FDBusiness.com

McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland has become the first food service company to achieve Bord Bia Origin Green accreditation.To achieve Origin Green membership, McDonald’s was required to outline its sustainability timelines and targets in a robust plan that was then verified to an independent standard.

Launched in June 2012, Origin Green is the first national sustainability programme of its kind and a key pillar of the Government’s strategy for the Irish food and drink industry. At the heart of Origin Green is a sustainability charter that commits participants to engage directly with the ongoing challenges of sustainability: reducing energy inputs, minimising their overall carbon footprint and lessening their impact on the environment.

McDonald’s Ireland announced the milestone during the visit to Ireland of McDonald’s SVP and Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability officer, Francesca DeBiase. Commenting on the achievement, Francesca DeBiase said: “McDonald’s ambition is to be a modern, progressive burger company and a market leader in the area of sustainability. We want to use our size and scale to make a positive impact on the environment and to protect and preserve the planet for future generations.”

Adrian Crean, Managing Director of McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland, added: “Our achievement of Origin Green status is testimony to the hard work done by the McDonald’s team, hand-in-hand with our suppliers, to reach our sustainability goals. McDonald’s Ireland is again demonstrating our role as an industry leader and we are committed to work with others in the food and drink industry to share best practices, collaborate and learn – leading to better outcomes for farmers, our customers, local communities and the environment.”

Included in McDonald’s Origin Green plan were the company’s commitments to sustainable sourcing, environmentally-friendly operations, supporting community initiatives in the localities of restaurants, and providing detailed nutritional information to their customers. The company then underwent a rigorous review process until being officially verified by the SGS Group – a world leading inspection, verification, testing and conformance body.

Bord Bia CEO, Aidan Cotter, congratulated McDonald’s on its achievement, saying: “I am delighted on behalf of Bord Bia to welcome McDonald’s as a verified member of our Origin Green programme, the first from the foodservice sector, joining over 50,000 farmers and 167 food and drink manufacturers. The commitment of McDonald’s to sustainability and its confidence in the Origin Green programme to help it frame targets and deliver independently verified results can only encourage others to join us on our journey to lower our carbon footprint for the benefit of this and future generations.”

Amongst McDonald’s Ireland sustainability commitments are to maintain the current level of sustainable sourcing of 100% Bord Bia Quality Assured beef, use of 100% Rainforest Alliance coffee, and 100% MSC-certified fish. In addition, all of the company’s 89 restaurants recycle food waste, cardboard, used cooking oil and mixed plastics.  McDonald’s is also working towards having 100% of its restaurant lobbies, toilets and crew facilities fitted with energy-saving lighting by the end of 2018 (approximately 90% LEDs and 10% CFLs).

McDonald’s Ireland progress against its Origin Green commitments will be subject to ongoing verification by external parties appointed by Bord Bia.

There are now 89 McDonald’s restaurants in operation in Ireland, with a total workforce of more than 4,800. McDonald’s was first established in Ireland in 1977.

CAPTION:

Pictured (left to right): Bord Bia CEO, Aidan Cotter; Adrian Crean, Managing Director of McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland; McDonald’s SVP and Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability officer, Francesca DeBiase.