This is a booklet from the fast-food chain McDonald’s, created in 1992, to highlight the company’s commitment to environmental protection through their Earth Effort program. In the late 1980s, McDonald’s faced public pressure to reduce packaging and solid waste generated during food preparation. In November 1990, McDonald’s formed a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, to establish the McDonald’s Earth Effort program. This groundbreaking collaboration marked the first partnership between an environmental group and a Fortune 500 company. The Earth Effort program initially focused on three waste reduction principles: reduce, reuse, and recycle. However, it went beyond that by implementing policies such as avoiding beef sourced from rainforest land, utilizing energy-efficient equipment, and developing educational programs for schools.

Over the following decade, McDonald’s achieved significant milestones through the Earth Effort program. They eliminated over 300 million pounds of packaging waste, recycled one million tons of corrugated boxes, reduced restaurant waste by 30 percent, and saved an estimated $6 million per year. Since its launch, the Earth Effort program has been instrumental in driving innovative environmental solutions, with EDF partnering and collaborating with numerous companies to benefit both the environment and the economy. Today, McDonald’s and EDF continue to work together towards their shared goals. In 2018, McDonald’s made a commitment to science-based targets in order to reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emissions, furthering their dedication to sustainable practices.