Doing What is Right
for the Environment
Managing our Environmental Impact
McDonald’s® has a broad commitment to environmental
stewardship, reaching from the front
counters of our restaurants back into our supply
chain. Our work toward an environmentally
responsible system is motivated by our
commitment to our customers, leadership
on sustainability issues and desire to do the
right thing.
Managing our Packaging Impacts
Packaging is a fundamental part of serving our
customers. Our U.S. menu involves 330 unique
consumer package designs, with 83 percent
of the packaging made of paper or some other
wood-fiber material. McDonald’s has an opportunity
to provide leadership in conserving natural
resources by minimizing the environmental
impacts of our packaging.
• We try to use environmentally sustainable
packaging materials and eliminate unnecessary
packaging.
• We redesigned our North American fry boxes
in 2005, reducing packaging weight by more
than 1,100 tons per year.
• We are working with our primary packaging
suppliers to phase out perfluorooctanoic
acid-related (PFOA) coatings on our food
packaging. Although the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has stated that it is
not aware of any adverse effects of PFOA
on human health, we have found
better alternatives.
• We are working toward a global forestry policy
to promote efficient use of wood and woodbased
products from forests that have achieved
certification for sustainable management.
• Through our primary packaging supplier, we
participate in collaborative efforts to promote
packaging consistent with the long-term health
of the environment, including The Paper Working
Group and Sustainable Packaging Coalition.
Strategies for Sound Restaurant Operations
McDonald’s has a number of strategies to
ensure environmentally sound operations at our
restaurants, including reuse and recycling,
managing electrical energy and effective
water management.
• Since 1990, we have implemented programs to
purchase goods made from recycled materials.
• McDonald’s has begun a bulk cooking oil
delivery system using reusable containers,
which eliminates more than 1,500 pounds
of packaging waste per restaurant per year.
• We keep restaurant owner/operators and
managers informed about better ways of
managing electrical energy.
• We build and remodel McDonald’s restaurants
with energy efficiency in mind. A new U.S.
prototype restaurant is designed to reduce air
conditioning needs, with awnings over dining
room windows and additional landscaping to
help shield the direct sun.
• Energy efficiency also is a consideration when
evaluating equipment for our restaurants.
• Our restaurants use an average of about
1,650 gallons of water per day, mostly for
personal sanitation, cleaning and, in some
cases, landscape maintenance. McDonald’s
Global Water Team has established global
standards for restaurant water quality and
is working on other priorities, including
conservation.