New Starbucks CEO allowed company jet for 1,000-mile commute to Seattle

Starbucks’s hybrid work policy requires employees at its Seattle headquarters who live within commuting distance to work from the office at least three days a week.

A Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC that Niccol will also be expected to work from the office at least three days a week when not traveling for work, in alignment with the company’s broader policy. Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.

Public records list Niccol’s address in Newport Beach, some 992 miles from Seattle. Niccol’s previous role was chief executive of Chipotle Mexican Grill — the headquarters of which he relocated from Denver to Newport Beach.

Environmental scientists and climate activists say private jets emit a disproportionately damaging carbon footprint compared with other forms of transportation.

“As the world faces unprecedented heat waves, droughts, floods, and other dire consequences of an accelerating climate crisis, it is unjustifiable for companies to offer company aircraft as employee perks,” Clara Thompson, a climate activist at Greenpeace, said in an email 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.”

According to a report by Transport & Environment, a European clean-transportation advocacy group, a private jet can emit 2 metric tons of CO2 in an hour. For comparison, the report said, the average European Union citizen produces about 8.2 tons of emissions over the course of a year.

In 2020, Starbucks set itself a public target to reduce its carbon emissions “in our direct operations and supply chain” by half. At the time, it said its goal was to eventually become “resource-positive,” by storing more carbon than it emits. In March, Starbucks’s own environmental and sustainability assessment said the coffee chain’s total emissions increased by 8 percent compared with baseline levels in 2010.

“Going to need a lot more paper straws for this one,” joked one user on X in reaction to reports about Niccol’s expected use of the private jet, referencing Starbucks’s policy of introducing sustainable straws to reduce landfill waste. “Don’t preach about sustainability,” another said.

Niccol, who helped revive the fortunes of Chipotle, will officially take on his role at Starbucks on Sept. 9. He replaces Laxman Narasimhan, who the company announced this month was stepping down with immediate effect.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s registry, Starbucks operates a 2007 Gulfstream G550 jet through its Seattle-based subsidiary Starbucks Capital Asset Leasing Company. It was not immediately clear whether this is the aircraft Niccol would be using.

Niccol is expected in Seattle “as is required to perform your duties and responsibilities,” according to the letter. The coffee chain will also offer him temporary housing in Seattle for up to three months until he has secured “permanent secondary housing.”

Taylor Telford and Aaron Gregg contributed to this report.