Climate Action
We are taking action on climate and transforming our food systems to help them be more resilient for the future.
We believe that reducing emissions and adapting to climate change is critical to helping improve the resiliency of the McDonald’s System. We work toward our climate action ambitions by focusing on reducing emissions in restaurant operations, engaging suppliers to reduce emissions in supply chains, strengthening our business resilience and using our voice to advocate for collective transformation.
Our Recent Progress
- Our global science-based target, which we revised in 2023, has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and covers all three emission scopes in line with a 1.5˚C warming scenario.
- We are tying our commitment to eliminate deforestation in priority commodities to climate action, using the SBTi’s Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) framework to calculate and address our emissions associated with land use change.
- We have signed deals, along with our North American Logistics Council (NALC), to purchase renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates.
See our latest Purpose & Impact Report on the Goal Performance & Reporting page, as well as our Climate Resiliency Summary (PDF – 1.3 MB), for our progress in more detail.
Our Strategy
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time. Natural disasters and extreme weather patterns pose increased risks to food supply resilience and communities around the world, including those from which we operate and source.
We have a unique opportunity as a global brand to mobilize the entire McDonald’s System – the Company, Franchisees, and direct and indirect suppliers – to catalyze change. Working with the McDonald’s System, we are helping reduce the climate impact of our restaurants and food systems.
We aim to embed our climate goals across our operations and are prioritizing actions in the most carbon-intensive aspects of Company- and Franchisee-owned and operated restaurants and our supply chain.
We continue to implement our strategy through various actions, including:
- Restaurants and offices: We are driving a transition to more renewable energy while identifying opportunities to enhance energy efficiency by design in our restaurants and the equipment we use, such as by identifying lower-impact refrigerant solutions. We are accelerating circularity to help reduce the impact of our guest packaging and waste, and design décor for greater circularity in our restaurants. These efforts are also supported by strategic supply chain actions in support of climate action.
- Supply chain: We are engaging suppliers to set targets that support emissions reductions within their operations and supply chains, and which align with our own Scope 3 SBTi goal. Together with our suppliers and other relevant stakeholders, we are accelerating and scaling farm projects to help reduce emissions, with a focus on regenerative agriculture, farm management and deforestation elimination consistent with our Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems (PDF – 126 KB). We also encourage our suppliers to reduce their facilities’ emissions and source renewable energy.
- Collaborating to drive and advocate for change: Beyond our System, we are using our business’ scale to work with industry, governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and others to advocate for climate action initiatives.
On this page, you’ll find out more about our strategy and impact reduction measures across our business.
- Our Net Zero Targets
- Our Performance Data
- How We Measure Our Climate Impact
- Climate-Related Risks and Opportunities
- Collaborating to Drive Change
- Climate Action in Our Supply Chain
- Climate Action Across Our Restaurants and Offices
- Accelerating Circularity
Our Net Zero Targets
In 2018, we set targets, approved by the SBTi, to reduce GHG emissions in line with a 2˚C warming scenario. Since then, as science has evolved, so have our targets. In 2023, The SBTi validated our global 2050 net zero emissions reduction target and our adjusted 2030 global emissions targets, aligned with the latest guidance to help keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C.1
Our 2030 Emissions Target
By the end of 2030, from a 2018 base year, McDonald’s commits to reduce:
- Absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50.4% from Company-owned and operated restaurants and offices.
- Absolute Scope 3 energy and industrial GHG emissions by 50.4% from Franchisee and Company-owned and operated restaurants, and the facility, logistics and plastic packaging emissions in our supply chain.
- Absolute Scope 3 FLAG GHG emissions by 16% and to maintain no deforestation across its primary deforestation-linked commodities.
Achieving these targets will require continued and immediate action throughout our own business and across our full value chain – including our independent Franchisees and suppliers, with support and enabling conditions from industry peers, NGOs and government on all levels. Among other efforts, we intend to continue focusing on:
- Adding renewable energy to the grid, including through virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs).
- Scaling regenerative agriculture practices within our supply chain.
- Contributing to deforestation-free supply chains for our primary commodities through our sourcing actions.
- Using our voice to advocate for climate-positive policies globally.
Recognizing the Evolving Landscape
We will continue to drive meaningful progress on our global target while recognizing that our emissions reduction plans and ambitions may be impacted by elements outside the Company’s direct control. This may include external policy and geopolitical changes, technological advancements, developments in global climate accounting standards and the actions of our Franchisees and suppliers.
Currently, we have aligned our target with the SBTi’s 2023 guidance for target-setting, and our data collection and analysis approach uses the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the primary global emissions accounting framework. We will continue to share our progress as accounting frameworks evolve. Any changes to third-party guidance or technologies that were utilized to inform our strategies have the potential to impact our ability to meet our current targets. Given the long-term nature of our strategies, this could result in revision of our assumptions, calculations and targets, depending on how standards and measurement capabilities develop.
We also know we will need external climate accounting standards to continue evolving in the pragmatic way we anticipate – especially for nature-based solutions, such as soil carbon sequestration and land use change, and for renewable energy – to enable us to meet our current targets.
Our climate ambitions will be balanced with overall Company performance ambitions, including financial growth and continued innovation in our menu offerings and sourcing. The Company’s pursuit of financial growth strategies, including the development of new restaurants and continued sales growth, could also result in an increase in near- or medium-term GHG emissions if we do not decarbonize our footprint at a rate greater than business growth. This balance of Companywide objectives and navigating the external environment will remain critical in enabling progress on our climate targets while also driving our business strategies forward.
Our Performance Data
The figures below reflect our 2023 GHG emissions relative to our 2018 base year.
GHG Emissions (Metric Tons Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e))2
Emissions | 2018 (Baseline) | 2023 |
Scope 1 Emissions | 106,963 | 100,264 |
Scope 2 Emissions (market-based) | 364,985 | 224,964 |
Scope 3 Emissions | 62,354,135 | 59,929,320 |
How We Measure Our Climate Impact
We hold ourselves accountable by measuring emissions annually and working with experts to report our progress using the latest leading methodologies for data collection and analysis, notably the GHG Protocol.
We have an internal, enterprise-level climate tracking system that uses millions of data points to model emissions from our sourcing, restaurants and operations. The system is also a way to share actionable data and benchmarking insights with key internal audiences to inform strategy development. We follow tailored approaches to calculate emissions in various categories, including:
- Land use change: We calculate land use change emissions and integrate them into annual carbon footprint reports. To reinforce the credibility of our strategy, we are helping develop globally relevant and accepted GHG accounting methods through various third-party coalitions. We recognize that, due to calculation processes for land use change, the actions we take today to eliminate deforestation and address conversion will reduce – but not eliminate – our emissions by 2030. We are committed to credibly accounting for these impacts in line with established standards, using this information to further inform our reduction strategy.
- Renewable energy: For renewable energy, our impact is calculated in line with the GHG Protocol’s market-based accounting method. We allocate Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) between Company-owned and operated restaurants and Franchisees by percentage, as determined by store count for each country. We use a country-level emission factor to credit EAC purchases, so there is only one emission factor per country for EACs. The program comprises a combination of EAC mechanisms, including but not limited to VPPA structures that produce additionality, unbundled EAC purchases and EACs that might come packaged with a retail solution.
Our climate plans and targets are informed by internal and external data sets that are potentially incomplete and continue to evolve over time. This includes Company growth predictions and emissions footprint measurements for various operational activities and geographies. We will continue to evolve the systems we use through annual reviews of data quality and completeness, climate accounting methodology and the latest external scientific insights and benchmarking capabilities. Therefore, we expect that, going forward, our baseline and annual progress figures may adjust accordingly.
Climate-Related Risks and Opportunities
Impacts of climate change threaten to disrupt agricultural food supply chains and restaurant operations while posing real risks to vulnerable communities globally and our own ability to drive climate action and maintain business operations. Recognizing these increasing impacts, we are focused on building resiliency across our System to help our restaurants and supply chain adapt to more extreme weather events and temperatures, water scarcity, flooding and the potential associated operating costs.
We are assessing climate risk and strengthening our collective resiliency using the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to guide our reporting approach. During 2024, we released our updated 2023 Climate Resiliency Summary (PDF – 1.3 MB), an overview of the governance, strategy, risk management and metrics of our global climate action approach ‒ guided by TCFD recommendations and reflective of 2023 data.
See our Business Resilience page for more detail on our overall risk management process.
Collaborating to Drive Change
We know addressing climate change requires a collective effort across our global community. That is why we’re working with our suppliers, Franchisees, industry, governments, NGOs and others.
Climate-Related Pledges, Groups and Memberships
Collaborations help us contribute to climate action and advocate for climate policy. We know the realization of our climate ambitions will require significant action from the McDonald’s System and beyond. We are working with various stakeholders to help enable a shift in climate policy, knowledge and accounting, including:
- Ceres Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) network: Alongside over 85 other organizations, we advocate for strong climate and clean energy policies in the U.S.
- Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA): As a member of CEBA, we collaborate with other energy buyers, energy providers and service providers to navigate energy market complexities.
- Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition: A multi-company initiative to stop commodity-driven deforestation and address global climate change issues across the sector. Learn more on our Nature, Forests & Water page.
- Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA): In 2023, we signed a letter of interest, welcoming the ETA as an opportunity to support large-scale power sector transformation while accelerating progress toward climate goals.
- Gold Standard Value Change Initiative: We have worked with others to test new techniques of carbon accounting in the supply chain and deal with challenges around traceability.
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Technical Working Group on Land Based Emissions: Through this working group, we collaborate with GHG accounting specialists, NGOs and other companies to establish standards and guidance for use when measuring the impact of emissions from farming, forestry and other land-based activities.
- SBTi’s FLAG project consultative group: In 2022, we contributed to expert advice and direction for companies in land-intensive sections to ensure criteria for target-setting are clear and practical. This experience helped inform our own journey to update our SBTi-validated targets in 2023.
- U.S. Congress: We meet with Members of Congress and staff to discuss climate-related topics that are of importance to the Company.
- WWF's Climate Business Network: We joined the network to exchange ideas with peers on how to reduce emissions in line with our global climate targets.
Climate Action in Our Supply Chain
Together with our suppliers, we share a commitment to take action to address climate change.
Supplier-Supported Climate Action
Our ability to measure and achieve reductions in overall GHG emissions – particularly our Scope 3 emissions – depends significantly on the work and collaboration of our suppliers. We expect McDonald’s food, packaging and logistics suppliers to set climate targets, measure their emissions and achieve reductions in line with their broader sustainability strategies. This expectation is communicated to suppliers, with support provided through our Global Sustainable Sourcing Guide.
Through our climate data and insights platform, we model the various impacts suppliers and sourcing categories have on our emissions. These insights allow us to target our work with suppliers on strategies that support our science-based targets and reduce our collective climate impact.
Nature-Based Climate Solutions
We believe in the power of sustainable agriculture practices to help increase biodiversity, enrich soils and boost climate resilience. At McDonald’s, we look to scale the adoption of regenerative agriculture principles by our suppliers to help build more resilient supply chains and drive action against our climate goals.
Read our approach to eliminating deforestation and addressing conversion on our Nature, Forests & Water page and our approach to regenerative agriculture and responsible farm management on our Responsible Sourcing page.
Managing Our Transport and Logistics Impact
We have a two-fold approach to working with our suppliers to achieve world-class logistics operations with the lowest feasible environmental footprint:
- Driving fewer miles and using less fuel through routing improvements, innovations like engineless cooling and air deflectors, and driver training.
- Increasing the use of alternative fuels with lower emissions compared to diesel, including renewable natural gas created from biowaste, biofuels, hydrogen, natural gas, propane and electricity. Where possible, we encourage suppliers to use biofuels that are generated from by-products rather than crops grown for food.
All of McDonald’s independent logistics suppliers have set science-based targets, approved by the SBTi. These SBTi-approved targets vary in terms of scenario alignment and scope inclusion based on the needs of individual suppliers.
Climate Action Across Our Restaurants and Offices
As of the end of 2023, restaurant energy use represented 78% of SBTi boundary restaurant and offices emissions footprint, and as such, is a key focus area for accelerating progress against our 2030 targets. With restaurants in over 100 markets globally, approximately 95% of which are franchised, we are working with our Franchisees on innovative solutions for creating and managing increasingly sustainable, efficient locations. This includes investing in areas such as LED lighting, energy management systems and energy-efficient kitchen equipment. Across the globe, our markets are in various phases of strategy development and implementation.
Adding Renewable Energy to the Grid
One of the most effective and timely actions we can take to reduce electricity-related emissions is purchasing renewable energy to cover restaurant needs. We are increasingly looking for solutions to power more of our sites with carbon-free energy while increasing awareness and adoption of renewable electricity throughout the System. We collaborate with our markets, Franchisees and trade associations to understand the complex local and global landscape to support renewable energy growth and evaluate opportunities to advocate for policies that accelerate progress.
Since 2019, McDonald’s has signed multiple large-scale renewable energy VPPAs that will help add new renewable energy to the U.S. grid. The projects we have contracted renewable energy through cover both solar and wind technologies and are operational in Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
A supportive policy environment is essential as the industry transitions to carbon-free energy; it also requires a resilient renewable energy supply chain. However, today, the renewable energy industry continues to experience supply chain issues. Faced with these current headwinds, we recognize some contracted projects in our portfolio may need to be replaced with others in the future. We continue to monitor the progress of all projects to ensure they meet our selection criteria.
As renewable energy is a key driver of our overall climate strategy, we continue to work across both Company-owned and operated and franchised restaurants globally to understand the energy landscape on a local level and where there are opportunities to drive maximum impact across our System. Our ability to meet our SBTi-validated targets may be impacted if third-party accounting methodologies do not enable or recognize McDonald’s procurement of renewable electricity to account for Franchisee restaurant emissions. While there is uncertainty regarding how third-party accounting methodologies may evolve, our corporate VPPA program is focused on advancing wide-reaching impact and has been able to support projects that help drive renewable energy additionality.
Accelerating Circularity
McDonald’s is embracing circularity, addressing waste and tackling emissions in key areas for our business and System. That means McDonald’s is thinking about how we use, design, produce, transport, dispose and recover materials, as well as the opportunities to extend the life of those materials and find savings, all while helping reduce the impact on the planet.
For example, our packaging, toys and waste goals aim to help accelerate a circular economy approach by advancing the reduction, reuse or recycling of guest packaging, and helping create demand for recycled materials. Where possible, and aligned with our circularity strategy, this can also contribute to reducing emissions and driving progress toward our climate commitments. To identify strategies to help us continue reducing Scope 3 emissions related to procuring the materials used to operate our business, we engage with our suppliers, markets and Franchisees, as well as customers, NGOs and local governments.
Also, we are exploring new, more sustainable ways to design and create décor for our restaurant dining areas. Our approach is founded on the ideas of simplicity and disassembly – incorporating décor that is modular and can be easily replaced in sections when needed. Pieces are held together using mechanical fixings, instead of glue, so teams can more effectively break restaurant features down by raw material type for recycling or reuse. By designing décor for greater circularity, we can work toward reducing our overall waste-related environmental impact. We will continue to evaluate opportunities to promote circularity within our System.
Read more on our Packaging, Toys & Waste page.
California Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act
McDonald’s Corporation makes the following information available pursuant to the California Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act: McDonald’s California Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (VCMDA) Disclosure Statement (PDF – 144 KB).
Footnotes
1 McDonald’s SBTi-validated target in full:
- McDonald’s Corporation commits to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 50.4% by 2030 from a 2018 base year.
- McDonald’s Corporation also commits to reduce absolute Scope 3 energy and industrial GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, fuel and energy- related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, waste generated in operations, end-of-life treatment of sold products, and franchises 50.4% within the same timeframe.
- McDonald’s Corporation commits to reduce absolute Scope 3 FLAG GHG emissions 16% by 2030 from a 2018 base year. McDonald’s Corporation also commits to maintain no deforestation across its primary deforestation-linked commodities.
2 Consistent with past reporting by the Company, these figures include the impact through 2023 of the Corporate-backed VPPA program in the U.S., recognizing that the SBTi is currently assessing the effectiveness of Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) in corporate climate targets to inform its revisions to the net zero standard.
