McDonald’s Corporation has announced its commitment to achieve net zero emissions across its global operations by 2050.
As part of this initiative, it is joining the United Nations Race to Zero campaign and signing on to the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign.
McDonald’s will increase the emissions reduction levels in its existing 2030 science-based target across all scopes of emissions in line with developing SBTi best practices and will set a long-term reduction target to reach net zero emissions. Efforts underway since 2018 have already resulted in an 8.5% reduction in the absolute emissions of restaurant and offices and a 5.9% decrease in supply chain emissions intensity against a 2015 baseline.
Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We believe we have both a privilege and a responsibility to help lead on issues that matter most in communities – and there is no issue more urgent globally and of impact locally than protecting our planet for generations to come.
“By committing to net zero through the SBTi’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign, we are helping every community we serve mitigate the impacts of climate change and adapt for the future.”
McDonald’s is working with market business teams, franchisees, suppliers and other partners to convert ambition to action to impact by:
- Increasing the substantial emissions reductions already in progress across restaurants, offices and supply chain in service of McDonald’s existing SBTi targets, plus evolving targets and aligning to the latest climate science across all scopes of emissions
- Enabling McDonald’s teams across the world to innovate and implement locally tailored solutions to help advance industry-leading innovations in renewable energy, regenerative farming, circular economy and sustainable packaging. McDonald’s UK & Ireland is announcing its comprehensive business and sustainable strategy.
- Contributing insights from McDonald’s supply chain and sustainability journey thus far to the SBTi’s important ongoing work to develop 1.5°C emissions reduction pathways for forestry, land and agriculture, and to define a science-based framework for net zero emissions. Once final, these frameworks will guide the future evolution of our existing targets.
