Sustainable beef is coming to McDonald's the Green Biz Group reported Tuesday.
"Our vision is to buy verifiable, sustainable beef in the future for all of our beef," Bob Langert vice president of global sustainability told Green Biz. "We have achieved internal alignment and energy around that aspirational goal, which is a big task," Langert told Green Biz.
The franchise restaurant chain plans to begin to buy the meat product in 2016, on items that can be documented Green Biz reported.
"We've upped our game related to how we're approaching corporate social responsibility and sustainability at McDonald's," Langert told the Green Biz Group. "(The beef goal) fits into a big picture where senior leadership says we need to do more, take a bigger stake, be a bigger leader and connect with consumers more," Langert told the group.
"Beef is one of the lead things coming out of that effort. We have internal alignment, support, budget, supplier support and the tactical plan to achieve that aspiration to start buying sustainable beef in 2016," Langert told Green Biz. "It's a small part risk management and a large part about growing our business by making a positive business for society. We aspire to source all of our food and packaging from sustainable sources, verified sources for sustainability on the way they treat animals, on the way they treat people, as well as the planet," Langert told Green Biz.
McDonald's has been hard at its initiative in many past years Green Biz reported. The company aims to involve ranchers, feedlots, restaurants, supermarkets, environmental groups, academics, and senior executives Green Biz reported.
The company is not announcing how much beef it would purchase, or a timetable for making the full switch to sustainable beef products Green Biz reported.
"We will focus on increasing the annual amount each year," Langert said in a statement Green Biz reported.
