PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE

COURSE REQUIREMENT

IN

MANAGEMENT 21

Submitted by:

ALMIRA A. CINCO
RENALYN C. BATALLONES
KIM VANESSA A. BELTRAN

Submitted to:

Prof. Ermelo J. Sanchez

September 15, 2010

McDonald’s
Corporation:

Environmental
Awareness

Prepared by:

Almira A. Cinco
2nd year- BCS-Management

GREENING THE MANAGEMENT

Before we get acquainted on how a certain

company promotes its environmental
awareness, let us first know what does “greening
of the management” signifies, How an organizations go green and What other
related approaches can we consider in greening the management to promote a
company’s social obligation, social responsiveness and social responsibility.

In today’s world, views of social responsibility that are held by organizations, the
government and the general public have changed dramatically over the last 100
years. Today’s organizations need to be aware that people want to see more
socially responsible companies. A large proportion of social responsibility is
taking responsibility towards the natural environment. It wasn’t long ago where
companies were able to get away with simply dumping their sewerage and waste
products from their production and just ignoring it or covering it up. It is now,
however that many laws regulate the disposal of waste and companies are
finding themselves having to become more socially responsible in their release
and disposal of pollutants. A trend toward proactive environmental management
is being accelerated by public pressures on governments almost everywhere to
assure a cleaner environment. This means that societies need for a cleaner
environment is becoming more prominent as we move on to the future and
resources are becoming scarcer. The government regulations on environmental
cleanliness and pollution have become more stringent and are coming down
harder. Historically, efforts to reduce pollution were led by regulators and viewed
as an additional and often significant cost. Pollution gained a reputation from
both regulators and companies as a problem that required either treatment or in
an extreme case.

McDonald’s Corporation

McDonald's is the world's #1 fast-food company by sales, with more than 31,000
flagship restaurants serving burgers and fries in more than 100 countries. Almost
30% of its locations are company-owned; the others are run by franchisees.
While most of the company's eateries are free-standing units, it does have some
quick-service kiosk units located in airports and retail areas. Each unit gets its
food and packaging from approved suppliers and uses standardized procedures
to ensure that "a Big Mac purchased in Pittsburgh tastes the same as one bought
in Beijing". McDonald's also owns the Boston Market and Chipotle Mexican Grill
fast-casual chains.

McDonald's has been the target of criticism for allegations of exploitation of entry-
level workers, use of sweatshop labor to produce "happy meal" toys, ecological
damage caused by agricultural production and industrial processing of its
products, selling unhealthy food, production of packaging waste, exploitative
advertising (especially targeted at children, minorities, and low-income people),
and contributing to suffering and exploitation of livestock. McDonald's' historic
tendency towards promoting high-calorie foods such as French fries has earned
it the nickname "the starchy arches".

Despite of the said criticisms given to the company, McDonald’s Corporation has
always been aware in some other concerns regarding the “Greening of the
Management” that promotes Environmental Awareness.

Here are some environmental advocacies that the company is in connected to:

• McDonald's a "Green Business"? I Resign (May 19, 2003): "Increasingly,

corporations such as McDonald's have tried to direct the concept of a
green business to recycled tray liners, reduced waste stream, and other
molecular flows. Those are important issues and require our attention and
diligence. But doing so does not make a business green. Green refers to
the environment, to ecology. It is about the awareness that we are part of
a complex living system, not simply trying to be part of a short term fix.
Integral to that system are human beings-their lives, their bodies, their
wages, and how they are treated and respected."

• On Corporate Responsibility: A Ronald McDonald Fantasy (June 2, 2002):

"McDonald's April 14 "Report on Corporate Social Responsibility" is a low-
water mark for the concept of sustainability and the promise of corporate
social responsibility. It is a melange of generalities and soft assurances
that do not provide hard metrics of the company, its activities or its
impacts on society and the environment."

• Greenpeace Denounces Food Industry Double Standard on Gene-Altered

Ingredients (August 26, 1999): "Greenpeace is calling on Nestlé,
McDonalds, and Pillsbury to end their double standards in selling
genetically engineered foods to European consumers and U.S.
consumers. These food companies keep the use of genetically engineered
ingredients secret from U.S. consumers while making pledges to
European consumers to avoid those ingredients."

• Interview Transcripts: Sue Branford (July 1996): "Well, I actually think

McDonald's are lying. I think it's virtually impossible for a beefburger
producer in Brazil to be operating without buying some beef which comes
 from areas of Brazil which have been involved in serious environmental
damage."

Animal Welfare

• In 2003, McDonald's shareholders requested that the

Board of Directors issue a report to shareholders by
October 2003, reviewing McDonald’s animal welfare
standards with the view to adopt and enforce consistent
animal welfare standards internationally. Focusing on the
disparity between McDonald's US and UK policies
governing animal welfare and their policies for other
international operations, the shareholders noted: "Our
company has not made known any global program.
McDonalds.com makes no reference to improved
conditions in the raising of any animals (other than laying
hens), transportation of any animals, use of experts, any programs or
evaluation methods, performance objectives,or any process, programs,
plans, or progress outside the U.S." Source: PETA, 2003

• McDonalds enters animal cruelty debate (April 2, 2002): "Shareholders in

fast-food giant McDonalds are to be given the chance to vote on whether
the chain should introduce animal welfare standards worldwide."

• McDonald's and Animal Welfare: An Uphill Battle? (February 28, 2002):

"Several years ago, PETA launched a campaign against McDonalds. In
response, a barrage of columnists, radio DJs, and television personalities
condemned the campaign for being too graphic. Since the time that PETA
launched that campaign, McDonalds Animal Welfare Council had laid
down several new sets of guidelines regarding the well being of the
animals they farm. But what are they and will they be sufficient?"

• Slaughterhouses Butcher Animals Alive, Review Finds (May 7, 2002): "It

takes 25 minutes to turn a live steer into steak at the modern
slaughterhouse where Ramon Moreno works. For 20 years, his post was
"second-legger," a job that entails cutting hocks off carcasses as they
whirl past at a rate of 309 an hour. The cattle were supposed to be dead
before they got to Moreno. But too often they weren't..."

• June 19, 1997: In the verdict for the infamous 'McLibel' case, Justice Bell
substantiated the claim that McDonalds was "culpably responsible for
cruel practices in the rearing and slaughter of some of the animals which
are used to produce their food..."
Environmental record

In April 2008, McDonald's announced that 11 of its

Sheffield restaurants have been using a biomass trial
that had cut its waste and carbon footprint by half in the
area. In this trial, waste from the restaurants were
collected by Veolia Environmental Services and used to
produce energy at a power plant. McDonald's plans to
expand this project, although the lack of biomass power
plants in the U.S. will prevent this plan from becoming a
national standard anytime soon. In addition, in Europe,
McDonald's has been recycling vegetable grease by
converting it to fuel for their diesel trucks.

Furthermore, McDonald's has been using a corn-based bioplastic to produce

containers for some of their products. Although industries who use this product
claim a carbon savings of 30% to 80%, a Guardian study shows otherwise. The
results show that this type of plastic does not break down in landfills as efficiently
as other conventional plastics. The extra energy it takes to recycle this plastic
results in a higher output of greenhouse gases. Also, the plastics can
contaminate waste streams, causing other recycled plastics to become
unsaleable.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized McDonald's

continuous effort to reduce solid waste by designing more efficient packaging
and by promoting the use of recycled-content materials. McDonald's reports that
they are committed towards environmental leadership by effectively managing
electric energy, by conserving natural resources through recycling and reusing
materials, and by addressing water management issues within the restaurant.

In an effort to reduce energy usage by 25% in its restaurants, McDonald's

opened a prototype restaurant in Chicago in 2009 with the intention of using the
model in its other restaurants throughout the world. Building on past efforts,
specifically a restaurant it opened in Sweden in 2000 that was the first to
intentionally incorporate green ideas, McDonald's designed the Chicago site to
save energy by incorporating old and new ideas such as managing storm water,
using skylights for more natural lighting and installing some partitions and
tabletops made from recycled goods.

When McDonald’s received criticism for its environmental policies in the 1970s, it
began to make substantial progress towards source reductions efforts. For
instance, an “average meal” in the 1970s—a Big Mac, fries, and a drink—
required 46 grams of packaging; today, it requires only 25 grams, allowing a 46%
reduction. In addition, McDonald’s eliminated the need for intermediate
containers for cola by having a delivery system that pumps syrup directly from
the delivery truck into storage containers, saving two million pounds of packaging
annually. Overall, weight reductions in packaging and products, as well as the
increased usage of bulk packaging ultimately decreased packaging by 24 million
pounds annually.

McDonald’s Environmental Strategy

McDonald’s has been implementing its strategic idea in promoting environmental

awareness. Throughout the years, the company is trying to adapt its’ social
responsiveness in our environment that we are living in. Perhaps, the authority is
unaware of the company is currently in the process of implementing some
Environmental Strategy, because they’re still attached to the principle inherited
from the past that McDonald’s as one of the famous fastfood chains of today’s
world, lacks in proper waste management. The public or the customers as one of
the active participant in implementing this kind of strategy has been very familiar
in this kind of strategies, not just in McDonald’s Stores they are seeing this ads
but also in other public establishment.

Some of the strategies that the company is aware of is the following:

Reuse

Identifying immediately feasible opportunities for the reuse of materials was a

difficult assignment for the task force as the time required to handle, collect, and
clean materials would impact McDonald’s ability to provide high-volume fast food.
In addition, the committee’s investigation showed that opportunities
varied greatly according to behind-the-counter and over-the-counter operations.
Over-the-counter options are currently limited as McDonald’s customers expect
fast service even at peak times of the day. McDonald’s operations are designed
to anticipate the content of customer orders and to prepare food just before the
customers arrive. However, McDonald’s does not feel it can anticipate where its
customers will chose to eat, and most reuse options require different packaging
for dine-in or take-out customers. Repackaging food after the customer arrives or
delaying its preparation until the order is taken would lengthen service time.
Further, sanitation issues were also a concern of the task force, as single-serve,
disposable packaging had basically eliminated the potential of packaging-related
contamination. Dishware storage, both in the restaurant and behind-the-counter,
and the placement of dishwashing equipment are potentially difficult in
McDonald’s already tightly designed kitchens. Consideration was also given to
the environmental trade-offs of the dishwashing process, as it would require
energy, water, and detergents.

Recycling
Recycling efforts take two forms: use
of products made from recycled
materials, and the recycling of post-
consumer/post-industrial waste. Many
of the technical aspects of post-
production recycling of both plastic
and paper have already been
exploited by suppliers' internal reuse
operations for scrap. However, little
recycling has been done of post-
consumer plastic and paper materials
due to contamination problems. Unlike
glass and metal, where food residue
and bacteria contamination can be
burned off, foam and paperboard are
not easily cleaned. McDonald’s tries to use recycled materials whenever
possible. For example, it is one of the largest users of recycled paper in the U.S.
However, packaging that has direct contact with food, which constitutes
approximately 42 percent of McDonald’s packaging, is strictly regulated by the
FDA not to contain post-consumer recycled materials. Therefore, McDonald’s
strives to increase the recycled content for nonfood packaging, such as
corrugated boxes, which must be made of 35% recycled material according to a
1990 mandate. In addition, it uses recycled paper for nonfood items such as
Happy Meal boxes, carry-out drink trays, and paper towels.

Composting

Composting is still in the formative stage. Therefore, much of the task force’s
work centered on gaining a better understanding of McDonald’s composting
options. Composting is an attractive disposal alternative as it diverts organic
waste from landfills and incinerators and it improves soil quality. Almost 50
percent of McDonald’s waste stream consists of paper packaging and food
organics that could be composted. McDonald’s is reviewing the compostability
of its packaging and studying materials such as the coatings used on its paper-
based packaging to determine if they impair compostability. Where possible,
it will replace materials that are not compostable with materials designed for
compostability
How Organizations Go Green?
In today’s world, views on environmental awareness held by different company’s,
I learned that each company conducts their own strategic way of promoting
their social responsiveness in our environment. McDonald’s Corporation, a
premiere fastfood company, ascends its environmental awareness through
implementing some strategy that every public could participate. A company like
mcDonald’s should meet its social responsibility in order to attain the satisfaction
of the public. Environmental Awareness is one factor to be observe for a
company to exist. They should be aware of their obligation as one of the
components of our society. Furthermore, I strongly believed that the knowledge
that I acquire from this project would expand through the help of the persons
behind McDonald’s Corporation. For that, I’ve decided to make some
interrogation to some of the members of the Management Team of Mcdonald’s
Quirino-Taft in taft Ave. Manila.

I asked them several questions regarding the “Environmental Awareness” such

as: How does your company help in greening of the management? What other
related approaches can you consider in the greening of the management that
promote your company’s social obligation, social responsiveness and social
responsibility?

And here is what they’ve’ said:

“ They send their people to pollution control class, they follow what DENR
requires They ensure that its’ not only the management that is aware with the
proper waste management: they also orient each crew they hired in correct

procedures…. ”
-Melanie Tuazon-
Assistant Manager

“ We properly disposed garbage trash, segregating bio-degradable to non-

biodegredable, cleaning the side of the store to maintain the environment out of
the dirt. Putting those trash even single tissue paper in the proper garbage trash
that may cause floods. Web require healthcard for the new hire crew or crew’s to

avoid and for them to be aware in their health and securing of sanitary permit”
-Angelica Punzalan-
Assistant Manager

“We properly dispose garbage; segregate bio to non-biodegradable. Healthcard

as one of the crew requirement in hiring, Securing sanitary permit They ensure
that its’ not only the management that is aware with the proper waste
management: they also orient each crew they hired in correct procedure
-Raquel Viray-
Assistant Manager