USA – Leading coffee and sweet goods retailer Dunkin’ Donuts has announced that it will eliminate all polystyrene foam cups from its global supply chain by 2020 as part of its sustainability commitments, eliminating up to 1 billion of such packs a year.
The company, will commence the replacement initiative in its key US home market beginning this year through to 2020, joining a majority of its international markets that have already done so, says the company.
The company will replace the foam cups with a new, double-walled paper cup.
“With more than 9,000 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the U.S. alone, our decision to eliminate foam cups is significant for both our brand and our industry.
We have a responsibility to improve our packaging, making it better for the planet while still meeting the needs of our guests.
Transitioning away from foam has been a critical goal for Dunkin’ Donuts U.S., and with the double-walled cup, we will be able to offer a replacement that meets the needs and expectations of both our customers and the communities we serve,” said Karen Raskopf, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer, Dunkin’ Brands.
The new, double-walled paper cup is already in use at Dunkin’ Donuts’ concept store, which opened in mid-January in the company’s birthplace of Quincy, Massachusetts.
It will be introduced at all Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in New York City and California in spring 2018, and will be phased in across the U.S. as supplier manufacturing capabilities ramp up.
The paper cup is made with paperboard certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard and will feature the current re-closable lid the retailer’s hot beverages are served in.
It will be used for all of the brand’s hot beverages, including coffee, lattes, macchiatos, tea and hot chocolate.
The cup will have heat retention properties equal to the company’s foam cup, keeping hands cool, without the need for a sleeve, said the company.
The new packaging complements Dunkin’ Donuts’ earlier commitments in the U.S. to have 80% of fiber-based consumer-facing packaging certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard by the end of this year.
The company has also recently commenced the elimination of artificial dyes from its menu beginning January 2018 in its sustainability efforts. The exercise is expected to end by end of this year.
Further, the company has also rolled out a new generation concept store that will deliver 25% more energy-efficient restaurants.
The company says that the transition to paper cups will remove nearly 1 billion foam cups from the waste stream annually, while meeting its ‘criteria for performance, environmental impact and cost.’
