McDonald’s Corporation has pledged to evaluate and report on the opportunities and risks posed by switching to reusable packaging, including its impacts related to single-use plastic and other single-use packaging and the environment. The fast-food giant was spurred into action by advocacy group As You Sow.
As You Sow, a US-based advocacy group which pressures companies into environmental and social action through shareholder engagement, had created a shareholder proposal to pressure the company into action, and has responded to the announcement by withdrawing it.
While McDonald’s currently complies with a new French law requiring all on-site dining to use reusable packaging, it has no public plans to do the same in the United States. In light of new laws in the US taxing corporations for single-use packaging, As You Sow filed the resolution to encourage McDonald’s to evaluate how the expansion of reusable packaging could benefit the company from reputational, financial, and environmental perspectives.
Part of the proposal stated that while McDonald’s had already set a goal to eliminate virgin plastics from its packaging, in comparison to competitor Starbucks, this is not going far enough. It further called for the company to reduce its overall packaging use and to move away from single-use plastics permanently.
In dialogue between As You Sow and McDonald’s after the filing, the company supposedly attested to its commitment to exploring reusable packaging as part of its commitments to more sustainable materials and shared its plans to publish a comprehensive study in early 2024.
McDonald’s agreed to include in its report an assessment of what opportunities and risks full-scale reuse poses to the industry and the environment. It also agreed to state this is influenced by the System Change Scenario proposed in the Breaking the Plastic Wave report, which states eight complementary interventions must be implemented to achieve an 80 per cent cut in plastic pollution by 2040, including reducing growth in plastic use by at least one third.
“We commend McDonald’s for committing to the exploration of a more circular future for quick-service restaurant dining,” said Kelly McBee, As You Sow’s circular economy senior coordinator. “We anticipate the report will demonstrate reusable packaging to be a critical component of sustainable operations and hope this action signals other quick-service restaurants to follow McDonald’s lead.”
In 2022, As You Sow withdrew two similar resolutions with Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo in exchange for new goals on reusables. Coca-Cola Co has announced the largest corporate goal for reusable packaging, pledging to deliver 25 per cent of beverages by volume in reusables or refillables by 2030. PepsiCo followed suit shortly thereafter with the second-largest corporate reusables goal, committing to deliver 20 per cent of beverages in reusables by 2030. Starbucks has the most ambitious on-site dining goal for reusables, with a commitment to facilitate the use of personal reusable mugs at all US dine-in and drive-through locations by the end of this year.
