Geocycle and McDonald's seal sustainability partnership in the Philippines
Geocycle, Holcim Philippines and quick service restaurant giant, McDonald’s Philippines are teaming up to advance sustainability and accelerate decarbonization and the circularity of their operations within the country.
The partners are currently working together on sustainable waste management through Geocycle, which converts qualified materials into alternative fuels and raw materials for cement production.
Furthermore, Geocycle, Holcim Philippines and McDonald’s plan to collaborate on expanding the network of sustainable stores under the McDonald’s Green & Good platform, which are built and operated with a significantly lower environmental footprint. McDonald’s will explore Holcim’s building solutions that have a lower carbon footprint and virgin raw material components to further raise the environmental performance of Green & Good stores.
Since its launch in 2021, McDonald’s Green & Good stores have used circular solutions, such as recycled steel building frames, eco-pavers and bricks with shredded plastics to reduce the use of virgin natural resources. Electric consumption is also more sustainable through solar panels, LED lights, smart aircon systems, low-power water heaters and heat-reflective glass panels.
Meanwhile, Holcim Philippines has a range of sustainable building solutions, such as its low-carbon blended cement, ECOPlanet. It is also set to expand its green offerings to include aggregates recycled from demolished concrete, aerated blocks that use less materials and permeable concrete for rainwater harvesting systems.
The signing of the sustainability partnership to further decarbonization and raise circularity of operations at McDonald’s McKinley West on June 26.
From left: McDonald’s Philippines Director for Restaurant Operations, Solutions and Equipment, Jack Divinagracia; Assistant Vice-President for Corporate Relation & Impact, Adi Hernandez; Holcim Philippines President & CEO, Horia Adrian; Head of Geocycle Philippines, Samuel Manlosa, Jr.
“We look forward to working with Holcim as we scale our Green & Good program. Together with partners like Holcim, which continuously innovate to be better for the planet, we’ll be able to learn and integrate solutions as we grow and open more new stores. With every action that we take for the environment, we’re planting the seeds for a greener and more sustainable future.”
Geocycle Philippines also recycled and recovered more than a million tons of qualified waste as alternative fuels and raw materials to help partners avoid landfill and lower the consumption of virgin resources.
Through Geocycle, Holcim Philippines is among the pioneers of co-processing, a government-approved and globally-recognized waste management technology that repurposes qualified discarded materials into alternative low-carbon fuels and raw materials to make cement.
Geocycle has 71 city and municipal government partners across the country as more communities seek ways to reduce waste sent to landfill. Geocycle also welcomed more industrial partners in 2023, as manufacturers embrace solutions for their plastic wastes in compliance with the Extended Producer Responsibility law (EPR).
“A big thanks to McDonald’s for trusting Holcim to be its partner in expanding its Green & Good store network and further elevating the sustainability performance of these outlets. We are excited to see this partnership drive our organization’s sustainability performance and positive impact on the environment.”
