Social Responsibility, Sustainability & ESG Reporting (2024)

Past Reports

2022 Performance Reporting

2022 Diversity Snapshot (PDF – 3.5 MB)

McDonald’s Global Happy Meal Goals Final Report on Progress (PDF – 1.8 MB)

2021 Performance Reporting

2021 SASB Index (PDF – 143 KB)

2021 Diversity Snapshot (PDF – 903 KB)

2020 Performance Reporting

2020 Diversity Snapshot (PDF - 342 KB)

2020 SASB Index (PDF – 162 KB)

Earlier Performance Reporting

2020 ESG Reporting Website Archive (PDF – 5 MB)

2019–2020 Progress Highlights (PDF – 869 KB)

CDP Responses

2023 CDP Climate Change (PDF – 1 MB)

2023 Forests (PDF – 790 KB)

2023 Water Security (PDF – 245 KB)

2022 CDP Climate Change (PDF – 827 KB)

2022 CDP Forests (PDF – 606 KB)

2021 CDP Climate Change (PDF – 588 KB)

2021 CDP Forests (PDF – 580 KB)

2020 CDP Climate Change (PDF – 552 KB)

2020 CDP Forests (PDF – 521 KB)

2019 CDP Climate Change (PDF – 520 KB)

2019 CDP Forests (PDF – 441 KB)

2018 CDP Climate Change (PDF – 521 KB)

2018 CDP Forests (PDF – 426 KB)

2017 CDP Climate Change (PDF – 1.3 MB)

Footnotes

¹ Broiler welfare: These commitments apply to chickens raised for sale at McDonald’s restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. Russia has been removed from the scope of this goal based on our 2022 exit from this market.

² Chicken antibiotic use: Markets covered by this goal include Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Australia, China and Europe. For the purposes of this goal, Europe includes Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, the U.K. and Ukraine. As of December 2023, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kazakhstan have been removed from the scope of this goal based on our exit from those markets.

³ McDonald’s SBTi-validated target in full:

McDonald’s Corporation commits to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50.4% by 2030 from a 2018 base year.
McDonald’s Corporation also commits to reduce absolute Scope 3 energy and industrial GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, fuel and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, waste generated in operations, end-of-life treatment of sold products, and franchises 50.4% within the same timeframe.
McDonald’s Corporation commits to reduce absolute Scope 3 FLAG GHG emissions 16% by 2030 from a 2018 base year. McDonald’s Corporation also commits to maintain no deforestation across its primary deforestation-linked commodities.

⁴ Calculated as the aggregated volumes of beef, soy sourced for chicken feed, palm oil, coffee and primary fiber-based guest packaging that are supporting deforestation-free supply chains, as a percentage of the aggregated total volumes sourced of these commodities.

⁵ Beef. Scope: Includes all beef suppliers to the McDonald’s System and their raw material suppliers globally and all McDonald’s restaurants owned and operated by the Company and its Franchisees that sell beef. McDonald’s requires all beef raw material sourced from high-deforestation priority regions to comply with McDonald’s Deforestation-Free Beef Procurement Policy and meet the requirements as outlined in McDonald’s Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems (PDF– 126 KB). Countries with regions currently identified as high priority for beef include Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Australia. Exclusions: Beef used as secondary ingredients in McDonald’s products, for example, as flavoring in a sauce.

⁶ Soy (for chicken feed). Scope: Includes all soybean volume used in the feed of chicken sourced for McDonald’s products by all chicken suppliers to the McDonald’s System and all McDonald’s restaurants owned and operated by the Company and its Franchisees that sell chicken. Europe refers to Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and Ukraine. Countries with regions currently identified as high-deforestation priority regions for soy include Argentina (Chaco biome), Brazil (Amazon and Cerrado biomes) and Paraguay (Chaco biome). Given the complexity of soy supply chains, we consider that, unless demonstrated, all of McDonald’s sources of soy for chicken feed fall into high-deforestation priority regions, with the exception of chicken sourced in North America, where soy used in chicken feed is locally produced and considered low risk. Exclusions: Soy used as an ingredient in McDonald’s products sold in restaurants, for example, soy oil.

⁷ Palm oil. Scope: Includes all palm oil (including crude palm oil, palm kernel oil, derivatives and fractions) sourced for McDonald’s restaurants for use as restaurant cooking oil and all palm oil sourced by McDonald’s suppliers and used directly as an ingredient in a McDonald’s product and listed on the product’s ingredient statement. Includes all suppliers of products containing palm oil in the McDonald’s System and all McDonald’s restaurants owned and operated by the Company and its Franchisees that use palm oil. All countries are currently identified as high-deforestation priority regions for palm oil and all volumes are required to be covered by Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification or credits. All RSPO supply chain models applicable to RSPO are applicable to McDonald’s ‒ RSPO Identity Preserved (IP), RSPO Segregated (SG), RSPO Mass Balance (MB) and Book and Claim (BC) ‒ although McDonald’s is committed to increasing traceability by specifying physical certification for the palm oil used in the McDonald’s System in the greatest volumes (IP, SG or MB). Exclusions: Palm oil, palm kernel oil or their derivative used as secondary ingredients in McDonald’s products. This is when palm oil is used as an ingredient within an ingredient, for example, an emulsifier.

⁸ Coffee. Scope: Includes all ground and whole bean coffee, including decaffeinated coffee, used in espresso-based drinks and coffee brewed at McDonald’s restaurants, and all ground and whole bean coffee in McDonald’s-branded retail products. Includes all suppliers of coffee to the McDonald’s System. Market scope includes all McDonald’s restaurants owned and operated by the Company and its Franchisees that sell coffee, and retail outlets selling McDonald’s-branded coffee products. Countries with regions currently identified as high-deforestation priority regions for coffee include Honduras, Indonesia and Vietnam. McDonald’s requires all coffee sourced from these regions to be Rainforest Alliance Certified. Exclusions: Coffee extracts and ingredients used in products such as frappés and coffee in baked goods; coffee in cold brew drinks if they are brewed off-site; coffee extract in ready-to-drink retail products; and other locally sourced products containing coffee.

⁹ Fiber. Scope: Primary fiber-based packaging refers to products that are used to package guest food on premises at McDonald’s restaurants. This type of packaging includes containers, cups, wraps, bags for food, beverages, napkins, folding cartons, clamshells, food service bags, napkins, salad bowls, Happy Meal cartons, drink carriers and cup carriers. Includes all suppliers of primary-based packaging to the McDonald’s System and all McDonald’s restaurants owned and operated by the Company and its Franchisees. In 2021, the primary fiber-based packaging scope was expanded to include plastic alternatives such as wood stirrers and cutlery, and paper straws and lids. This broadened scope has resulted in a slight decrease in percent compliance. All volumes of contingency items sourced from suppliers compliant with our standards but not integrated into our data reporting system were counted as non-compliant. Countries with regions currently identified as high-deforestation priority regions for fiber include Argentina, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Russia and Vietnam. McDonald’s requires all wood fiber sourced from these regions to be Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified or FSC® controlled wood sources with full chain of custody certification. Exclusions: Primary fiber-based packaging in food packaged off-site McDonald’s restaurants; tray liners, straws and limited locally sourced items.

¹⁰ Representation of Women – Corporate Staff: Global; Senior Director and Above, and All Corporate Staff

Data includes aggregate numbers from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, the U.K. and the U.S. Corporate employees who support our Developmental Licensees are also included. Data was obtained through various means, including informal identification and voluntary self-disclosure.

¹¹ In the U.S., the term “Underrepresented Groups” generally means people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific Islander, or otherwise as people of color, people of Hispanic or Latino/a/x descent, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people from religious minorities, or people having a combination of these identities or attributes. For purposes of McDonald’s reporting, including with respect to Human Capital Metrics and Equal Pay, “Underrepresented Groups” is defined as people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific Islander, people of Hispanic or Latino/a/x descent, or people having a combination of these identities or attributes.

¹² Data includes U.S. paid employees only. This data reflects U.S. employees who voluntarily disclosed race/ethnicity information. This data was obtained from two different collection processes which was then reconciled and integrated. Due to rounding, some totals may not correspond with the sum of the separate figures.

¹³ Underrepresented Groups Pay Gap Analysis Results (U.S.): The analysis is conducted on U.S. employees who voluntarily disclosed race/ethnicity information.

The following countries are included in the analysis: the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Portugal. In addition to these countries, descriptive analysis without statistical modeling has been conducted over the employees in the following countries: Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE (Dubai) and Ireland. These countries have been excluded from the statistical modeling due to insufficient headcount. High-level U.S. roles (VP+) are excluded from the U.S. dataset both for U.S. and Global results.

¹⁴ % Spend Through U.S. System With Diverse-owned Suppliers: U.S. systemwide spend is inclusive of spending by McDonald’s and its U.S. Franchisees. “Other” includes the following categories: Veteran-owned, Native American-owned, Disabled-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, and other unidentified categories, including unidentified Minority (MBE)-owned.

This figure includes supplier spending by all restaurants, whether owned and operated by McDonald’s or by Franchisees. Further, this figure is inclusive of U.S. Company-owned and operated restaurant spend, Supply Chain, Restaurant Development, Marketing, Legal, Global Technology, Workplace Solutions, Global Impact, Finance, Global People and other corporate functions. This figure also includes purchases made by Franchisees for advertising, restaurant development, technology, food, distribution, packaging, equipment and uniforms. This scope excludes non-controllables (Taxes, Utilities, Rent, Aircraft Fuel, Airport Fees, Facility Leases, Donations, Bank Fees and Subscriptions).

Our diverse-owned diversity spend figures in the U.S. include both self-certified and formal industry-recognized certification and Tier 1 and Tier 2 spend. Tier 1 suppliers are those from whom McDonald’s buys directly. Tier 2 suppliers are those with whom our suppliers do business.

Additionally, the gender diversity figure excludes women from Underrepresented Groups, who are reflected in the racial/ethnic demographic data.

Diverse-owned suppliers refers to businesses that are 51% owned, managed and controlled by women and/or Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indigenous, Veteran, LGBTQ+ and disabled persons or people having a combination of these identities or attributes.

Due to rounding, some totals may not correspond with the sum of the separate figures.

¹⁵ Marketing Investment Spend (National Diverse-Owned Media, Production Companies and Content Creators):

Paid Media investment represents contracted dollars with suppliers.

The classification of media, production companies and content creators as diverse-owned suppliers is determined by both self-certification and third-party certification.

Due to rounding, some totals may not correspond with the sum of the separate figures.

¹⁶ Packaging. Scope: Inclusive of all markets for our fiber-based packaging and Happy Meal book and toy packaging. For our plastic-based packaging, all markets are included except for Israel, Latin America and Turkey. Renewable sources refers to material that is composed of biomass from a living source and that can be continually replenished. Renewable applies to plastics only, not fiber. Source: ISO 14021:2016 for plastic, ASTM 6866 or ISO 16620-2. Fiber-based packaging made from 100% recycled sources must be third-party verified, unless certified under a Chain of Custody Forest Management standard. McDonald’s requires all wood fiber sourced from Argentina, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Russia and Vietnam to be Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified or FSC® controlled wood sources with full chain of custody certification. Perfluorinated compounds are known to be historically persistent in the environment. McDonald’s commits to not intentionally adding fluorinated compounds through our processes, but fluorinated compounds present in the local environment make it difficult to remove all traces of fluorine from packaging. Please refer to our page for additional definitions. Exclusions: Primary fiber-based packaging in food packaged off-site of McDonald’s restaurants, tray liners and limited locally sourced items.

¹⁷ Non-structural components of packaging vary based on the packaging but may include adhesives, inks, overprint varnishes, retention agents or binders, processing aids, impact modifiers, minerals used non-structurally and nucleating and clarifying agents. We continue to monitor industry standards on these components and opportunities to work toward making any part of our packaging, including non-structural components, more sustainable.

¹⁸ Fluorinated Compounds. Scope: Inclusive of all markets except for Israel, Latin America and Turkey, and Happy Meal book and toy packaging. Renewable sources refers to material that is composed of biomass from a living source and that can be continually replenished. Renewable applies to plastics only, not fiber. Source: ISO 14021:2016 for plastic, ASTM 6866 or ISO 16620-2. Fiber-based packaging made from 100% recycled sources must be third-party verified, unless certified under a Chain of Custody Forest Management standard. McDonald’s requires all wood fiber sourced from Argentina, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Russia and Vietnam to be Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified or FSC® controlled wood sources with full chain of custody certification. Perfluorinated compounds are known to be historically persistent in the environment. McDonald’s commits to not intentionally adding fluorinated compounds through our processes, but fluorinated compounds present in the local environment make it difficult to remove all traces of fluorine from packaging. Please refer to our page for additional definitions. Exclusions: Primary fiber-based packaging in food packaged off-site of McDonald’s restaurants, tray liners and limited locally sourced items.

¹⁹ Markets with advanced infrastructure: Mature waste and recycling infrastructure at a national level that has (1) recycling infrastructure network across the entire market, (2) multiple materials being recycled within this national infrastructure network, (3) existing legislation on recycling and (4) high customer awareness of waste and recycling. At the end of 2023, that included 21 markets where McDonald’s operates.

²⁰ Toys. Scope: Inclusive of all toys. Fiber-based toys or fiber components in the toys: 100% certified fiber required. All other materials: McDonald’s ambition is to reduce the use of virgin fossil fuel-based plastics, offer more sustainable toys by the end of 2025 and not manufacture electronics and batteries in Happy Meal toys globally. For bio- and plant-based plastics to be considered sustainable for McDonald’s, a minimum of 60% of plastic weight is required to come from recycled or renewable content or a combination of recycled and renewable content, though in many practical applications we anticipate that percentage will be much higher. The remaining 40% may be conventional fossil fuel-based material. These thresholds were developed in conjunction with input from NGOs, external manufacturing partners and scientists, and based on an assessment of sustainable toy and packaging industry leaders so that our targets reflected current sustainable engineering capabilities to maintain safety and functionality. Our efforts will result in an approximate 90% reduction in virgin fossil fuel-based plastic use against a 2018 baseline. Fiber-based packaging made from 100% recycled sources must be third-party verified, unless certified under a Chain of Custody Forest Management standard. Source: ISO 14021:2016. McDonald’s requires all wood fiber sourced from Argentina, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Russia and Vietnam to be Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified or FSC® controlled wood sources with full chain of custody certification. The thresholds described above do not include the presence of adhesives, glues, inks, paints and coatings.

²¹ This figure is based on actual and, in some cases, extrapolated hiring data for the following participating markets: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Mexico, NE India, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. McDonald’s collects data from McOpCo and participating Franchisees, but extrapolates where it does not have access to the underlying data globally. Additional markets that provide training data include Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, NE India, the Netherlands, Panama, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.