McDonald's promotes sustainability in China
McDonald’s has further promoted itself as a leader in environmental practices by announcing it plans to open 1800 new ‘green restaurants’ in China by 2022.
The company stated that China is its third-largest market in the world, with an average of at least one restaurant added every day. More than 95% of the 1800 new restaurants will be designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and interior design and construction (ID+C) certification standard issued by the US Green Building Council.
According to data and analytics company GlobalData’s 2016 Q3 consumer survey, environmental concerns are at the forefront of consumers’ minds, with 75% of global consumers believing that ‘living an ethical and sustainable lifestyle’ is important or very important to their wellbeing.
Morgane Richert, Senior Foodservice Analyst at GlobalData, said: “The company’s response to customers’ concerns over environmental issues will go a long way in building trust in the brand, by demonstrating that the chain’s green initiatives will be implemented holistically and across global operations.”
It has also been actively working to reduce the impact of its packaging. Earlier this year, it announced it intends to get 100% of its packaging from renewable, recycled or certified sources by 2025, and in July, McDonald’s and Starbucks indicated that they would team up with Closed Loop Partners to develop a cup that could be mass produced from recyclable and/or compostable materials.
“This shows that, in matters of environmental protection and sustainability, even the fiercest industry rivals are ready and willing to join forces and resources for the common good — a move that will benefit the entire industry, while also boosting both brands’ image and reputation among consumers," Richert said.
The global food giant is encouraging its competition to follow suit in becoming more sustainable.
Zhang Wei, Chairman of the Board of Directors of McDonald’s China, said: “The success of McDonald’s is attributed to its scale. Our small step is a big step in the world. If McDonald’s makes a good change, even a small change can be the world. It has a major impact. We believe that while McDonald’s is accelerating its development in China, it needs to shoulder more social responsibilities. Sustainable development should not be the competitive advantage of individual companies — only the whole industry can work together to promote real change.”
Originally published here.
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