Starbucks Coffee Company recently has begun implementing its LED lighting conversion program, the result of an alliance with GE Consumer & Industrial to develop a solution that will help reduce energy consumption as well as utility and maintenance costs at Starbucks stores around the world.

In 2008, Starbucks explored the substitution of incandescent and halogen lighting with LED lighting to conserve energy, but found no commercially available LED product that met the company’s aesthetic and functional requirements. As a result, Starbucks reached out to GE to identify a solution. With input from Starbucks about its specific needs, GE developed a highly energy efficient LED product that complements Starbucks store design approach and fits existing fixtures.

“Our team jumped at the chance to create a GE-quality LED solution that could meet Starbucks stringent efficiency and color-quality requirements,” said Michael Petras, president and ceo of GE Consumer & Industrial’s lighting and electrical business.

Starbucks has begun implementing the LED lighting conversion program in all company-owned stores in the U.S. and Canada, and has already completed installation in more than 1,000 U.S. locations. It will expand the program to international markets in March 2010, aiming to complete installation in more than 8,000 company-owned stores around the world by the end of 2010. Following global implementation, Starbucks projects a 7 percent per-store reduction in energy use. This improvement will contribute toward the company’s goal of achieving a 25 percent reduction in energy use by the end of 2010.