CUSTOMER CASE: MCDONALD’S LAUNCHES FLAGSHIP FARM PROGRAM

November 5, 2015

Over 500,000 farms across Europe provide McDonald’s with the raw materials it needs for its more than 7,000 restaurants. These raw materials include wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, fruit, milk, eggs, beef, chicken and pork.  To increase the sustainability practices across its agricultural supply chain, McDonald’s launched the Flagship Farm Initiative.

The Flagship Farm program highlights best-in-class sustainable farming practices and promotes their broader adoption across the farming community. The practices demonstrated fall in one or more of the following areas:

• Ethical: human welfare and labour rights, animal health and welfare, rural landscape preservation, business ethics and supplier relationships.
• Environmental: climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity (ecosystem protection), natural resources (soil, water, air emissions), agro-technology, waste.
• Economic: local economies, sufficient good quality production, community.

The Flagship Farm project builds on the McDonald’s Agricultural Assurance Programme (MAAP), the tool utilized by McDonald’s to assess the agricultural production standards employed in growing the farm products used in McDonald’s menu items.

Objectives

The primary aim of the McDonald’s Europe Flagship Farm program website is to encourage dialogue between farmers, demonstrate the benefits of sustainable practices and promote their broader adoption across the farming community. The progressive farmers featured on the site are keen to share the benefits of the good practices they have adopted and continuously strive to improve and innovate. McDonald’s ultimate goal of the initiative is to ensure sustainable supply, maintain price stability and respond to consumer demand for responsibly sourced, traceable produce.

Results

Currently, there are 15 farms within the Flagship Farm program, with a total of 20 farms targeted by the end of 2014. The program has also been an excellent vehicle for communicating “Best-in-Class” sustainability practices and encouraging their uptake within the supply base.  It is a long term commitment to drive change at the farm level, but the short term benefits have been identifying the flagship farms and communicating that McDonald’s, their suppliers and farmers are committed to sustainability.

Contact Information
Lara Zoeller-Hare
McDonald’s Europe Ltd
11-59 High Road
East Finchley
London
N2 8AW
Lara.ZoellerHare@eu.mcd.com

Flagship Farm Program website