Salesforce & McDonald's: Sustainability Progress with Data
McDonalds is one of the largest corporations in the world, having more than 40,000 locations worldwide.
Through its partnerships with Salesforce and Cognizant, it is making progress on its sustainability goals.
Beth Hart, Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer at McDonald's, said on Linkedin: âIn sustainability, you canât manage what you canât measure.
âAt McDonald's, weâre investing in better data and reporting â not just to meet sustainability regulations, but to make sustainability and social impact a core part of our business strategy.
âThis data transformation is more than compliance. We are building resilience and solving problems with smarter insights."
How McDonald's is prioritising animal health and welfare?
The brand has set out various goals to ensure that its value chain has low impact on the welfare of the animals it sources.
McDonald's says it is committed to sourcing chickens raised with improved welfare outcomes, following these eight aims:
- Establishing and convening the McDonaldâs CSAC
- Measuring key farm-level welfare outcomes
- Developing state-of-the-art welfare measurement technology
- Providing enrichments to support natural behaviour
- Running commercial trials to study the effects of certain production parameters on welfare outcomes
- Utilising Controlled Atmospheric Stunning (CAS) in the US and Canada
- Implementing third-party, on-farm auditing
- Completing an assessment to measure the feasibility of extending these commitments to additional global markets where McDonaldâs operates.
The company also reached its goal of sourcing 100% cage free eggs by 2023, which was two years ahead of target.
McDonald's is removing the use of antibiotics known as the Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics (HPCIAs) to human medicine from all chickens served by the brand.
This is now effective in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, South Korea and the US.
In the company's beef supply chain it has collaborated with suppliers to collect antibiotic use data through independent third parties, driving transparency and behavioural change.
McDonald's says understanding supplier's antibiotic use against diseases helps the company promote responsible use and continue to positively impact animal welfare.
What climate action is the company taking?
McDonald's has the aim of reaching net zero by 2050, approved by Science Based Targets initiative in 2018.
It has also set targets within a shorter time frame through its 2030 McDonald's aims:
- In company-owned operated restaurants and offices it will reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50.4%
- Reducing Scope 3 emissions by 50.4% from Franchisee and Company-owned and operated restaurants
- Absolute Scope 3 Forest, land and agriculture GHG emissions will be reduced by 16% alongside maintaining no deforestation across its primary deforestation commodities.
McDonald's says it has taken various steps to align with these targets, changing how it designs and powers restaurants and encouraging more sustainable farming techniques.
Chris Kempczinski, CEO at McDonald's, says: âAs a leading global brand, we understand our responsibility to help preserve our planet so our business and future generations can continue to thrive.
âTo protect the future of McDonaldâs, we need to help protect our Earthâs natural resources so that we can continue serving our communities.â
What is McDonaldâs impact on nature, forests and water?
The company says it wants to eliminate deforestation from its global supply chains by the end of 2030, focusing on finding deforestation-free supply chains for its beef, soy, palm oil, coffee and fibre.
It reports that 99.1% of its supply chains are sourced from deforestation free suppliers.
McDonald's purchases Round Table on Responsible Soy credits to make its supply chain 100% deforestation free.
The company also requires its coffee to be supplied from Rainforest Alliance certified places in Honduras, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Those supplying from other countries must be sources from Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade International certified or from a McCafĂŠ Sustainability Improvement Platform (SIP) programme.
It also pledges that fibre for guest packaging in restaurants must be sourced from Forest Stewardship Council chain of custody certification or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) for deforestation.
How is the company making packaging, toys and waste more eco friendly?
McDonald's has taken a focus on making its packaging and waste more sustainable.
The brand aims to have 100% of its primary guest packaging made from renewable, recycled and certified materials, as well as all packaging being free from intentionally added fluorinated compounds.
The company also wants to help create demand for recycled materials by advancing reuse, composting and recycling of guest packaging by the end of 2025.
It wants to reduce plastics in Happy Meal toys around the world and transition to more sustainable materials by the end of 2025
Jon Banner, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Impact Officer at McDonald's Corporation, says: âAs we look to the future, I'm filled with enthusiasm for what lies ahead.
âThe challenges our world faces are significant, but so is our determination to be a force for good.
âWe're not just adapting to change â weâre helping to drive it, with a clear vision of a more sustainable, equitable and resilient future."
