It's not often that competing companies join forces for a collaborative effort. When it comes to something as important as helping the environment, though, exceptions are made. McDonald's and Starbucks have teamed up to develop a fully recyclable, compostable cup, per a Starbucks press release.
According to Fast Company, McDonald's and Starbucks distribute a combined 4% of the world's 600 billion cups annually. They are also two of the three most popular food chains worldwide. It makes sense, then, that the two giants would be combining resources and leading the way toward less wasteful consumption of their products.
This partnership comes after announcements from both companies regarding eco-friendly intentions for the future. Starbucks recently pledged to be "strawless" by 2020. McDonald's has a goal to shift all guest packaging (cups, straws, etc.) to renewable or recycled resources by 2025.
The initiative, entitled The NextGen Cup Consortium and Challenge, was launched by Starbucks earlier this year with Closed Loop Partners, an investment platform that invests in sustainable consumer goods, recycling, and the development of the circular economy.
Now, McDonald's joins as a founding member with a five-million dollar commitment in partnership with Closed Loop Partners. With McDonald's in tow, the total funds dedicated to the Challenge have reached $10 million.
Marion Gross, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer for McDonald's USA said in the press release: "We are excited to join Starbucks and Closed Loop to help solve this pressing challenge as collaboration is key to finding a scalable, lasting global solution." Another Starbucks representative pointed out that a better cup would benefit the entire industry, and extended an invitation for other companies to join the efforts.
The Challenge begins in September. Innovators, entrepreneurs, industry experts, and recyclers are invited to submit their ideas for "the next generation" of recyclable or compostable cups. The press release states, "Awardees will receive acceleration funding up to $1 million based on key milestones. Up to seven of the awardees will enter a six-month accelerator program to help scale their solutions." How cool would it be to be the one that comes up with the cup of the future???
Specific technical, performance, and environmental criteria for the challenge will be announced later this summer. This particular challenge will focus on the fiber-based hot and cold cup, however NextGen has plans to rework the entire cup system (including lids and straws).
Put your thinking caps on, ya'll. We've got a recyclable, compostable cup to make!
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