Dive Brief: Starbucks and Arizona State University will open a new research and innovation facility, called the ASU-Starbucks Center for the Future of the People and the Planet, in December 2021 on ASU's campus in Tempe, Arizona, according to a press release. The lab will leverage ASU's applied research and on-campus test stores to continue "reimagining customer experiences both in-store and through more personalized digital relationships," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in the release. The center's year-one goals include building out and open sourcing Starbucks' "Greener Stores" program and exploring alternative menu items, including plant-based offerings. Starbucks has tested ideas that support sustainability in individual stores and markets, including a Seattle location with a 100% plant-based menu and an energy-efficient modular store in Canada, but this dedicated lab will enable the company to scale new concepts more quickly and further the company's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and become "resource positive."