McDonald’s has announced a landmark move to ensure 100 percent of its packaging comes from renewable, recycled or certified sustainable sources within the next eight years.

McDonald’s has announced a landmark move to ensure 100 percent of its packaging comes from renewable, recycled or certified sustainable sources within the next eight years.

At the moment, 50 percent of the company’s customer packaging comes from these sources and 64 percent of fibre-based packaging.

“As the world’s largest restaurant company, we have a responsibility to use our scale for good to make changes that will have a meaningful impact across the globe,” said Francesca DeBiase, McDonald’s Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability Officer.

The company has pledged to work with local governments, industry and environmental experts to reach the goal. This will include finding ways to make smarter packaging designs, tailor new recycling programmes for different countries, and launch education initiatives among staff and customers.

Ms. DeBiase added: “Our customers have told us that packaging waste is the top environmental issue they would like us to address. Our ambition is to make changes our customers want and to use less packaging, sourced responsibly and designed to be taken care of after use, working at and beyond our restaurants to increase recycling and help create cleaner communities”.

The move has been backed by leading environmental organisations, such as WWF, the Environmental Defense Fund and Forest Stewardship Council.

Sheila Bonini, Senior Vice President at WWF commented: “Smarter waste management begins with improved sourcing, increased value chain collaboration and better communication with customers. Today’s announcement demonstrates McDonald’s strong leadership in developing packaging and recycling solutions at a scale that can extend the life of our natural resources and push its industry toward more sustainable practices”.

Tom Murray, Vice President at the Environmental Defense Fund, said: “McDonald’s continues to raise the sustainability bar by setting ambitious goals and collaborating with partners across the value chain for maximum impact".