McDonald's leads work towards 36 per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Bernama) -- McDonald's has announced it will partner with franchisees and suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to McDonald's restaurants and offices by 36 per cent by 2030 from a 2015 base year in a new strategy to address global climate change.

Also, McDonald's has committed to a 31 per cent reduction in emissions intensity (per tonne of food and packaging) across its supply chain by 2030 from the 2015 levels.

This combined target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

SBTi is a collaboration between WRI, WWF, CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) and the United Nations Global Compact, which helps companies determine how much they must cut emissions to do their part to address climate change.

"To reach the target, McDonald's will work across its supply chain, offices and restaurants to be more innovative and efficient through improvements such as using LED lighting and energy-efficient kitchen equipment, sustainable packaging, restaurant recycling, and by elevating and supporting sustainable agriculture practices," the company said in a statement today.

Additionally, it will prioritise action on the largest segments of its carbon footprint: beef production, restaurant energy usage and sourcing, packaging and waste, which account for approximately 64 per cent of McDonald's global emissions.

Through these actions, McDonald's expects to prevent 150 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere by 2030, which is the equivalent of taking 32 million passenger cars off the road for an entire year or planting 3.8 billion trees and growing them for 10 years.

The target will enable McDonald's to grow as a business without growing its emissions.

McDonald's president and chief executive officer, Steve Easterbrook, who announced the plan in a video released by the company, said to meet the goal, the company would source its food responsibly, promote renewable energy and use it efficiently, and reduce waste and increase recycling.

"As one of the best known brands on the planet, McDonald's is well positioned to lead, and its ambitious new climate target will inspire innovation, collaboration, and most importantly critical greenhouse gas reductions across the company's global operations and supply chain," said president of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Fred Krupp.

The launch of the science-based target is the latest step in McDonald's journey to drive meaningful change and use its Scale for Good.

McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with over 37,000 locations in 120 markets around the world. Over 90 per cent of its restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business men and women.

-- BERNAMA