- Title: McPlant burgers on menu as McDonald's aims for net zero
- Date: 10th December 2021
- Summary: SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 9, 2021) (REUTERS) DRONE FOOTAGE OF MCDONALD'S RESTAURANT (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING SOLAR PANELS ON RESTAURANT ROOF (MUTE) INTERIOR OF RESTAURANT VARIOUS OF FURNITURE IN RESTAURANT MADE OF RECYCLED MATERIALS SIGN READING (English): "Great Restaurants. Working towards net zero and closing the loop on waste"/ CHAIRS SEATING MADE FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MCDONALD'S VICE PRESIDENT, SUPPLY CHAIN AND BRAND TRUST, BETH HART, SAYING: "We are measuring the carbon footprint of all parts of our business on this roadmap to net zero. And what we want to do is get to a point, 2030 for our restaurants and our buildings, our offices where we have no impact on the planet - we are completely net zero, we are completely neutral. That is an enormous task and in order to crack that task, we need to start building blueprints like the restaurant right behind me." DRONE FOOTAGE OF ACCESS ROAD MADE FROM RECYCLED TYRES AND KERBSTONES MADE FROM RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLES (MUTE) VARIOUS OF WIND TURBINES ON SITE VARIOUS OF SIGN READING (English): "80% Facade panels recycled 100% recyclclable" ON CHILDREN'S PLAY AREA (SOUNDBITE) (English) MCDONALD'S VICE PRESIDENT, SUPPLY CHAIN AND BRAND TRUST, BETH HART, SAYING: "You know we have looked at every aspect of this restaurant. In fact torn up the rule book and gone back to basics and devised a net zero solution or as far as close as we possibly can get to net zero for recycled solutions across the whole restaurant; and let me give you a few examples: the kerb stones are made out of recycled plastic bottles so over 200,000 recycled plastic bottles are in the kerb stones in this restaurant today. You might be able to see the wind turbines just behind me, so we are capturing wind energy, solar panels on top of the restaurant capturing solar energy. So even though our McDonald's business has been 100% renewable energy-driven for 10 years we are now capturing and generating energy on site." LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 10, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF CORPORATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAINS AT CLIMATE RESEARCH NON-PROFIT GROUP CDP, DEXTER GALVIN, SAYING: "I think it's really significant because I think McDonald's have incredible consumer reach, and if they can engage the public on the topic of the transition to a net zero economy, then that will be a really powerful message for the average consumer that the world is changing and that we are firmly set on this transition to a net zero economy. However, the main impact for McDonald's is in their supply chain. So it's the supply chain that supports those restaurants is the main area that they need to focus on and reduce their impact. But it's a positive development and it should be welcomed." SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 9, 2021) (REUTERS) LIGHTING IN RESTAURANT RESTAURANT FLOOR / MENU NEW MCDONALD'S PLANT-BASED BURGER ON MENU LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 10, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF CORPORATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAINS AT CLIMATE RESEARCH NON-PROFIT GROUP CDP, DEXTER GALVIN, SAYING: "But what really matters is what's on the menu and where is that sourced from. And that is going to be beef and chicken and you've got a huge amounts of commodity driven deforestation and emissions behind that that we need to dig into and manage and reduce. Good thing is, McDonald's are on this journey. They are gathering data from their suppliers. Transparency is really important when you're managing supply chain issues like this, and they're covering almost 80% of their total spend in their supply chain. They're getting data on carbon emissions, they're getting data on beef, on soy. And these are all the key things that McDonald's needs to be doing to address these issues." SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 9, 2021) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MCDONALD'S VICE PRESIDENT, SUPPLY CHAIN AND BRAND TRUST, BETH HART, SAYING: "You will see some changes on our menu, we are piloting McPlant at the moment and are going to launch McPlant nationally in January, that is a big deal. We are putting a 100% vegan burger on our menus. We've had to trial it so that we can be absolutely confident about that 100% vegan standard in our kitchens. We don't put the 'Mc' in front of just anything, so we have created a brand. We're really serious about this." SIGN READING (English): "McDonald's" EXTERIORS OF RESTAURANT
- Embargoed: 24th December 2021 16:31
- Keywords: McDonald's McDonald's UK McDonald's net zero carbon neutral emissions net zero sustainable restaurant
- Location: SHROPSHIRE AND LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: SHROPSHIRE AND LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Climate Change,Climate Policy and Regulation,Environment,Europe,General News
- Reuters ID: LVA001F7GEXC7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Powered by wind and solar and fitted-out with sustainable materials, McDonald's says it's opened a net zero carbon restaurant it hopes will be a blueprint for the future.
The restaurant, in Shropshire, in the north-west of England, is powered using energy from 92 square metres of solar panels and two wind turbines on site, the fast food giant said.
The walls are insulated with British sheep's wool which was otherwise destined for landfill, and the building cladding made from recycled IT equipment and household white goods, such as washing machines.
The Drive-Thru lane was constructed using recycled tyres and kerb stones were made from thousands of recycled plastic bottles.
McDonald's says the model will be rolled out to other sites from 2022, with an aim to reach net zero emissions for all 1,400 restaurants and offices in the UK by 2030.
Climate research non-profit group CDP said it was a positive message to the consumer on moving to a net-zero future, but the main environmental impacts from McDonalds remained in their supply chain.
"What really matters is what's on the menu and where is that sourced from? And that is going to be beef and chicken, and you've got a huge amounts of commodity driven deforestation and emissions behind that that we need to dig into and manage and reduce," said Dexter Galvin, the global director of corporations and supply chains at CDP.
McDonald's is one of the largest beef purchasers in the world. Roughly 80% of its total emissions come from its supply chain, in particular its use of beef, chicken, dairy and other proteins.
Galvin said, globally, McDonald's emits 40 million tons of CO2 through its supply chain, whereas the direct emissions from their restaurants, known as scope one and two emissions, account for 1 million tons of CO2.
McDonald's set a new target in October to cut global greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, from the beef in its burgers to the light bulbs in its restaurants.
The net zero goal includes emissions from direct sources like corporate offices and restaurants and indirect sources, particularly franchised restaurants and suppliers' goods and services.
In 2021, the fast food chain released its first vegan burger made using a plant-based patty, co-developed with Beyond Meat, a Californian meat substitute company.
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