McDonald’s Commits to Buying Verified Sustainable Beef in 2016

McDonald’s has announced its commitment to begin purchasing verified sustainable beef in 2016. The company has joined with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Cargill, JBS and others to establish the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB). To achieve its sustainability goals in the sourcing of beef, McDonald’s will support development of GRSB principles and criteria, develop targets for buying verified sustainable beef, and start purchasing verified sustainable beef in 2016.

In 2013, about 70 percent of McDonald’s greenhouse gas emission impact was in the supply chain, out of which about 40 percent was related to beef. The company will employ a verifiable productions system to make sure its beef comes from farmers and processors who are focused on creating nutrition and economic value. The goal of the system will be to optimize cattle’s impact within ecosystems and nutrition cycles, and care for the cattle’s welfare through their lifetime. It will also see that farmers and processors make a positive impact on the communities where they operate.

Over the years, McDonald’s has worked closely with its suppliers to ensure more responsible purchasing. It buys whitefish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, coffee certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and packaging certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The company’s collaboration with WWF, Cargill, JBS and others is helping it to address the challenges of determining what exactly can be defined as sustainable beef, and what guiding principles and best practices for sustainable beef must be established.

The company, along with its collaborators, will identify and test sustainable beef production practices. It is committed to providing leadership on this front with transparency and close engagement with various partners in the supply chain. The larger goal of the company in this endeavor is to work with all the participants in the business for a positive change in the industry with regard to sustainability.

Source: Food Product Design

Image Credit: Flickr via marko8904