McDonald's Signs Coffee Grounds Recycling Partnership... Expanding ESG Management

On the 9th, McDonald's Korea signed a "Business Agreement to Practice ESG Management through Coffee Grounds Resource Circulation" at the "2022 Korea ESG Expo" held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The photo shows, from left to right, Yoon Joo-kyung, Executive Director of Cargill Agri Purina; Kim Han-il, Executive Director of McDonald's Korea; Ko Jung-soo, Executive Director of Maeil Dairies; and Lee Man-jae, Chairman of the Social Cooperative Resource and Circulation. Photo by McDonald's Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] McDonald's Korea announced on the 10th that it will expand ESG management by signing a business agreement (MOU) for coffee grounds resource circulation with its partners.

On the 9th, McDonald's signed a 'Business Agreement for ESG Management Practice through Coffee Grounds Resource Circulation' with the Social Cooperative Resource and Circulation, Cargill Agri Purina, and Maeil Dairies at the '2022 Korea ESG Expo' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Through this agreement, each company plans to lead efforts to minimize coffee grounds waste and promote recycling, thereby suppressing carbon emissions and creating environmental and economic benefits through close collaboration.

McDonald's plans to deliver coffee grounds from McCaf?, after undergoing post-processing, to Maeil Dairies farms that supply McDonald's milk and ice cream, by transforming them into livestock feed developed through technical cooperation. It is expected that this virtuous cycle system will create an annual reduction effect of approximately 4,394 kg of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. This amount is equivalent to the carbon absorption of about 650 pine trees aged 30 years per hectare over one year.

Coffee grounds contain many nutrients, making them an excellent raw material for livestock feed, and they also have excellent deodorizing effects, which can help reduce odor at livestock farms and lower manure treatment costs.

A McDonald's official said, “It is meaningful to lead the introduction of a coffee grounds virtuous cycle system in the domestic coffee market, where per capita coffee consumption is very high,” and added, “We will take the lead in delivering sustainable value to our society by establishing a systematic process from coffee grounds collection to recycling and supply together with our partners.”