday soon in the northeast?

However, I agree with #14 that DD deserves a nod for trying. It's more than a lot of businesses are doing. And yes, every little bit helps.

I think it is great that DD is trying to go earth friendly! I don't know why it has become a war of coffee companies. Who cares where you buy your coffee? I rarely see anyone recycling coffee cups, no matter where they are bought.
I make my own coffee these day. Not only eco -friendly, but cost effective as well.

The new green shop in St Pete is not using foam cups, the cup currently being used is 100% paperm the "Insulair EcoSmart Cup" and has 12% post consumer recyled content, the manufacturer is also developing an even better product that will consist of a total of 25% PCRC. Check it out

Dunkin Donuts, when called, say taht #6 plastic is recyclable. True, however, finding someone who actually recycles #6 is quite another story. The local dump/recyclers in my town and surrounding do not. That makes them in affect Not recyclable.

Being Green is IN! yes it is a marketing gimmick, but in the process if every new store build by DD is LEED certified, we are all better for it. They will build these stores despite us who don't like their coffee, but at the end of the day it does not matter. Business that recognize that environmentally friendly and sustainable practices are good for their bottom line help us become better stewarts of this world. This is a good start.

This is great news. Dunkin Donuts has been a rocket of growth and innovation
so this does not surprise me. I reuse my DD cups (especially the paper ones) and I recycle about half the foam ones at the town facility.
But keep in mind that those foam cups use alot fewer resources (less pollution) to produce than a paper cup, and if you throw them in the trash they probably get
incinerated anyway.

"Dunkin Donuts has been a rocket of growth and innovation
so this does not surprise me." haha... DD has been a rocket of innovation just like McCain has been a "Maverick" voting 90% of the time with Bush.

Go Sox.

Of the all the BAd coffee shops, My gosh it's good to see A dunkins stepping up.
But I wonder if this is just a PR stunt?
Again, i agree with 26, being green is in, and we're all better for it in the long run!
My favorite coffee place is still my own home-brewed roast.
Adios.

It's a good start, but I agree with a lot of the comments here about the waste. D&D needs to especially stop the double cupping! Local coffee shops around Boston are switching to compostable cups, straws, knives and forks etc. and collecting the cups on site for compost pick-up. If D&D really wanted to make a difference they should start thinking about their bigger impact.

What a disingenuous move on DD part! How can they possibly promote themselves as a green company when their everyday practices are anything but? Not only do they have styrofoam cups, but they put plastic cups inside them! This new store may get them some press, but I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one who recognizes the inconsistency here!

Matthew 6:1

I commend the LEED certified design of your retail locations, and yet I urge you to look at your internal operations: STYROFOAM (or any polystyrene foam product) IS NOT NECESSARY in the service of coffee (or most foods or beverages, for that matter)!

Hi All

To the guy who wrote on Posted by ihatedunkies ked October 17, 08 05:47 PM

To say that people who drink DD coffee are part of some less intelligent group of people is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. There are DD all around my work at MIT. And I would bet that the people who buy their coffee there are in a much higher tax bracket then you. And the people surrounding their DD coffee cup during meetings about the next invention that will make the world a more productive place, are way beyond you’re intelligent group of folk ! I’ll take mine cream only please !