With more than 1,400 restaurants across Canada serving over a million people a day, and, according to a recent Angus Reid survey, nearly one in 10 Canadians have worked in a McDonald’s restaurant, McDonald’s presence is both big and small. Supplied
With 55 years in Canada, and with restaurants from coast to coast to coast, everyone knows the Golden Arches™, and the company has a strong legacy of feeding and fostering Canadian communities. As it looks ahead, McDonald’s Canada has big plans to do more with the planet, food, employees and local communities in mind.
Better choices for the planet
Like millions of Canadians, the planet is of concern for McDonald’s. The company is on a mission to achieve its global pledge of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In 2019, the company reduced the size of its napkins by 20 per cent a move that, along with a change to some product packaging, eliminated more than 1,300 tonnes of paper from the Canadian system.
“We’re always exploring ways in which we can continue to reduce packaging, and leverage our scale to drive positive impact, while also remaining committed to a topnotch experience for our guests,” explains Gemma Pryor, senior director of McDonald’s Canada Impact Team, which leads the company’s efforts to give back to communities.
Take, for example, the McDonald’s straw. Now when you get a McDonald’s drink in Canada, it comes with a paper straw. In late 2021, McDonald’s Canada removed certain single-use plastics from its restaurants, eliminating approximately 700 tonnes of plastic from the Canadian system annually. In addition, McDonald’s Canada is on a journey to source 100% of its primary guest packaging, including items like cups, wrap, containers and bags for food, from renewable, recycled, or certified sources by the end of 2025.
Canadian farmers and growers are key partners with the organization. McDonald’s Canada sources ingredients like freshly cracked Canada Grade A eggs, potatoes, dairy and beef from nearly 50,000 Canadian farms.
“We buy a lot of the same ingredients that you buy in your weekly grocery shop, like Canada Grade A eggs. The difference is that we’ve bought over 600 million of them over the last five years,” says Ms. Pryor.
McDonald’s Canada recognizes farmers have unique challenges and Ms. Pryor says the company is also committed to supporting them through partnerships, including those attracting youth into the farming industry. This includes sponsoring the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Mentorship Program, a national initiative of the Canadian Cattle Association that provides young people aged 18 to 35 with industry-specific training and mentorship opportunities.
“More than just serving up food, we pride ourselves on supporting the communities in which we operate,” says Ms. Pryor. “We want our guests to know we’re investing in real and tangible change with our planet, communities and people in mind, while ensuring we continue to serve great-tasting, quality food.”
From the moment Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) opened its first House in Canada in 1981, McDonald’s Canada, along with its franchisees, crew, and customers, have been helping RMHC to keep more than 436,000 Canadian families close to their child in hospital.
“Having a home away from home during the most challenging time in their lives, is nothing short of an essential service for families,” says Ms. Pryor, who is also on the Board of Directors at RMHC Canada.
To ensure that support is there for years to come, McDonald’s Canada, together with its franchisees and guests have a goal to donate more than $70-million to RMHC over the next five years to nearly double the number of bedrooms for families with sick children by the end of 2032.
Community support in times of great need
With more than 1,400 restaurants across the country serving over a million people a day, and, according to a recent Angus Reid survey conducted on behalf of McDonald’s, nearly one in 10 Canadians having worked in a McDonald’s restaurant at some point, McDonald’s presence is both big and small in the lives of Canadians and communities. Being there for communities also means finding ways to be there in times of crisis. That support ranges from donations to the Canadian Red Cross during the B.C. floods to, in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping the government of Alberta distribute some 40 million non-medical masks through its Drive-Thru lanes and restaurants.
McDonald’s Canada has been in the country for 55 years and has big plans to do more with the planet, food, employees and local communities in mind. Supplied
“The Drive-Thru is an amazing delivery model for physical distancing and speedy distribution and governments turned to our industry to help to reach millions of Canadians with leaflets with science-based COVID-19 vaccine information and masks in Alberta,” says Ms. Pryor.
In all of these efforts, frontline workers were top of mind, explains Ms. Pryor, with the company saying ‘thank you’ with more than 2.7 million free coffees.
McDonald’s has also committed to supporting those experiencing food insecurity with an ambition to feed Canadians in need by providing approximately one million meals every year through community organizations like Food Banks Canada.
McDonald’s has been in Canadian neighbourhoods for more than five decades and plans to be there for many more, with on-going commitments and ambitions to take action on what matters to communities across the country.
“Beyond serving a delicious burger made with 100 per cent Canadian beef with a great cup of McCafé coffee on the side, it’s about how we behave in our communities and the impact we can have on our communities,” she says. “We have our hardworking and passionate franchisees and crew to thank for always making sure we are not just in a community; but truly part of a community.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with McDonald’s. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.