Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production (Specifically target 12.2)

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals (Specifically target 17.16)

Goal: Fish

By the end of 2020, all of the wild-caught fish sourced for use in McDonald’s products to come from verified sustainable sources⁴.

Progress

McDonald’s is one of the largest purchasers of white fish in the world. More than 265 million sustainably sourced, wild-caught Filet-o-Fish sandwiches were served in 2020 and 98.7% of the fish sourced for McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish came from sustainably managed wild-caught fisheries, assessed and verified annually against the McDonald’s Sustainable Fisheries Standard by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. Our Filet-o-Fish sandwiches represent more than 98% of the fish we used by weight in 2020.

Goal: Beef - Accelerate Industry Progress

By the end of 2020, source a portion of our beef from suppliers participating in sustainability programs aligned with the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) principles and criteria and that meet McDonald’s requirements in our top 10 beef sourcing countries globally.⁶

Progress

We sourced beef from sustainability programs aligned with the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) principles and criteria and that meet McDonald’s requirements in 10 out of 10 of our top 10 beef sourcing countries by the end of 2020. Read about these initiatives on our Sustainable Agriculture & Beef page.

Goal: Palm Oil

By the end of 2020, all the palm oil sourced for McDonald’s restaurants and used as an ingredient in McDonald’s products will support the production of sustainable palm oil and deforestation-free supply chains.³

Progress

100% of the palm oil used in McDonald’s restaurants and as an ingredient in McDonald’s products supported the production of sustainable palm oil and deforestation-free supply chains in 2020. We estimate this is equal to over 60,000 acres of palm oil production meeting our criteria in 2020, an area larger than 485,000 McDonald’s restaurants side-by-side, which is 12 times the number of actual McDonald’s restaurants globally.

We are committed to increasing traceability for palm oil used in the McDonald’s System. Our palm oil supply has been RSPO-certified since 2017 through either physical certification or credits. In 2020, 78% of our palm oil globally was physically certified (RSPO Indentity Preserved, Segregated and Mass Balance), increasing from 71% in 2019. Additionally, 93% of products using the largest amounts of palm oil in the McDonald’s System (restaurant and parfry oils) were RSPO physically certified.

By RSPO Supply Chain Model:
 

• 78% Physical RSPO Certified
  
• 71% Mass Balance
• 7% Segregated
• 0.1% Identity Preserved
• 22% Book and Claim Credits

Learn more about our commitment on the Conserving Forests page.

Goal: Chicken (including soy for feed)

By the end of 2020, all soy sourced for the feed of chicken used in McDonald’s products will support deforestation-free supply chains⁷.

Progress

100% of soy sourced for the feed of chicken used in McDonald’s products supports deforestation-free supply chains globally. We support responsible soy production through the purchase of RTRS credits. A number of our chicken suppliers to Europe also use physical certification through Proterra standards. In 2020, in relation to the soy for the feed of chicken used in McDonald’s products in Europe, McDonald’s assessed that 17% of the volume was linked to physical certification and 83% of the volume was matched through the purchase of book and claim credits.

We estimate that the volume of sustainably farmed soy McDonald’s used in 2020 adds up to more than 359,000 acres of farms – or enough to cover the Island of Manhattan 24 times over – meeting this production standard.

Goal: Coffee

By the end of 2020, all coffee sourced for McDonald’s restaurants will be sustainably sourced².

Progress

98.1% of our ground and whole bean coffee was sustainably sourced in 2020. Our volume of sustainably sourced coffee is enough to brew close to five billion small cups of McCafé coffee.

Goal: Fiber

By the end of 2020, all primary fiber-based guest packaging sourced for McDonald’s restaurants will come from recycled or certified sources⁵.

Progress

McDonald’s is one of the top sustainable fiber users in the world. In 2020, 99.6% of our primary fiber-based guest packaging was sourced from recycled or certified sources.

Animal Health and Welfare Goals

Goal: Responsible Antibiotic Use in Chicken

Eliminate the use of antibiotics defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Highest Priority Critically Important (HPCIA) to human medicine – as defined by the WHO – from all chicken served in McDonald’s restaurants by 2027.⁸

Progress

We strive to eliminate HPCIAs in our chicken supply chains in the following nine markets by 2027. So far, we have achieved the following:
 

• Australia: All chicken suppliers eliminated the use of HPCIAs in our chicken supply chain as of July 2019.
• Brazil: HPCIAs have been eliminated in broiler chicken since 2018.
• Canada: HPCIAs have been eliminated in broiler chicken since 2018.
• China: On track to remove HPCIAs from chicken supply chains by 2027.
• Europe: All chicken suppliers eliminated the use of HPCIAs in our chicken supply chain as of July 2019.
• Japan: HPCIAs have been eliminated in broiler chicken since 2018.
• Russia: Granted extension until 2021 to onboard new chicken suppliers. 
• South Korea: Granted extension until end of 2021 to onboard new chicken suppliers. 
• U.S.: 100% of chicken served in the U.S. has been free of antibiotics important to human medicine since 2016.

Goal: Responsible Antibiotic Use in Beef

In collaboration with our suppliers, producers and farmer partners, we will reduce the overall use of medically important antibiotics – as defined by the WHO – in our beef supply chain.⁹

Progress

McDonald’s has established pilots in each of our top 10 beef sourcing countries. Within each of these 10 countries, there are pilot farms selected that represent differing geographies and rearing practices covering commercial feedlots, small producers and dairies.