For McDonald’s, we strive to ensure that every step of our supply chain contributes positively to the safety, quality, and availability of our final products. Just as importantly, we want the ingredients and materials that go into our products to be produced in ways that contribute positively to the development of sustainable agricultural and food manufacturing practices.
Given the size, scope and complexity of the McDonald’s supply chain, guidance and oversight of issues related to sustainability presents special challenges. As a result, leaders of McDonald’s Worldwide Supply Chain department created a global governance structure.
The Sustainable Supply Steering Committee (SSSC), formed in 2007, includes supply chain department representatives from the corporate center and each area of the world, corporate social responsibility, social accountability, and corporate communications. This group is responsible for guiding McDonald’s work toward its vision for sustainable supply by identifying global priorities and ensuring progress in ways that complement local priorities and efforts.
Vision
We envision a supply chain that profitably yields high-quality, safe products without supply interruption while leveraging our leadership position to create a net benefit by improving ethical, environmental and economic outcomes.
Ethical - We envision purchasing from suppliers that follow practices that ensure the health and safety of their employees and the welfare and humane treatment of animals in our supply chain.
Environmental - We envision influencing the sourcing of our materials and ensuring the design of our products, their manufacture, distribution and use minimize lifecycle impacts on the environment.
Economic - We envision delivering affordable food, engaging in equitable trade practices, limiting the spread of agricultural diseases, and positively impacting the communities that our suppliers operate in.
Viewing our responsibilities in this type of holistic manner, we consider our priorities for food safety, quality, and costs, as well as our ethical, environmental, and economic responsibilities collectively, as we make purchasing decisions and evaluate supplier performance.
Our global progress on beef and coffee sustainability illustrate how we are working to bring this approach to life by addressing different components of sustainability through both global and local efforts.
McDonald’s direct suppliers are required to adhere to our Code of Conduct for our Suppliers, which lists McDonald’s minimum requirements in the areas of employment, workplace practices and workplace health and safety.
