Outrage Brewing Over Starbucks CEO's Private Jet 'Supercommute'

Green groups' anger percolated this week after it was revealed that Brian Niccol, Starbucks' new CEO, will "supercommute" approximately 1,000 miles between one of his homes in California and the coffee giant's Seattle headquarters three times a week.

A Starbucks spokesperson said earlier this week that "while Brian will have an office in Southern California, his primary office and a majority of his time will be spent in our Seattle Support Center."

"When he is not traveling for work, he will be in our Seattle office at least three days a week, in alignment with our hybrid work policies," the spokesperson added. "He will also have a home in Seattle."

"A private jet flight causes about 10 times more CO2 emissions than a regular flight per flight per person."

Greenpeace—which for years has been running a campaign to ban private jets and regularly stages protests against them at airports around the world—led condemnation of Niccol's harmful commute.

"As the world faces unprecedented heatwaves, droughts, floods, and other dire consequences of an accelerating climate crisis, it is unjustifiable for companies to offer company aircraft as employee perks," Greenpeace campaigner Clara Thompson toldThe Washington Post on Thursday.

"These jets are a stark symbol of social and climate injustice, where a privileged few indulge in the most environmentally damaging form of travel for mere convenience," Thompson added.

As Greenpeace notes:

A private jet flight causes about 10 times more CO2 emissions than a regular flight per flight per person, and 50 times more than the average train ride. Eighty percent of the world's population have never flown, yet they're the ones most impacted by the climate crisis. In just one hour, a single private jet can emit two tons of CO2. The global average energy-related carbon footprint is around 4.7 tons of CO2 per person per year.

While private jets account for a tiny fraction of global greenhouse emissions, the world's richest 1% produce more than double the emissions of the poorest 50%, and a single billionaire produces a million times more emissions than an average person, according to a 2022 Oxfam study.

Some critics accused Starbucks—which in 2020 set a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50% this decade—of hypocrisy, with one social media user contrasting Niccol's private jet commute with the company's introduction of widely despised and environmentally dubious paper straws. Another eagle-eyed observer spotted a book titled How to Avoid a Climate Disaster on display in Niccol's office in a Wall Street Journal article photo.

"I'm sure that private jet will use sustainable aviation fuel," climate scientist David Ho quipped on social media.