A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

McDonald’s is playing its part to ensure the planet and the livelihoods of its providers are protected, as it finds new ways to provides the highest-quality, environmentally sustainable food to its customers.

These days, our consumer choices have become more than a fleeting afterthought. When purchasing, we don’t just consider the product, but the story of where it came from and the impact it has on the planet. Businesses, too, are taking a long hard look at the environmental impact they are making, and forging forward with sustainably led solutions. McDonald’s is one such company. The global brand is re-examining ways in which food production can not only protect the environment, but contribute to a thriving global food system. In 2018, McDonald’s became the first restaurant company in the world to set a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to their restaurants.

One of the biggest areas of focus in McDonald’s sustainability efforts is beef and agriculture.

According to McDonald’s, beef is one of the top three biggest contributors to the overall carbon footprint in their supply chain. Acknowledging the significance of this impact and driven to find opportunities to champion sustainable solutions, McDonald’s has spent over a decade working with academics, experts, suppliers, NGOs and the primary sector to address the burning question: Is it possible to produce beef sustainably?

They began by looking at the issue holistically, considering farmer livelihoods, community welfare and animal wellbeing, alongside environmental factors like protecting water resources, conserving forests and reducing food and packaging waste.

In 2020, the McDonald’s New Zealand supply chain was used as a test case for a sustainable beef trial. Six farms across the country took part in the year-long project, which evaluated key criteria including water quality, water use, animal welfare and farm environmental management. Transparency was a crucial component of the project, and the sustainable benchmarks were assessed by an independent audit. By the end, they successfully demonstrated that it is possible to produce a beef patty sustainably across the New Zealand supply chain. Not only a successful test case, this model for sustainable beef production showed that it could be scaled up, with the ability to trace 10,000 cattle as verified sustainable beef.

For now, McDonald’s continues to lead in areas where they can have the most impact, particularly around sustainable agriculture and beef. As a founding member of the New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, they work with different sectors including farmers, beef processors and NGOs to drive sustainable beef production. Recently, Whangara Farms in Gisborne became the first farm outside of Europe to join McDonald’s Flagship Farmers programme, an initiative that recognises producers who are leading the industry with groundbreaking sustainability practices.

Initiatives such as McDonald’s sustainable beef represent an exciting opportunity for the future of the food industry, one where consumers can not only enjoy the fresh flavours of locally sourced ingredients, but feel confident- that the food they eat isn’t harming the planet.

Visit the McDonald’s New Zealand website for more information on where other locally sourced ingredients come from. mcdonalds.co.nz/whats-in-it