Free Coffee to Celebrate Earth Day In Issaquah

On Saturday, April 22, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., McDonald’s Issaquah is celebrating Earth Day with their valued guests by pouring free coffee to any guest that brings in a tumbler. They will also be giving away packaged bags of used coffee grounds, perfect for gardening and packets of plant seeds…all for FREE!

Location:
McDonald’s
1305 NW Gilman Blvd
Issaquah, WA 98027

Did you know??

• McDonald’s is one of the largest purchasers of coffee in the world.
• McDonald’s is able to use its size and scale to make sustainable coffee more accessible, which will have a major impact on expanding the supply of sustainable coffee globally – committing to 100% of its global coffee supply to be sustainably sourced by 2020.
• Since 2012, they have increased their volume of sustainably sourced coffee by about 63%.
• In 2015, 37% of their coffee globally was from certified sustainable sources. Of this coffee, 80% is Rainforest Alliance certified.

• US: 100% of beans used for their U.S. espresso is sustainably grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.
• Canada: 100% of beans used for their espresso in Canada is sustainably grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.
• Brazil: All of their coffee drinks in Brazil are Rainforest Alliance Certified™.
• Europe: With the exception of decaffeinated coffee, their European restaurants all serve coffee from farms that are Rainforest Alliance Certified™, UTZ Certified or Fairtrade International Certified
• Australia/New Zealand: All of their restaurants in Australia and New Zealand serve coffee from farms that are Rainforest Alliance Certified™

• McDonald’s is investing in sustainable farms. McDonald’s USA, McDonald’s Canada and their Franchisees invested more than $6 million over 4.5 years in farmer technical assistance in Guatemala.
• Since 2012, McDonald’s has partnered with TechnoServe, an international non-profit and agricultural technical assistance provider, to train nearly 15,000 Guatemalan farmers in sustainable coffee-growing practices. The initial results speak for themselves: participating farmers reported harvesting 48% more coffee.
• They are also building industry-wide capacity by offering the farmer training curriculum developed in Guatemala by SCAN (Sustainable Commodities Assistance Network) a global network of 17 leading organizations promoting sustainable agriculture including the UN’s International Trade Centre’s agencies, certification programs and research institutions, for free on International Trade Centre’s SustainabilityXchange website.
• Alongside Conservation International, McDonald’s is launching the McCafé Sustainability Improvement Platform, or McCafé SIP, a framework that will help them engage their entire coffee value chain in sustainable sourcing. With McCafé SIP, they will have better information about the specific farmers growing their coffee and training for farmers with progress measured by third-party verifiers.

• The McCafé Sustainability Improvement Platform provides guidance around the following four key elements for roaster-led programs:
  • Transparency – Choose regional clusters of farms and gather basic information about the farmers. The roaster must be able to trace all coffee to the co-op or trader that supplied it and identify all farms participating in the program.
    o Producer Collaboration – Provide farmers and roasters with the skills and tools necessary to meet quality and sustainability goals. Work with farmers to identify needs and develop producer support programs to address needs and performance gaps.
    o Measured Performance – Establish regular check-ins with participating farmers, and use credible scorecards to track their progress. Scorecards should focus on McDonald’s priority focus areas and are benchmarked with reputable, globally recognized set of principles for sustainable coffee production.
    o Assurance – Carry out independent third party audits to assess the program and ensure accurate farmer lists, scorecards and reporting.