McDonalds Recognized for Social & Environmental Efforts by Ceres

Ceres, the national network working to advance corporate environmental stewardship, has added McDonalds Corp. to its list of approved businesses. The Golden Arches, which have caused a stir on these pages before (several stirs, actually), was cited by the Ceres board of directors for making progress on sustainability reporting and for their ongoing commitment to enhancing its social and environmental performance. "From energy efficiency, to food resource sustainability, to 'greening' its supply chain, McDonald's has made great strides improving its social and environmental performance," said Ceres President Mindy S. Lubber. "More importantly, the company wants to do even more."

Among McDonalds' efforts are responsible purchasing programs designed to protect fishing stocks, animal welfare and forest resources; balanced lifestyle and nutrition initiatives that focus on more menu choices, additional food and nutrition information, and the promotion of physical activity; and a far-reaching Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure safe and healthy work environments and fair compensation and work schedules for employees.

Many of the company's programs are the result of stakeholder collaboration with animal welfare experts, environmental groups, paper suppliers, shareholders and dozens of others, according to a Ceres press release.

Companies that join Ceres must commit to engage with shareholders and other stakeholders on sustainability issues, to report publicly on sustainability performance and to make additional sustainability improvements. McDonald's is among 65 companies - including nearly a dozen Fortune 500 companies - to be accepted into the Ceres network. ::Ceres via ::GreenBiz