Stakeholder Engagement & Public Policy
Against the backdrop of a continually changing external landscape, we engage with key stakeholder groups on environmental and social issues that are relevant to the Company and where we believe McDonald’s can have the greatest impact.
Our business environment is constantly evolving, influenced by global trends and challenges that can affect the Company. With this in mind, we draw on the insights and expertise of key stakeholders regarding the areas that are important to them, and where we believe we can have the biggest impact and help drive industrywide change.
The lasting relationships we’ve developed with experts from academia, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the investment community and others help us better understand their viewpoints on key issues. They also inform management discussions and help us advance progress on a range of impact aspects that are important to the business.
Investors
Investors are increasingly focused on environmental and social issues. We keep investors informed of our progress and efforts through our annual Purpose & Impact reporting and direct engagement, which allows us to understand the issues they view as most important for our business. To help provide our investors with the resources they need, we consider their feedback and input in the reporting materials we release. For example, we continue to leverage the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Reporting Guidance and publish a 2023–2024 SASB Index within our Purpose & Impact Report (PDF – 6 MB), capturing our progress to date against SASB’s sector-relevant focus areas.
We also publish various other disclosures on key topics and metrics, including our Climate Resiliency Summary (PDF – 1.3 MB) and diversity metrics in our Purpose & Impact Report Appendix (PDF – 6 MB).
We understand the importance of maintaining this engagement with our investors to understand their perspectives on significant impact issues.
Franchisees and Suppliers
Our business depends on our independent Franchisees, which is why we look to engage them through multiple platforms. From regular meetups for Franchisee-led groups and our biannual Worldwide Convention to recognizing outstanding achievements, McDonald’s is dedicated to creating opportunities for Franchisees to connect, learn from one another and celebrate collective successes. By doing so, we can address focus areas such as restaurant culture and environment, and talent development practices.
Our business similarly depends on the effectiveness of our supply chain, which is why we look to engage suppliers, including at our biannual Worldwide Convention, on focus areas such as responsible sourcing.
Crew and Corporate Staff
Whether in restaurants or office buildings, Company and Franchisee employees are the face of our brand and critical to our success. We offer various channels through which Corporate Staff and crew members in McDonald’s restaurants can communicate their thoughts, concerns and ideas for improvements. Listening to these allows us to stay responsive and supportive, empowering people to do their jobs better and rewarding jobs well done.
From a crew perspective, all restaurants globally – Company-owned and operated or franchised – are required to do a listening survey at least once every 12 months and to develop an accompanying action plan that is shared with restaurant crew and managers per Global Brand Standards. Read more about how we listen to our people regarding jobs, inclusion and empowerment.
Our employee business networks (EBNs) are employee-led, volunteer, business-focused forums that are open to all employees and designed to create a sense of belonging at the Company. EBNs support an inclusive work environment, foster relationships, advance career development opportunities and help grow our business. They provide members, which include allies, with opportunities to network, learn from one another and grow their careers together. EBNs also provide a source of mentors, role models and sponsors, and give members access to senior leadership, information on career strategies and opportunities for leadership skill building.
Customers and Communities
We value the opinions of our global customers and communities and understand their desire to support companies that share their views on responsible business. Customers can get in touch to share their thoughts through our social media platforms and communication portals.
We work with a range of organizations to help address the unique needs of our local communities around the globe, including during times of crisis. We also have a long legacy of initiatives designed to provide our neighbors with crucial support and care, and we gather insights from our nonprofit partners to influence how we design our support for communities. Read more about this work on our Community Impact & Philanthropy page.
Nongovernmental Organizations and Academia
Engaging NGOs and academic advisors through strategic partnerships is a key part of how we have managed environmental and social priorities over the last few decades. We engage with a wide range of NGOs, associations and external experts who provide insights and perspectives that help shape our strategies, research, goals, policies and performance indicators to drive greater impact on issues that matter for the business. We often collaborate with organizations to help us develop and implement initiatives on the ground and to facilitate multi-stakeholder and industrywide collaborations that help to create change at scale.
Key NGO Engagement in 2023
- We have joined the Business Advisory Group on Migration, hosted by the International Organisation of Employers, to help contribute to the wider Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).
- McDonald’s continues to be part of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Forum, collaborating with others in the industry on the frameworks, metrics and tools that will be used to address nature-related risks and opportunities.
- McDonald’s is a principal member of ReSource: Plastic, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) platform for translating large-scale corporate commitments into measurable progress on plastic waste reduction. Through an innovative measurement tool, ReSource is bringing transparent reporting and collective action to the forefront of corporate strategy to help companies maximize and multiply their potential for impact.
- McDonald’s USA joined the NextGen Consortium, which aims to address the global issue of single-use food packaging waste. The Consortium has representation from several brands and plays a leading role in increasing recycling access for paper and plastic single-use foodservice packaging through collaborations with various industry bodies, NGOs and communities.
- We renewed our commitment to the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) to proactively support disaster relief efforts with an annual pledge of $1 million.
- We continued the five-year, $100 million commitment to Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) that we set in 2020 to help RMHC continue increasing access to medical care for children around the world.
- We’re proud to be a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and WBCSD’s Agriculture & Food pathway. As members of The Consumer Goods Forum, we are active in the Forest Positive Coalition and the Human Rights Coalition.
- McDonald’s is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), a broad-based influential network of 500 businesses and NGOs, national security and foreign policy experts, and business, faith-based, academic, military and community leaders in all 50 states who support strategic investments to elevate development and diplomacy in pursuit of a better, safer world.
In 2023, we led a week of activations around the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC. This included speaking at the Concordia Annual Summit, which focused on regenerative agriculture and food systems transformation, hosting a panel on regenerative agriculture and activating dozens of other events such as roundtables, panels and summits.
Public Policy Leaders
Public policy issues have the potential to impact our business. As such, we believe it is in our shareholders’ best interests to engage with policymakers in certain cases. We are committed to the highest ethical standards and have strong governance practices and accountability measures in place. Visit our Public Policy Engagement page for further details.
