McDonald’s, at the table with the environment in mind

Dario Baroni, CEO of McDonald’s, what does sustainability mean to you?
“It is a central asset that places us at the center of the territories in which our 670 Italian restaurants operate. We develop it along three main lines: the Italian character of the raw materials, support for local communities and attention to the environment, which translates into a decrease in our impact, recycling and consumer education. Today our suppliers are 85% Italian, we purchase 140 thousand tons of products from all over Italy every year, for an investment of around 370 million euros. Among these there are also 18 DOP ingredients and PGI, and of which 4,600 tons have been purchased in 15 years. In this way we have a more direct relationship with suppliers and with the territory and, consequently, we reduce the environmental impact. Even in our restaurants we have set ourselves clear objectives such as elimination of single-use plastic from our packaging, in favor of sustainable materials; on the other hand, we have also equipped the halls and terraces of our restaurants with new containers to implement separate waste collection and we train employees and consumers”.

What is the result you are most proud of and the front that absolutely needs to be improved?
“About 90% of our packaging is made of paper, 100% certified and recyclable. A great result that motivates us to continue along this path: the straws of the drinks, the cutlery, the McFlurry container and the salad container have added also balloon wands and new lids for cold drinks.An annual saving of over 1200 tons of plastic.Furthermore, proper waste management in our restaurants is essential for us, as they are already equipped to achieve 100% packaging recycling “, and represent an ideal place to involve consumers in improving the quantity and quality of separate waste collection. From this point of view, our restaurants, already equipped to achieve 100% packaging recycling, represent an ideal place to involve consumers”.

Do consumers perceive you as a sustainable brand?
“Our commitment is renewed every day, in every small step, from those we take in restaurants to those we share with the whole community, which actively participates in our journey through the initiatives that come to life in the area. Like “Days together to you for the environment”, dedicated to the collection of abandoned waste and the stages of the Sustainability Roadshow, important opportunities to talk about the goals achieved, the new challenges and collaborations with partners such as SEDA International Packaging Group, Comieco, Assoambiente, Utilitalia and the municipal companies that manage waste. We then give concrete support to the communities in which we operate, with particular attention to the most fragile. This is precisely the purpose of “Always open to donate”, the project in collaboration with Banco Alimentare and the Community Sant’Egidio which this year made it possible to donate over 217,000 meals, in 236 municipalities.Finally, for us, sustainability is declined “from the field to the tray”, with support for the Italian agri-food chain and the amplification of the story of the products Geographical Indication, together with the Qualivita Foundation. We will continue to work to reduce the gap between reality and perception more and more, through concrete and measurable actions”.