Newsletter Stories


Thursday, 15 February 2018
McDonald's Commits to Source 100% of Packaging from Recycled, Renewable, and Certified Material

McDonald's Cup - FSC Certified

February 15, 2018


McDonald's recently announced new goals to source 100% of its guest packaging from renewable, recycled, or certified sources by 2025, with a preference for Forest Stewardship Council certification.

Currently, McDonald's sources half of its guest packaging from these sources, with 64% coming from certified or recycled sources. An issue the company has been working on for years, McDonald's joined WWF's Global Forest & Trade Network program in 2014, setting fiber sourcing goals and FSC preference, and announced their Commitment on Forests in 2015.

By 2025, McDonald's also aims to recycle 100% of its guest packaging in its stores. This aim has potential for a considerable impact, given McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant company, serving 69 million customers per day at 37,000 restaurants in 100 countries, with an average volume of waste generated per restaurant of 2,000 pounds per week.

At a GreenBiz '17 session with FSC partners, leaders from McDonald's and International Paper spoke about goals to transition all 14,000 of McDonald's US restaurants to FSC-certified hot cups:

"McDonald's global preference for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified materials demonstrates their far-reaching commitment to source packaging that benefits people and forests around the world," said Kim Carstensen, director general of the Forest Stewardship Council. "The partnership between McDonald's and FSC - the world's most trusted certification of forests and forest products - also creates a uniquely powerful opportunity for McDonald's to engage customers about simple ways to protect forests."