A Fish Tale to Brag About

Protecting our fish supply

It could have been a problem

In 2001, McDonald’s began looking more closely at the fisheries from which our suppliers obtain their whitefish. We learned that some were experiencing severe decreases in the number of fish caught, leading us to question whether these fisheries could maintain their necessary supply for the long term.

McDonald’s purchases approximately 50,000 metric tons of whitefish per year. We have a responsibility and business interest to help protect the health and productivity of our suppliers’ fisheries.

“We began working on the Sustainable Fisheries Program because we want to be able to continue to buy whitefish many years from now,” says Gary Johnson, Senior Director, McDonald's Worldwide Supply Chain Management.

Sustainability isn’t so simple

While on the surface sustainability is a simple uninterrupted supply, it actually includes several factors – from ethical, environmental and economic responsibilities to food safety and quality. “When we look at sustainability, we take several things into account because many factors can affect a supplier’s ability to provide a product long term,” says Johnson. “We work closely with our direct suppliers to continuously improve the practices that impact their employees, their communities, the environment, their own suppliers and, of course, our customers.&rdquo

The effectiveness of collaboration

Around the world, fisheries are under increasing pressure. Causes are complex and range from pollution and destruction of marine habitats to fisheries poor management practices and overfishing.

We recognized that we needed a more systematic approach for evaluating the management practices of our approved fish sources and potential new whitefish fisheries, and encouraging those that are less well managed to follow practices that best protect them for the future. So, we worked with our fish suppliers and Conservation International (CI) – a non-profit organization that works with companies to make conservation part of their business model – to develop a set of sustainable fisheries guidelines. CI also created an evaluation tool to rate currently approved fisheries.

The result? Over the past five years, we have shifted purchases representing more than 18,000 metric tons of fish away from sources that cannot provide a supply long term.

“Our collaboration on the sustainable fisheries guidelines is a great example of how McDonald’s brings different groups together,” says John Buchanan, Conservation International. “McDonald’s is definitely one of the leaders in supply chain and in working with suppliers to encourage improvements in environmental management.”

Jim Cannon, formerly with CI and now executive director of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership – McDonald’s current partner on issues related to fish – agrees. “Working with McDonald’s and its fish suppliers, I have seen first-hand the value of partnering with purchasers of this size who can influence markets and send clear signals to governments to improve the fisheries they manage.”

Evaluation in action

McDonald's Japan and McDonald's Thailand advised their suppliers in 2007 to stop purchasing Russian Alaskan Pollack (RAP) for the production of Filet-O-Fish in their markets because those fisheries did not address sustainability concerns. Suppliers to McDonald's China transitioned away from RAP last year, so none remain in our system today.

“Our suppliers are helping unsustainable fisheries to improve. And, where fisheries are not improving fast enough, we have moved our purchases elsewhere,” says Johnson. “The Sustainable Fisheries Program is proactive, and it’s working.”

Did you know …

• In 2007, 91% of our fish was sourced from fisheries without any unsatisfactory sustainability ratings.

• On behalf of McDonald's, Gary Johnson, Senior Director, McDonald's Worldwide Supply Chain Management, received the Seafood Champion Award presented by Seafood Choices Alliance, to honor those who have made significant strides in improving practices and awareness of responsible seafood sourcing.

Want to learn more?

Visit www.crmcdonalds.com