The Sun pulled off a genuine investigative scoop yesterday that must surely win it an award. The great drain robbery revealed that the coffee chain Starbucks is wasting colossal quantities of water every day by keeping taps running in its outlets.
The story, which contradicted Starbucks' boast about its green credentials, was picked up by The Guardian and got a major boost on the BBC's 10 o'clock news with pictures bearing The Sun logo.
It was also one of those rare occasions when a story has an immediate and satisfying resolution. In a follow-up today, The Sun reports that an embarrassed Starbucks has changed it policy by agreeing to turn off the taps and seek an alternative way to meet hygiene rules and prevent the build-up of bacteria.
So well done to The Sun. A public interest story, an excellent match of print and online video material (here) to illustrate the problem, TV news publicity and a climbdown by Starbucks. It doesn't get much better for a paper than that.
