FDBusiness.com

Irish and international food group Dawn Meats has been awarded the McDonald’s Global “Scale for Good” Award. This Global award is a first for McDonald’s and is the second occasion where Dawn Meats sustainability credentials have been recognised by the McDonald’s Global Leadership Team.

The award recognises the key leadership role that Dawn Meats has played over many years in programs which advance the cause of ethical, environmental and economic sustainability in European beef production. The award was presented to Dawn Meats CEO, Niall Browne, Group Commercial Director, Richard Clinton & Food Safety and Quality Director, Brian Hyland by McDonald’s Corporate Executive Vice President Francesca DeBiase and Vice President Keith Kenny with the senior leadership team of the Global Supply Chain and Sustainability team in attendance.

Scale for Good is McDonald’s strategy to leverage its global reach with millions of customers, employees, franchisees, suppliers and other partners to take collaborative action on some of the most pressing social and environmental challenges in the world today.

McDonald’s is the first restaurant company in the world to address global climate change by setting a Science Based Target to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To reach this target, McDonald’s will partner with franchisees and suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to McDonald’s restaurants and offices by 36 percent by 2030 from a 2015 base year. Additionally, McDonald’s commits to a 31 percent reduction in emissions intensity (per metric ton of food and packaging) across its supply chain by 2030 from 2015 levels. This combined target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Niall Browne, CEO of Dawn Meats, said: “We are delighted and honoured to accept this award on behalf of all the team at Dawn Meats. As a business we have recognised for some time that doing the right thing and using our scale for good will build a more robust business for the future, for the benefit of our employees, customers and farmers. Our CSR strategy is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and in McDonald’s we have a true partner who is equally committed to furthering the achievement of these Goals. We look forward to continuing our progress in the coming years.”

Keith Kenny, Vice President Sustainability at McDonald’s, commented: “Improving the sustainability of how beef is produced for McDonald’s is a key part of our Scale for Good strategy. Dawn Meats champion sustainable beef production, both through their actions and ambitions within their own supply chain and in their industry leadership, working with external bodies to define and develop sustainable farming techniques.”