McDonald’s Corporation: Managing a Sustainable Supply Chain

How should McDonalds engage suppliers, activists, and other stakeholders in it’s sustainable supply chain? Greenpeace had a reputation for pressuring but not collaborating with industry; was it a good strategy for McDonalds to try and engage Greenpeace? What alternatives could have been used?

McDonald’s a fast food giant, with over 30,700 restaurants in 118 countries worldwide, must engage with their suppliers in a collaborative approach by working together to improve and set goals that are relevant and meet local and worldwide expectations. McDonald must continue to recognize the importance of all their stakeholders in maintaining their sustainability efforts in their supply chain. They must continue to discuss the stakeholder’s concerns and work towards equitable solutions together. McDonald must listen to the activist community and wants to not only be proactive, but to be out-front in recognizing issues. Where McDonald’s doesn’t have the clout to make change by themselves they must enlist others with a stake in the issue and outcome, to resolve or mitigate the issue. They must listen to and open to their customers concerns and recognize local traditions and regulations and engage in conversations with their local managers.

McDonalds’ can collaborate with NGO’s to do research on the sustainable environmental practices that could yield excellent quality crops by reducing water usage in cultivation. They could then guide the suppliers on the best practices and educate them to follow the guidelines. They could also collaborate with other competitors in bringing the best sustainable practices in fast food industry. This would enhance them to follow triple bottom line more seriously and embed sustainability as a core component in their strategy.

Yes, working with Greenpeace is a good strategy for McDonald, and could prevent other McAmazon campaign which could easily attack McDonald’s brand. The collaboration could also easily reach out to experts in their various areas of concern and form partnerships to understand and address issues. In addition, they recognize opportunities and continue to learn from their stakeholders about future concerns as well as effective means to address these concerns before they become overwhelming issues. McDonald’s recognizes the importance of constructive interaction with all stakeholders and has set up various groups and programs within their organization to lead these efforts, i.e., sustainable supply chain working group, area of the world leaders group, agricultural assistance program, etc. Thus, McDonald’s opens an avenue to be a sustainability leader and facilitate realistic solutions to complicated problems.