Through its newly launched Tims For Good sustainability platform, Tim Hortons is stepping up its green measures.
The platform is designed to promote continuous improvement at the brand across three pillars: people and communities, food and beverage quality, and the planet.
A major step Tim Hortons has taken is a pledge to eliminate one billion single-use plastics by the end of 2021.
“We’re committed to improving our sustainability practices every way we can, and today on Earth Day, we’re proud to share that we’re eliminating one billion single-use plastics this year, including by phasing out plastic straws,” says Paul Yang, Director of Sustainability and Packaging for Tim Hortons.
“We’re also doing a lot of little things that guests may not notice but add up to a huge impact. Like our easy-to-miss alteration to our latest napkins, which are made with 100 per cent recycled fibre, require 25 per cent less material to produce, and will help us save 900 tonnes of paper a year.”
Tim Hortons is on the verge of fully phasing out the use of plastic straws at all of the nearly 4,000 Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada, which is expected to eliminate the use of 300 million single-use plastics a year.
The transition to paper straws began last year and all restaurants stopped receiving shipments of plastic straws as of January. More than 85 per cent of restaurants have already converted to paper straws and it’s expected that all Tim Hortons restaurants will be offering guests paper straws by the end of May.
In October, Tim Hortons announced a partnership with TerraCycle’s zero-waste platform Loop to pilot a program that will give guests the option of paying a returnable deposit and receiving reusable and returnable cups or food containers with their order. When guests are finished their drink or meal, they can return their reusable cups or food containers at a participating restaurant and have their deposit refunded.
Earlier this year, Tims also introduced new paper-based wrappers for sandwiches and bagels that are fully recyclable, while also cutting the use of paper by 17 per cent annually. The new packaging is estimated to reduce more than 460 tonnes of plastic a year.
The Canadian staple has also confirmed that its entire core menu will be free of artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives by the end of the year.
“We’re on a mission to make all our menu items as craveable and delicious as we can — great food made with ingredients guests can feel good about,” said Hope Bagozzi, Chief Marketing Officer for Tim Hortons.
“The launch earlier this year of freshly cracked eggs for our breakfast sandwiches reflects our commitment to sourcing amazing ingredients — we only use 100 per cent Canadian Grade A large eggs — and that commitment extends to Canada’s favourite coffee, which is brewed every 20 minutes with 100 per cent premium Arabica coffee beans.”
Tim Hortons is also committed to sourcing key ingredients domestically as much as possible. In Canada, our milk, cream, butter, cheese, eggs, and potatoes for our hash browns and wedges are sourced from Canadian farmers and suppliers.
For more information on Tims For Good, visit timhortons.ca/tims-for-good
