Log-inMEDIA RELEASE DRAFT
17 January 2018
By 2025, all of McDonald’s packaging to come from renewable, recycled or certified sources; goal to have recycling available in all restaurants
Today, McDonald’s announces goals to improve its packaging and help significantly reduce waste to positively impact the communities the company serves around the world.
By 2025, 100 percent of McDonald’s guest packaging will come from renewable, recycled, or certified sources with a preference for Forest Stewardship Council certification. Also by 2025, the company has set a goal to recycle guest packaging in 100 percent of McDonald’s restaurants. McDonald’s understands that recycling infrastructure, regulations and consumer behaviours vary city to city and country to country around the world, but it plans to be part of the solution and help influence powerful change.
This expands upon McDonald’s existing goal that by 2020, 100 per cent of fibre-based packaging will come from recycled or certified sources where no deforestation occurs.
“As the world’s largest restaurant company, we have a responsibility to use our scale for good to make changes that will have a meaningful impact across the globe,” said Francesca DeBiase, McDonald’s Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability Officer.
“Our customers have told us that packaging waste is the top environmental issue they would like us to address. Our ambition is to make changes our customers want and to use less packaging, sourced responsibly and designed to be taken care of after use, working at and beyond our restaurants to increase recycling and help create cleaner communities.”
To reach these goals, McDonald’s will work with leading industry experts, local governments and environmental associations, to improve packaging and recycling practices. Together they will work to drive smarter packaging designs, implement new recycling programs, establish new measurement programs and educate restaurant crew and customers.
Based on supplier commitments, McDonald’s New Zealand will reach the goal for 100 percent of components of guest packaging to come from renewable, recycled, or certified sources by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
“With regards to recycling guest packaging, we are in ongoing conversations with waste management providers and other experts looking at the infrastructure developments required,” said McDonald’s New Zealand managing director Dave Howse.
“In recent years we have carried out waste audits in our restaurants, and extensive research asking what initiatives New Zealanders would like us to prioritise. We’ll be working to trial and implement key initiatives over the next few years as we work towards the global goals.”
As Tom Murray, Vice President of EDF+Business at Environmental Defense Fund noted, “Nearly three decades ago, McDonald’s and EDF teamed up to tackle solid waste and accelerate innovation in packaging. Along the way, we pioneered a new partnership model for companies and non-profit organizations. Today, McDonald’s continues to raise the sustainability bar by setting ambitious goals and collaborating with partners across the value chain for maximum impact."
“McDonald’s global preference for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified materials demonstrates their far-reaching commitment to source packaging that benefits people and forests around the world,” said Kim Carstensen, director general of the Forest Stewardship Council.
“The partnership between McDonald’s and FSC – the world’s most trusted certification of forests and forest products – also creates a uniquely powerful opportunity for McDonald’s to engage customers about simple ways to protect forests,” he added.
Adds Sheila Bonini, Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement, World Wildlife Fund, “smarter waste management begins with improved sourcing, increased value chain collaboration and better communication with customers. Today’s announcement demonstrates McDonald’s strong leadership in developing packaging and recycling solutions at a scale that can extend the life of our natural resources and push its industry toward more sustainable practices.”
McDonald’s first began its focus on sustainable packaging nearly 25 years ago with the establishment of the groundbreaking partnership with EDF. The initiative eliminated more than 300 million pounds of packaging, recycled 1 million tons of corrugated boxes and reduced waste by 30 percent in the decade following the partnership. In 2014, the company joined WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network program and set its fibre sourcing targets, including FSC preference for packaging made from wood fibre.
Currently, 50 percent of McDonald’s customer packaging comes from renewable, recycled or certified sources and 64 percent of fibre-based packaging comes from certified or recycled sources. Also, an estimated 10 percent of McDonald’s restaurants globally are recycling customer packaging.
“We look forward to doing more and continuing to raise the bar on what it means to be a responsible company committed to people and the planet,” DeBiase said.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Patricia Greig: Mango Communications
Tel: 021 868378 / Email: patriciag@thisismango.co.nz
About McDonald’s New Zealand
New Zealand’s first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Porirua in 1976. Today there are over 165 McDonald’s restaurants across New Zealand, 85 per cent of which are owned and operated by local business men and women. The organisation employs over 9,000 people in restaurants nationwide, and is one of New Zealand’s largest employers of youth. In 2016 McDonald’s spent more than $150 million with local suppliers, while New Zealand producers exported over $247 million of food to other McDonald’s markets around the world. McDonald’s is the primary supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities New Zealand, who keep families close while their children are in hospital.
For more information visit www.mcdonalds.co.nz
Check out McDonald’s New Zealand on Facebook facebook.co.nz/mcdonaldsnz, Instagram http://www.instagram.com/mcdonaldsnz/ or Snapchat mcdonalds_nz
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with over 37,000 locations in over 100 countries. Over 90 percent of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business men and women.