Fast food giant McDonald's (NYSE"MC D) has set a new target to cut its global greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
McDonald’s said that it plans to reduce the carbon dioxide produced from the beef in its burgers to the light bulbs in its restaurants. The hamburger chain said it is working with the non-profit Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to revamp its existing climate change targets.
McDonald’s aims to lower its absolute emissions by about a third for both its suppliers and its nearly 40,000 company-run and franchised restaurants around the world by 2030.
United Nations scientists say the world's net carbon dioxide emissions must fall to zero by 2050 to limit the rise in global temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius versus pre-industrial levels.
Net zero plans require companies to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and offset any remaining emissions using projects that capture the gas. More than 1,000 companies have signed similar pledges to McDonald’s through the United Nations.
On Wednesday, funds managing nearly $30 trillion U.S. in assets called for 1,600 of the world's most polluting companies to set science-based emissions targets, as wildfires, droughts and floods make slowing climate change more urgent than ever before.
McDonald's is one of the largest beef purchasers in the world. Roughly 80% of its total emissions come from its supply chain, in particular its use of beef, chicken, dairy and other proteins.
The Chicago-based company will use new guidelines from SBTi, with which it already works, to focus on cutting emissions in agriculture, land use and forestry.
