Sustainable Packaging: Some of our most recent changes include:

• Big Mac box resizing: Saving 423 tonnes of material from renewable sources.
• Introducing shorter McFlurry (dessert) spoons: Saving 286 tonnes of material from non-renewable sources.
• Recently, we have also introduced multi-use wrappers for breakfast products and new treated paper cartons for salad and breakfast menu items. This has enabled us to remove all polystyrene foam from our restaurants.

Closed loop biodiesel from cooking oil: In 2007, as part of our responsibility to the environment, we were inspired to turn used cooking oil from our restaurants into biodiesel to power our delivery fleet. We now collect 4.5 million litres of used cooking oil every year, from our restaurants across the UK, and turn it into biodiesel. This biodiesel is able to supply 50% of the McDonald’s delivery fleet and has fuelled it over 12 million km of deliveries to date.

Reverse Logistics: Our delivery trucks collect and recycle used cardboard from restaurants at the same time as the delivery of food and drink. This system allows us to utilise vehicle space that would otherwise be empty. Per annum, 5000 trips and 1.2 million km in road journeys are saved through the reverse logistics system. In 2010, our annual fleet-related CO2 emissions were reduced by 9,429 tonnes (equivalent to 43%).

Controlling Energy Use: Our managers track their restaurant’s energy consumption online and are encouraged to compare it to other restaurants. Every day all restaurants receive a graph of electrical consumption. Managers have been trained to interpret these graphs to recognise opportunities such as excessive overnight consumption. In addition, our crew are now trained in energy efficient procedures – for example putting equipment such as grills and toasters into the standby position when not in use, and switching equipment off whenever not required.

Minimising Food waste: Our restaurants use computer systems to monitor the amount of food sold at different times throughout the day. This allows restaurants to order and prepare precise quantities of ingredient, with the majority of restaurants wasting less than 3% of their stock.

Sustainably sourced food: We will not use any ingredient unless it is clear exactly where is has come from and that it complies with both the stringent national regulations and McDonald’s own high standards.

• We only use 100% British and Irish beef and pork.
• The vast majority of our potatoes are grown in the UK
• All of the milk used in our restaurants is sourced from British farms.
• All of the eggs used across our entire menu are free range. In 2010, we cracked, on average, 1.8 million free range eggs every week.