September 24, 2013 — As the world's biggest fast-food chain, which has 34,000 restaurants in 118 countries, seeks to make its supply chain more environmentally friendly, McDonald's is trying to enlist its customers as allies.
Across the US, McDonald's last week introduced pumpkin spice lattes made with Rainforest Alliance-certified espresso. No such assurance comes with McDonald's drip coffee. Why? Because consumers haven't yet shown Mickey D's that they care.
That's gradually changing, says Bob Langert, the vice president of sustainability for McDonald's, and not a moment too soon. As the world's biggest fast-food chain, which has 34,000 restaurants in 118 countries, seeks to make its supply chain more environmentally friendly, McDonald's is trying to enlist its customers as allies.
That's why the pumpkin lattes marketing features the little green frog seal of approval from the Rainforest Alliance. That's also why McDonald's fish sandwiches, for the first time, feature a blue ecolabel from the Marine Stewardship Council certifying that the pollock inside comes from better-managed fisheries.
By talking to consumers about its sustainability efforts, McDonald's hopes to build brand trust and loyalty. Until recently, people had to dig into the company's website to learn about its environmental performance.
"We've had sustainable fish for many years, but we didn't tell people about it," Langert told me during lunch in Washington DC. (He ordered fish.) "We feel there's a tipping point coming. We see the consumer starting to care. Consumer expectations are rising."
The consumers' role
This is important, in part, because products certified as sustainable by independent third parties often cost a bit more than conventional supplies. That's true not just about coffee and seafood, but also about organic food or cotton, paper and wood products, tea, chocolate and bananas.
To advance sustainability, either consumers need to pay more – which isn't the case with McDonald's lattes, for now – or show their loyalty to a brand by spending more with brands that do business better.
"We're not going to have a sustainability movement without the consumer," Langert says. "At the end of the day, consumers have to buy into this."