McDonald's Partnership Marks 10th Anniversary

Posted: 01-Apr-2000; Updated: 05-Oct-2004

The unprecedented alliance of McDonald's and Environmental Defense has produced a decade of progress on waste reduction and recycling. Since we agreed to work together in 1990, McDonald's replaced foam-plastic sandwich containers with paper wraps and recycled boxes, and made dozens of other packaging improvements in its restaurants and throughout its supply chain.

At a 10th anniversary celebration, McDonald's CEO Jack Greenberg and Environmental Defense executive director Fred Krupp called for further environmental progress. McDonald's pledged to set ambitious new targets to reduce waste, and it plans to reduce energy use in its restaurants by at least 10% from 1999 levels.

"McDonald's is proving that a company can do well by doing good," Krupp said. "Our alliance added a new dimension to the relationship between corporate America and environmental organizations, showing that combining diverse talents in a spirit of cooperation can yield sustained environmental results."

Our work with McDonald's has been made possible only by contributions from our members and friends, since we accept no payments from McDonald's or any other corporate partners.

Building on the success of our partnership with the fast food giant, Environmental Defense joined The Pew Charitable Trusts in forming the Alliance for Environmental Innovation. The goal was simple: to assist companies in developing business-based solutions to environmental problems.

"The McDonald's partnership opened a lot of doors," said Jackie Prince Roberts, Director of the Alliance for Environmental Innovation. "McDonald's challenged its direct competitors and other industries to become environmental leaders, and many companies responded."

The Alliance is now engaging leading retailers in efforts to reduce waste in the catalog industry, which last year pumped out over 17 billion catalogs. In a recent success, the Alliance studied the overnight shipping industry and worked with UPS to increase use of recycled materials. FedEx quickly followed suit, switching to 100% recycled (35% post-consumer) non-bleached overnight envelopes.

"Greener purchasing as a whole is one of the most promising areas of cooperation between environmentalists and corporations," said Roberts. A specialist in environmental strategy for business, Roberts has worked at the Harvard Business School where she helped develop the school's environmental management program for a new generation of business leaders.

• Less waste: McDonald's cut back on materials by redesigning straws, napkins, cups, French-fry containers, clamshells, and other items.
• Recycling: McDonald's recycled more than one million tons of cardboard boxes, reducing restaurant waste by 30%.
• Buying recycled: McDonald's has spent more than $3 billion for products made from recycled paper, plastic, rubber, and glass, including construction blocks, booster seats, tables, trays and roof tiles.
• Saving energy: McDonald's installed energy-efficient lights in its restaurants, saving more than 510 million kilowatt hours and 4,000 tons of greenhouse gases.