'Grounds to Green' Coffee Grounds Upcycling Program
In 2024, 7-Eleven introduced Hong Kong’s first sustainable green cycle of care initiative – the Grounds to Green Coffee Grounds Upcycling Program – extending our environmental commitment into social responsibility and putting a green cycle into practice.
As Hong Kong’s biggest coffee retail network, 7CAFÉ is committed to serving convenient, affordable, freshly brewed coffee – while caring for the planet by supporting food-waste recycling. With support from Foodlink Foundation, used 7CAFÉ coffee grounds are collected and delivered to Senior Buddy Charity Farm, where food-waste composters turn them into natural fertiliser. The farm grows seasonal vegetables that are donated to ten charitable organisations across Hong Kong – including our long-term partner Pei Ho Counterparts, as well as Foodlink Mart, OIWA (Outlying Islands Women’s Association), J Life Foundation, Little Sisters of the Poor St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged, Jockey Club Kwun Tong Community Hub and Caritas Community Centre – Ngau Tau Kok. Many of these organisations use the produce to prepare hot, nutritious meals for people in need, including the homeless, elderly people living alone and low-income families.
In its first year, Grounds to Green aims to recycle coffee grounds from about 1.25 million cups, grow roughly 4,000 kg of organic produce for donation and, by diverting waste from landfill, potentially avoid 19,256 kg of greenhouse-gas emissions.
Every cup of 7CAFÉ coffee is a small start. Grounds to Green connects charities, organic farms and our customers – turning something seen as ‘waste’ into a resource that nourishes the community. It extends an environmental idea into social responsibility and builds a sustainable green cycle – giving coffee grounds a second life and caring for the Earth together. We will keep expanding this sustainability roadmap step by step, working towards everyday habits and products that are kinder to the planet.
Education & Outreach
7-Eleven is extending the Grounds to Green Coffee Grounds Upcycling Program into education. Working with charitable organic farms, we regularly host school visits so students can learn about the program and try farming tasks first-hand – from applying fertiliser to harvesting organic produce. Students can also join workshops that turn coffee grounds into useful resources. Through education, we hope the next generation will understand how a sustainable green cycle of care works – and join us in caring for the planet.
