Responsible Sourcing
We aim to use our scale and influence to help positively impact our planet, in addition to animals and the people connected to our supply chain, especially when sourcing our priority commodities, which is where we believe we can have the greatest impact: beef, soy for chicken feed, fiber, palm oil, fish and coffee.
Our Recent Progress
- 98.8% of beef sourced for McDonald’s restaurants supported deforestation-free supply chains by the end of 2023.
- 93.8% of the fish sourced for McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish® sandwich was from more sustainably managed wild-caught fisheries, which is assessed and verified annually against the McDonald’s Sustainability Fisheries Standard by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
- 100% of the palm oil used in McDonald’s restaurants and as an ingredient in McDonald’s products supported the production of more sustainable palm oil in 2023.
- 100% of soy sourced in 2023 for the feed of chicken used in McDonald’s products supported deforestation-free supply chains globally.
- 99.9% of our ground and whole bean coffee was sustainably sourced in 2023.
- 97.9% of our primary fiber-based guest packaging was sourced from recycled or certified sources in 2023.
Our Strategy
Our global supply chain presents a range of opportunities and risks related to topics such as land, water, animals and people. In the spirit of one of the Company’s core values Integrity. We do the right thing, we support the Company’s long-term goal to continue providing quality food to customers.
We take a two-pronged approach to responsible sourcing. On one side, we consider and manage risks that could impact supply chain resiliency and our ability to maintain a reliable supply to our restaurants and offices. On the other side, we seek to enhance the potential positive impacts of the Company’s supply chain – on topics such as the livelihoods of those who produce our food and the well-being of the planet and animals we rely on – by progressing against our wider impact strategy.
Advancing Regenerative Agriculture Principles
We believe regenerative agriculture has the potential to drive action against a series of risks and opportunities to the Company, as well as the potential to deliver benefits for a wide range of stakeholders. That is why we are making the adoption of regenerative agriculture principles within certain categories of the Company’s supply chain a long-term, global priority for McDonald’s and a key step in our responsible sourcing efforts.
We also believe regenerative agriculture on farms and ranches can help address various environmental and social issues, including:
- Building a thriving food system that is increasingly resilient to climate change and other variables that impact a safe, assured food supply.
- Enhancing wildlife habitats and increasing biodiversity.
- Helping tackle climate change by building healthier, more productive soil that better sequesters carbon and is more drought and flood resilient.
- Decreasing use and long-term need for chemical inputs.
- Improving water aeration and retention, and fostering cleaner, safer runoff.
- Supporting farmer livelihoods, enhancing farmer prosperity and making processes more resilient in the long run.
Informed by our Regenerative Agriculture Framework, we are working with some of our suppliers, farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders to introduce or scale regenerative principles.
In working to understand and share our producers’ achievements, our Flagship Farmers Program helps amplify the voices of farmers who are leading the industry with pioneering sustainability practices. The program is a resource for producers worldwide to explore innovative solutions for soil health, more sustainable grazing techniques, biodiversity, ecosystem protection, emissions reductions and animal welfare.