15 March 2011

3 minute read

McDonald's Corporation has announced its Sustainable Land Management Commitment (SLMC), a significant advancement in the company's effort to ensure the food served in its restaurants around the world is sourced from certified sustainable sources. The McDonald's SLMC requires that, over time, its suppliers will only use agricultural raw materials for the company's food and packaging that originate from sustainably managed land. This commitment is guided by a long-term vision and supported by an external, third-party annual evaluation process.

The Company's Chief Executive Officer, Jim Skinner, said: "McDonald's serves customers around the world, and we accept the responsibility that comes with our global presence. We will continue to focus our energy on developing sustainable sourcing practices and broadening our menu choices. Each year, we set goals that challenge us to put our resources toward strengthening communities and helping maintain a world that can carry all of us well into the future."

McDonald's actions initially will be focused on five raw material priorities: beef, poultry, coffee, palm oil and packaging. Based on a thorough analysis conducted in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the five raw materials that are the initial focus of the SLMC were identified as having the most potential sustainability impacts.

As part of the SLMC, McDonald's:

• is working with a multi-stakeholder group, the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, and select Regional Roundtables, to improve the sustainability of beef production;
• has sponsored and is piloting a three-year beef farm study – the largest of its kind – to investigate the carbon emissions on 350 beef farms across the UK and Ireland
• is joining the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) this year and has committed to source only RSPO-certified Palm Oil by 2015, and
• has joined the Sustainability Consortium, an independent organisation dedicated to implementing measurable progress based on life-cycle science.

Francesca DeBiase, McDonald's vice president for Strategic Sourcing, commented: "We know that our customers care about where their food comes from. McDonald's and our suppliers have taken many positive steps in the past 20 years to improve the sustainability of our supply chain, and now we’re reaching even higher with our vision for sourcing all of our food and packaging from certified sustainable sources."

For more information on McDonald's SLMC progress, click here.

The Sustainable Land Management Commitment was announced in conjunction with the release of McDonald’s 2010 Worldwide Corporate Responsibility (CR) Report [click here].

In the latest web-based corporate responsibility report, with the theme 'What We're Made Of', McDonald's demonstrates measurable gains in the areas of sustainable supply chain, nutrition and well-being, environmental responsibility, employment experience, community, and corporate governance and ethics:

• Nutrition and Well-Being – Servings of fruits and vegetables offered continues to increase; additional menu items added, including oatmeal in the US, to offer more choice and variety
• Environmental Responsibility – Through several global energy efficiency efforts, the reported kilowatt hours per transaction count decreased
• Employment Experience – McDonald's continues its diversity leadership. More than 26 per cent of women comprise the top management team, and 49 per cent of all restaurant managers are women
• Community – Since 2002, McDonald's and its customers around the world have raised $170 million during the annual McHappy Day fund-raiser to support Ronald McDonald House Charities and other children's causes.

McDonald's is the world's leading global food-service retailer with more than 32,000 locations serving approximately 64 million customers in 117 countries each day. More than 80 per cent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women.

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