IRVING, Texas, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR), the world's leading company turning food waste into sustainable products and renewable energy, today announced Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. has chosen Darling Ingredients to recycle its used cooking oil into sustainable products, such as cleaner burning renewable diesel. Darling Ingredients' restaurant service brand, DAR PRO Solutions, will collect and recycle used cooking oil from nearly all of the almost 2,400 Panda Express restaurants in the United States.

"We admire Panda Express' commitment to sustainability and reducing waste in the communities where it operates and its employees live and work," said Sandra Dudley, Darling Ingredients Executive Vice President, Renewables and U.S. Specialty Operations. "Used cooking oil is considered one of the most effective renewable diesel feedstocks because of its lower carbon intensity compared to other feedstocks. We're proud to be part of a solution that diverts waste from landfills while delivering renewable fuel that reduces greenhouse gas emissions."

Darling Ingredients' used cooking oil storage systems provide safe and sustainable methods for storage and seamless collection, streamlining daily restaurant operations.

"Secure handling of used oil is one of our sustainability business priorities at Panda," said Roger Goldstein, Executive Director of Facilities at Panda Restaurant Group. "We understand that the future of our restaurants can only be as bright as the planet on which they reside, and we're committed to reducing our carbon footprint and use of natural resources through a number of efforts including used cooking oil recycling, commercially compostable packaging and energy-efficient buildings."

Darling Ingredients' investment in renewable diesel at Diamond Green Diesel (DGD) continues to grow. DGD's newest facility opened in November 2022 in Port Arthur, Texas, with an estimated production of nearly 500 million gallons. When combined with production at its plant in St. Charles, Louisiana, DGD is positioned to produce approximately 1.2 billion gallons of renewable diesel in 2023, making it the largest renewable diesel producer in the United States. Darling Ingredients also recently announced its final investment decision in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production at the DGD Port Arthur, Texas, plant. Upon completion of the project, DGD is expected to be one of the largest SAF manufacturers in the world.

About Darling Ingredients
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) is the largest publicly traded company turning edible by-products and food waste into sustainable products and a leading producer of renewable energy. Recognized as a sustainability leader, the company operates more than 270 facilities in 17 countries and repurposes approximately 15% of the world's meat industry waste streams into value-added products, such as green energy, renewable diesel, collagen, fertilizer, animal proteins and meals and pet food ingredients. To learn more, visit darlingii.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

About Panda Express
On a mission to inspire better lives, Panda Express^® is the largest Asian dining concept in the US. Family-owned and operated since 1983 by Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Andrew and Peggy Cherng, Panda Express is best known as a trailblazer for creating a wide variety of industry-first recipes, including its best seller the Original Orange Chicken^® and award-winning Honey Walnut Shrimp™, which have defined the category of authentic American Chinese cuisine. Each dish at Panda Express is thoughtfully crafted with quality ingredients and inspired by bold Chinese flavors and culinary principles. The restaurant brand has more than 2,400 locations worldwide and has introduced American Chinese cuisine to twelve countries.

Powered by this global family of associates, Panda Cares^®, Panda's philanthropic arm, has raised more than $282 million and dedicated countless volunteer hours in bettering the health and education for over 13 million youth, as well as supporting communities in need since 1999. In 2021, Panda Express established the Panda CommUnity Fund — a five-year, $10 million community investment and response program that supports immediate and sustainable solutions from national and local organizations to uplift diverse groups, including people of color and other marginalized communities. For more information about Panda, visit pandaexpress.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.