Pinnacle Awards - Dec 2021

MONTHLY NEWS AND UPDATES FOR THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY
HEALING THE LAND
QSRs are stepping up with waste-reduction strategies
BY AMY BOSTOCK
AS
the economic fallout
from the COVID-19
pandemic continues to
challenge restaurant operators, consumer
demand for planet-friendly
foodservice options remains high —
especially when it comes to packaging.
The quick-service-restaurant segment
(QSR) — which fared better than
most thanks to its ability to pivot to
a takeout and delivery only business
model — has risen to the challenge in
recent months, with many top chains
unveiling new and comprehensive
sustainability pledges with specific
targets to help minimize the volume
of packaging that goes to landfill.
Back in June, KFC Canada
announced a huge milestone in its
sustainability journey, promising that
all consumer-facing packaging will be
fully home compostable by 2025 — a
bold commitment that will divert
nearly 200 million pieces of packaging
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
from Canadian landfills each year.
“One of our leading principles at
KFC Canada is feeding people, not
landfills. The move to 100 per cent
home compostable consumer packaging
is a bold and ambitious step we’re
taking to inspire positive change in
the communities we operate in,” says
Nivera Wallani, president & General
Manager, KFC Canada.
In October, Tim Hortons, part
of Restaurant Brands International
(RBI), announced three new initiatives,
including the trial of a compostable
and recyclable hot-beverage
cup, testing of recycling in restaurants
and the kickoff of a pilot project with
zero-waste platform Loop using reusable
and returnable packaging.
“We’ll be working with government
and industry stakeholders across
Canada to share the results
of the trial. We want to share our
progress so we can work together
OUR
PACKAGING IS
A PART OF
OUR HERITAGE
AND OUR
STORYTELLING.
BEYOND ITS
ICONIC IMAGE,
WE WANT KFC’S
PACKAGING TO
BE FORWARD-
THINKING,
INSPIRING AND
TO CHAMPION
FUNCTIONALITY,
FOOD SAFETY
AND ECO-
FRIENDLY
SOLUTIONS
ARMANDO
CARRILLO
INNOVATION
MANAGER, KFC
CANADA.
toward developing the best solutions
for everyone to use for a more
sustainable future,” says Paul Yang,
senior director of Sustainability and
Packaging for Tim Hortons.”
In the same week, McDonald’s
Canada announced it would be phasing
out plastic cutlery, stir sticks and straws
to introduce wooden cutlery and stir
sticks and paper straws at more 1,400
restaurants by December 2021.
“By removing these single-use plastics
in our restaurants, we show our
ongoing commitment to minimize
our environmental footprint,” says
Rob Dick, Supply Chain officer,
McDonald’s Canada.
Not to be outdone by its competitors,
Wendy’s announced its goal of
sustainably sourcing 100 per cent of
its customer-facing packaging by 2026
through a new collaboration with
packaging-and-plastics industry leaders
Berry Global and LyondellBasell.
The collaboration will support
Wendy’s move from a selection of
plastic-lined paper cups with limited
recyclability to single-substrate, clear
plastic drink cups. Set to launch in
U.S. and Canadian restaurants in early
2022, the cups will also use 20-percent
ISCC-certified, recycled plastic
across all its North America restaurants
— a QSR industry first – with
the potential to increase the amount of
recycled plastic used in the future. FH
Popeyes, announced earlier this year, it is
removing all EPS foam cups globally and
replacing them with paper. The brand is working
towards implementing requirements for all
approved fiber-based packaging to come from
certified or recycled sources globally, by the end
of 2021.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 5