Major fast-food restaurant chain McDonalds has set itself a goal of procuring 100 per cent of its fibre-based packaging from certified or recycled sources by 2020.
This compares to 13.9 per cent now.
On releasing its first Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability Framework, McDonalds also plans to increase in-restaurant recycling to 50 per cent and minimise waste in nine of its top markets while also increasing energy efficiency in its company-owned restaurants by 20 per cent in seven of its top markets.
McDonalds global corporate social responsibility, sustainability and philanthropy senior vice president J.C. Gonzalez-Mendez said: “In our new framework, we are focusing on the areas that are core to our business and that can make a real difference…We will continue to work with multiple stakeholders to develop practical solutions to increase recycling in our restaurants and across the industry.”
In its new 2012-13 CSR & Sustainability Report, McDonalds revealed that of the more than 34,000 restaurants surveyed worldwide, about 90 per cent reported recycling cooking oil and about 77 per cent recycled corrugated cardboard.
The company has also reduced the average amount of packaging it gives to the consumer per transaction from 58.1 grams in 2011 to 57.5 in 2013 through product optimisation and weight reduction.
