McDonald's Plans To Cut 150 Mln Metric Tons Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 2030

(RTTNews) - Burger giant McDonald's (MCD) announced Tuesday initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to its restaurants and offices, becoming the first restaurant company to set approved science based target to reduce such emissions.

The company said it will partner with franchisees and suppliers to reduce emissions related to its restaurants and offices by 36% by 2030 from a 2015 base year in a new strategy to address global climate change.

In addition, the company plans a 31% reduction in emissions intensity, per metric ton of food and packaging, across its supply chain by 2030 from 2015 levels. This combined target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative or SBTi.

To reach its target, McDonald's will work across its supply chain, offices and restaurants to be more innovative and efficient through improvements. This includes LED lighting, energy efficient kitchen equipment, sustainable packaging, restaurant recycling, and by elevating and supporting sustainable agriculture practices.

McDonald's will prioritize action on the largest segments of its carbon footprint: beef production, restaurant energy usage and sourcing, packaging and waste. These segments combined, account for approximately 64% of McDonald's global emissions.

Through these actions, McDonald's expects to prevent 150 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere by 2030. According to the company, the reduction equals to taking 32 million passenger cars off the road for an entire year or planting 3.8 billion trees and growing them for 10 years.

The SBTi is a collaboration between WRI, WWF, CDP and the United Nations Global Compact, which helps companies determine how much they must cut emissions to do their part to address climate change.