The Starbucks Foundation, Alsea Foundation A.C. and Planet Water Foundation Partner to Bring Clean Water to Rural Community in Toluca

• This marks the sixth AquaTower installed by Starbucks Mexico volunteers in collaboration with The Starbucks Foundation, Alsea Foundation A.C. and Planet Water Foundation to facilitate providing clean water to Mexican communities suffering from the lack of this vital resource. The first group of water towers (“AquaTowers”) were installed in Aguascalientes and Querétaro in 2021, followed by installations in Jalisco in 2022 and Oaxaca and Acapulco in 2023.
• The new AquaTower in Toluca – which will produce 1,000 liters of clean water every hour – was installed at the José Clemente Orozco Primary School in El Tecomate and is expected to benefit over 1,800 people in the community.
• The project builds on a 13-year partnership between The Starbucks Foundation and Planet Water Foundation to deliver clean water to twelve Starbucks markets.

Mexico City - As part of its commitment to contribute positively to the communities it serves, Starbucks – managed by licensed business operator Alsea in Mexico – and The Starbucks Foundation partnered with Planet Water Foundation and Alsea Foundation A.C. to install an AquaTower water filtration system at the José Clemente Orozco Primary School in El Tecomate, a community in the municipality of Toluca, capital of the State of Mexico. 

A group of 12 Starbucks Mexico partners (employees) worked to build the tower under the direction of Planet Water Foundation. Volunteers also conducted a water hygiene and health education program with students and community members to help create changes in behavior, beliefs and knowledge about life-saving hygiene practices.

Planet Water Foundation is a nonprofit organization that strives to bring clean water to the world's most impoverished communities. Their water tower program – a 13-year partnership with The Starbucks Foundation – has positively impacted twelve markets in Asia Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, including Cambodia, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Guatemala, Laos, Mexico, Philippines, Peru, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. In Mexico, The Starbucks Foundation and Starbucks Mexico volunteers in partnership with Planet Water, installed the first AquaTowers in 2021 in Aguascalientes and Querétaro. The following year, the same was done in Jalisco, and last year, potable water was provided to Oaxaca and Acapulco. More recently, The Starbucks Foundation and Planet Water Foundation deployed an AquaSafe water system in Acapulco to help provide clean water to communities displaced by Hurricane Otis. This AquaSafe continues to provide critical water access to people in need.

The water crisis has only worsened in Mexico over the past few years, prompting Starbucks to continue to join forces with Planet Water Foundation to bring clean water to new regions in Mexico. El Tecomate community is located an hour away from Toluca, making access to basic services initially challenging due to the distance from the nearest city. Additionally, not all households have a direct supply of this resource; some extract it from the nearest river or from an artisanal well made by local residents. The José Clemente Orozco Primary School has approximately 200 students and 8 teachers who will now be able to rely on clean water at the school.

The José Clemente Orozco Primary School AquaTower features three stages of filtration and incorporates hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane technology and activated carbon to improve water quality. It has six access points to potable water with integrated liquid soap dispensers for handwashing and produces 1,000 liters of potable water per hour, enough to meet the daily potable water needs of up to 1,800 people.

"In a moment like the one the world is facing today – with significant climate change impacts and the threat of running out of water in the short term – we all must contribute to a common goal: ensuring access to clean water for our communities. Thus, like every year since 2021, Starbucks volunteers continue to install Water Towers for rural and vulnerable communities across Mexico. It's about thinking globally and acting locally," emphasized Francisco Tosso, CEO of Starbucks Mexico.

"We are grateful for our partnership with The Starbucks Foundation and Alsea Foundation A.C. in Mexico,” added Mark Steele, founder and CEO of Planet Water Foundation. “Thanks to their support, since 2021, we have built six AquaTower systems in Mexico, providing access to potable water to more than 10,000 people.”

Learn more about the Planet Water Foundation program with Starbucks here.