McDonald’s 2018 goals are turning out to be eco-friendly, not just wallet friendly. On Tuesday, the fast food chain told Reuters it plans to switch to environmentally friendly packaging materials and start offering recycling at all locations. The goal is to feature 100 percent of its packaging from recycled, renewable or certifiable sources by 2025. McDonald’s will lean toward products with Forest Stewardship Council certification as well.
“We have a responsibility to use our scale for good to make changes that will have a meaningful impact across the globe,” Francesca DeBiase, McDonald’s chief supply chain and sustainability officer, said to Reuters.
McDonald’s has about half of its product line to replace. About 50 percent of the chain’s packaging comes from approved sources, and 64 percent of fiber-based packaging hails from certified or recycled sources. There’s more work to be done on the recycling side, as McDonald’s currently only offers the service in about 10 percent of stores.
Last week, McDonald’s laid out sustainability goals that included a plan to drop all foam packaging, globally, by 2019. Noticeably, this change will include ditching foam beverage cups and trays. McDonald’s foam materials make up about 2 percent of its packaging, the company said.
The chain addressed this issue in May 2016 with a report titled “McDonald’s Journey Towards Sustainable Fiber-Based Packaging.”
In 2015, the company more than doubled its percentage of certified or recycled content for consumer fiber-based packaging to 53 percent from 23 percent the prior year.
