The Olympic Green Medal

Will McDonald's qualify as an Olympic Sustainability Partner?

The 2012 Olympics, to be held in London, are searching for "sustainability partners," and are pressing their traditional partners to work with them on enhancing the Games' sustainability performance.  Despite the negativity surrounding many global brands, those brands tend to be the best managed and have strong corporate social responsibility values.  These brands will have to prove that they can contribute to the Committee's sustainability objectives.

So how will McDonald's (MCD – $52.00) maintain its position as an Olympic brand?  With an operational core philosophy of efficiency, it's doubtless that energy-efficient equipment will be on a long list.  Paper products, the minimal waste food, and used kitchen grease may be recycled, composted, or processed for biodiesel.  Plastic packaging will pose a challenge for acheiving zero waste, and while McDonald's may be willing to foot the bill for biodegradable cup lids and straws, it will face a much greater challenge and cost in having the rest of its plastic packaging replaced.  It won't just be about the consumer packaging; to acheive zero waste McDonald's will have to look deep into the company's supply chain and analyze how all its shipped product are packaged. 

Where the quick-serve giant is sure to fail is the third leg of sustainability: social performance.  Despite generous corporate giving, the dietary considerations may be a strong mark against them.  McDonald's has little to no opportunity to embrace local ingredients, let alone craft a menu that states "sustainability" without compromising product consistency.

McDonald's will certainly be an Olympic partner, but if the Olympics wants to include a brand whose identity often seems the antithesis of "sustainability," then it will have to reconsider the very definition of the word.

Disclosure:  I do not own this stock.  But I do like the dollar-menu double cheese burgers. 

 

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Photo:abeer.de, Creative Commons, Flickr