McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) is taking major steps to ensure that its suppliers meet strict ethical and environmental standards and to raise the bar of sustainability across the entire food industry, says Jessica Droste Yagan, senior manager, sustainable supply chain.
McDonald’s formed a companywide steering committee in 2007 to carry out what Droste Yagan refers to as a holistic supplier sustainability policy. The Sustainable Supply Steering Committee, or SSSC, is responsible for improving ethical, environmental and economic outcomes across the company’s supply chain. From ensuring employee health and safety to minimizing life-cycle impacts on the environment to delivering affordable food to engaging in equitable trade practices, McDonald’s says, it views these responsibilities collectively when making purchasing decisions and evaluating supplier performance.
A case in point when it comes to land management, Droste Yagan says, is a collaboration McDonald’s formed with Greenpeace to stop illegal deforestation by Brazilian soybean farmers whose crops were in part used to feed chickens the company purchased in Europe. After learning about the problem, she says, McDonald’s helped assemble meetings of soy traders and retailers, NGOs and government officials. Together they established a moratorium that remains in place today.
Concerning marine conservation, McDonald’s Sustainable Fisheries program sets standards that guide all purchases worldwide for wild-caught fish. In 2008, the company reported that more than 98 percent of its fish originated from fisheries with zero unsatisfactory ratings.
McDonald’s concern for animal welfare led the company to develop a scoring system with Dr. Temple Grandin, professor in the department of animal sciences at Colorado State University, according to Droste Yagan. She says McDonald’s has carried out 3,500 audits of its suppliers’ beef, poultry and pork plants to certify the animals are being treated humanely. For example, the company requires that cages for laying hens in the U.S. be large enough to allow for simultaneous feeding of all birds.
Droste Yagan credits these and other efforts with helping to improve McDonald’s brand reputation, which, she points out, rose two places last year, to No. 6, in the annual BusinessWeek/Interbrand “Best Global Brands” rankings. “Having trust in McDonald’s doing the right thing is something that’s critical for consumer,” she says.