With you all the way: That makes us want to do better and better.

McDonald’s Germany – Corporate Responsibility Report 2020 – At a glance

There’s no planet B.

How do you steer through times of crisis towards a more sustainable future? A virtual chat with Holger Beeck, Managing Director and President of McDonald’s Germany, and Dominik Neiss, Speaker of the Franchisee Leadership Council.

With you all the way!

The world is moving at incredible speed and change is the only constant. And it’s the same for us as a company. Flexibil-ity and speed are crucial, especially in exceptional times like these. We have laid a strong foundation for our business over the past 50 years. Now we need to build on these roots to deliver lasting value to society as a whole, our employees, future generations and the planet we live on. Our communities think there is still a lot we can do to improve. And they’re right! What mat-ters to you matters to us. Sustainability and a sense of responsibility must continue to shape our business over the next 50 years. As you can imagine, I won’t be the head of McDonald’s Germany by then, but I will always follow the McDonald’s journey with great interest.

Dominik Neiss: I’m sure you will! But being in tune with our customers also means less talk, more action! It’s all about following through. We know people want to see less plastic, so we now serve our McFlurry ice

creams, for example, without plastic lids or spoons. We have responded to calls for a smaller CO2 footprint by continually im-proving our supply chain, for example, by shortening delivery routes and expanding the number of electric vehicles we use. But sustainable business development does notstop there. It’s also a question of values – and how we live them within and beyond company walls.

Holger Beeck: Exactly. Values like com-munity, inclusion, integrity and mutual appreciation and respect are extremely important to the McFamily. They provide a compass to guide all our actions. We aim to bring these values to life each and every day, ensuring that they touch our people and our guests not just now, in these exceptional times, but also in the new normal, whatever that might be.

year we had big plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of McDonald’s Germany. Unfortunately, it’s just not possible at the moment. The pandemic still shapes day-to-day life in our restaurants. Which makes me more grateful than ever to our employees on the ground. They and our restaurant management staff are doing a great job. This commitment was and con-tinues to be key in enabling McDonald’s to show up for the communities it serves.

Holger Beeck: I can really second that. The important thing now I think, is to look to the future. Although I don’t know if we’ll ever return to the old “normal”.

Have we whet your appetite?Find the answers to all your ques-tions about sustainability at McDonald’s online.

After 37 years with the company, Holger Beeck is handing over the reins to

Mario Federico as the new head of

McDonald’s Germany in August 2021.

Holger Beeck: Hello Dominic. It’s great to see you – even if we can only meet virtually at the moment.

Dominik Neiss: Hello Holger. I agree. These certainly are unusual times, es-pecially when you think that this was the

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We welcome around

1.6 million guests a day

1,448 restaurants across Germany

54,928 employees

McDonald’s Germany is half a century old! Hard to believe withallthatyouthfulspiritandenergy.Ourfirstrestau-rant opened its doors in Munich in 1971. Since then, we’ve gone on to open many more across Germany. Even after fiftyyears,westillloveshowingupforyou–whereverand whenever you need us.

Tenyearsofcertified sustainability reporting In our McDonald’s sustainability brochure, we report on our most important initiatives and company indicators from 2020. McDonald’s Germany updates and publishes its sustainability data every year – and we’ve been doing this for ten years now. In addition to this “at a glance” summary, we publish a more detailed corporate responsibility report,whichyoucanfindatwww.mcdonalds.de/nachhaltigkeit.Thereport was prepared in accordance with the standards issued by the GlobalReportingInitiative(GRIstandards).Themostimportantfig­ures are audited by KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.

Three “Ds” for a safe dining experienceOur clear focus on the three “Ds” has enabled us to be there for our guests throughoutthepandemic.Thefirsttwo Ds, drive-in and delivery, saw us strengthen and expand our ordering options for guests. With the third D, digital, we enhanced our technology options to give our customers convenient, safe access toourofferingsinanalmostcontact­ free environment.

Showing up for you – for the past 50 years!

Want to know more about digitalization?Listen to our podcast!

204 franchisees

131 suppliers

50 ofMcDonald’s Germany

years

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Volume and origin of our raw materials in 2020

CHICKEN 22,659 t 24 %

GER 76 % EU

FISH 1,178 t 10

0 % O

BEEF

33,40

7t 85 %

GER 15 %

EU WHEAT FLOUR 28,888 t 76 %

GER 24 % EU

C

HEES

E5,43

2t 29 %

GER 71 % EU C

UCUMBERS 2,529 t 100 %

GER

O

NIONS 8,222 t 98 %

EU 2 %O

LETT

UCE8

,913t

27 % GER 65 %

EU 8 % O

POTATOES 112,714 t 72 % GER 28 %

EU

TOM

ATOE

S18,3

72t 8

9 % EU 11

% O

EGGS 704 t 70 %

GER 30 % EU

MILK 24,085 t 98 %

GER 2 % EU

COFFEE 826 t 100 %

O

With you all the way! In other words, we hone in on the things that are really important to our guests. So, for instance, we prioritize ingredients and products sourced regionallyandcertifiedtoecologicalandsocialstandards. 

Closer, better, tasty!

Wherever possible, we use raw materials from Ger-many. And there are plenty of good reasons for this. For one, it enables us to support local agriculture. In addition, sourcing products from regional suppliers guarantees a steady supply of fresh ingredients and reducesthedistancegoodsaretransported. 

Seal of quality Local is good, but it’s not always possible. Sometimes, for seasonal or climate reasons, we can’t source certain raw materials from Germany or neighboring countries. Especially when we source raw materials from beyondEurope,weapplydefinedstandards and established quality labels to ensure that we live up to our environmental and social guide-lines no matter where the produce comes from.

Our coffee for hot drinks – 100% of coffee from certified sustain-able plantations

Our fish – 100% of fish from certified sustain-able fisheries

Our shrimps – 100% of seafood from re-sponsible aqua culture

Our Happy Meal – with a choice of certified organic products

59 % from Germany

39 %from Europe

2 % from other

countries

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131suppliers We have been working with 40 of these for more than 20 years.

Getting better together.With you all the way! So we tap into our strong supply chain spanning local, national and international partners to connect not only at a business level but also at an aspirational level. Across our supply chain, we are united by a shared understanding of the goals we are pursuing, such as adherence to high standards, quality excellence and the willingness to try out new ideas to realize lasting improve-ments. We achieve more by working as a team! Which is why we’re not averse to switching things around from time to time ...

Want to know more about regionality?Listen to our podcast!

Perfectfit!Higheststandards in partner engagement.We work with a host of top-name producers such as Bonduelle, Develey and Hochland. In some cases, these partnerships were established a long time ago. In fact, we’ve been working with 40 partners for over 20 years now. And that is no coincidence. Ultimately, lasting improvements can only be achieved in close collaboration with all stakeholders along the value chain. Our Supplier Code of Conduct and Supplier Workplace Accountability (SWA) program form the basis of our relationships with suppliers the world over. To maintain this high standard, we only continue to engage with partners who endorse this Code of Conduct and regularly take part in the SWA program.

Change is goodWe are running a joint pilot project with our partner companies Agrarfrost and Lieken. Following the potato harvest for our fries, a select number of Agrarfrost’s contract farm-ers are now growing wheat, which Lieken will then use to make burger buns. Rotating crops in this way im- proves the quality of the soil, protects its nutrients and also pro-duces healthier plants.

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Driving action to improve animal welfareWith you all the way! We know that high quality goes hand in hand with animal welfare. Compliance with legal regulations on animal wellbeing is an absolute must for all our suppliers. We are also working at multiple levels to continually improve existing standards for livestock farming and – where appropriate – go above and beyond legal requirements.

3,423 farmers took part in the BEST Beef program in 2020.

A BEST Beef bonus was paid for

28,917 cows in 2020.

Not the time for walking on eggshellsWe only use free-range eggs for our breakfast products, dips and sauces. To ensure our chicken products also meet the highest quality standards, we only use meat from chickens that were fed with non-GMOfeedandwerenottreatedwithantibioticsdefinedbytheWorldHealth Organization (WHO) as Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIA) for human medicine. 100 percent of the soyusedinthefeedforbroilerscomesfromcertified,sustainableplantations – in fact, the soy in the feed for laying hens comes from certifiedsustainableplantationsinEurope.

BEST Beef 2.0 Over ten years ago, we teamed up with partners from the agriculture and meat processing sectors and from the scientificcommunitytodevelopourBESTBeefbonuspro-gram aimed at incentivizing sound agricultural practices. Now operating under the name BEST Beef 2.0, this initiative increasingly focuses on ensuring animal-friendly husbandry practices, improv-ing animal health while keeping the administration of antibiotics to a minimum and reducing CO2emissions.In2020,3,423farmerstook part in this program and a “BEST Beef” bonus was paid for 28,917 cows.

Want to know more about meat consumption andalternatives?  Listen to our podcast!

Meatless tasty!With products such as our Big Vegan TS, we’ve proven that you can get that genuine McDonald’s taste without meat! To make this popular burger even tastier, we listened to feedback from our guests and made more improvements to the recipe for the Big Vegan TS – incorporatingthechangesourguestswanted.100%tastewith0%meat–yuuum!

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Want to know more about healthyeating? Listen to our podcast!

Setting advertising boundaries for childrenCertain safeguards are needed to help children gravitate towards healthy, balanced diets. To support this process, we signed up to the EU Pledge back in 2007, for example. As part of this initiative, we have committed to refrain from advertising any food or drink products to children under the age of 12 through TV, print, online or social media channels unlesstheseproductsmeetdefinednutritionalcriteria.

Know what you’re eatingWe are constantly exploring ways of creating a balanced offeringforouryoung(andolder)guestswhilealso reducing levels of sugar, fat and salt as much as possible. For almost 25 years now, our guests have been able to quicklyandeasilyfindoutthenutritionalvalueandingre-dients in all of our products – in our restaurants, on our website and via our McDonald’s app.

Because we careAs a family restaurant, the nutritional needs of child ren are especially important to us. We feel a particularly strong sense of responsibility towards our youngest guests. We want our Happy Meals to contribute towards balanced lifestyle choices for children – which is why we take particular care when choosing the products aimed at our young guests. Since 2014, our Happy Meals have included a fruit product and a range of organic products alongside the main course, side and drink.

Meat-free menu

We’ve added an additional menu category called “Vegan, Salads & Co.” to make it easierforourgueststofindvegetarianand vegan options.

In 2020, we sold around 10 million apple slice packs in our Happy Meals.

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20192020

2021

Following on from our live ex-periment – our “Better M” store launched in summer 2019, we havenowtakenthefirstcon-crete steps. Our portions of four Chicken McNuggets are now served in paper bags instead of boxes and we have also intro-duced new balloon holders made of paper.

Less is more!

In the second year of our packaging journey, we continued by converting our dessert packaging to almost completely plastic-free alternatives. Our McFlurry, McSundae and milkshake prod-ucts are now served in paper cups and we have replaced plastic spoons with a wooden alterna-tive. We also now use paper straws for our drinks –andonlyofferthemonrequest.Thesechangesalone enabled us to save 1,017 tons of plastic by June 2021.

Since the end of 2020, we have been using paper packaging to wrap the toys in our Happy Meals instead of plastic packaging. We are also increasingly focusing on sus-tainable materials when choosing these toys. For example, we no longer include battery-powered toys.

Want to learn more about reducing plastic and waste?Get the low-down on our packaging journey here!

Our goal: Our number one priority is to reduce or eliminate packaging wherever possible. In addition, our goal is to have 100 percent of guest packaging used worldwide in all McDonald’s restaurants made from renew- able,recycledorcertifiedsourcesby2025.

Now is the time for climate and environmental action!An EU-wide ban on plastic items such as straws, cutlery and balloon holders came into force in July 2021. We started to gradually tran-sition our packaging one year before the deadline. Looking beyond policy makers, our drive to reduce packaging further is also driven by our guests’ desire to see less waste.

It’s a wrap! Starting this year, we have been wrapping more and more products in paper instead of serving them in cardboard boxes. This change alone has led to average material savings of 70 percent.

With you all the way! Even if some packaging is essential for us to serve our food quickly, safely and easily, too much packaging is not good for the environment. So we want toplayourpartineffortsaimedatdramaticallyreducingwaste. To this end, we developed a roadmap for cutting down on packaging waste and plastic in 2019. We know that the alternatives are not yet perfect, but it is early days yet and we are on the right path.

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In 2020, we consumed

40,538t of packaging.

Wrapped up in …. grass! Therearemanybenefitstousinginnovative materials such as grass paper. Manufacturing paper that contains grass requires less energy and water than conventional paper. The grass in our paper is sourced from existing, sustainable grass-land that does not compete with other land uses.

12,480 t of used cooking oil

3,220t of other waste

30,039t of paper, card-board, carton

10,499 t of lightweight packaging

11,826 t of organic waste

With you all the way! So it’s no surprise that we are constantly testing innovative packaging alternatives in a bid to reduce waste. Several of our products now come in paper wraps. Alongside conventional white and brown paper, we’re also bringing a paper with 20 percent grass con-tenttothetableforthefirsttime.WestoppedservingourMcWrapsandseveral burgers in cardboard boxes in March 2021, and look forward to wrapping our heads around some more alternative packaging soon.

Time to  wrap your mind around  our new burgers!

When it comes to the crunch ...

From summer 2021 on, custom-ers can now choose to have our ice creams and new frozen yoghurt served in a premium crunchy cone instead of a tub.

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You bin – we all win!The percentage of to-go products increased sharply as a result of the corona-virus. Unfortunately, littering increased too. Which of course prompted us to takespecificaction–withasportytwist.FromAugust2021on,we’llbeaskingour guests to dispose of their packaging correctly and help tackle litter as part of our “You bin – we all win” campaign. We’ll be install-ing special waste bins in McDrive exits, car parks of selected res-taurants and similar locations to encourage customers to dispose of their waste in a fun, easy way.

From cup to report!We’re making drinks cups go further. Our McDonald’s paper cups are separated from other waste in our restaurants and fed into an internal recycling system that gives them a second life as toilet paper, for example. Last year, we also started printing our corporate responsibility reports on used and recycled single-use paper cups.

From bin to paper

Our restaurant employees have been separating packaging and other ma-

terials for many years now so they can be recycled. To do even better in this

area, we started to feed our transport- related cardboard packaging into a separate recycling stream this year.

Sustainability seal of approval:

100 percent ofourvirginfiberissourced

from sustainable forests certifiedbytheFSCorPEFC.

With you all the way! Like you, we know that sustainable waste management calls for clear concepts, innovative conservation ideas and concrete action – where it matters.

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Watt-ever it takes!

In collaboration with our partner EWE Go, McDonald’s is system-atically building out Germany’s fast-charging network for electric vehicles. Charging points for electric cars have already been in-stalled at over 100 McDonald’s restaurants. By 2025, drivers will be able to recharge their electric vehicles with 100 percent green ener-gy at over 1,000 McDrive locations. And it goes without saying that all of our restaurants draw their energy from regenerative sources.

The energy used in our restaurants is

100 percent green from hydroelectric power.

transport

3 %

restaurants and administration

5 %packaging

and toys

5 %

 CO2 footprint:

In 2020, we produced

1.2 million tons of CO2

in our value chain.

food processing 87 %

agriculture and

As part of our sustainability strategy, we are actively committed to reducing CO2 emissions in all areas of our business and operations. We have set ourselves the global goal of reducing CO2 emissions from our res-taurantsandofficesby36percentandCO2 emissions fromoursupplychainby31percentrelativetothe2015baselineby2030.Concretemeasureshereincludeoureffectiveenergymanagementsystem,whichisusedinallrestaurantsandoffices,andourBESTBeefprogram.

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Helping families stay together. With you all the way! When children become critically ill, their parents and siblings need to be close at hand to provide every possible support. This is even more important if a child has to be treated in a specialist hospital far from home. This is where Ronald McDonald House Charities steps in, giving families a home away from home and enabling them to channel all their energy into caring for the youngest of patients.

Whether a cash or digital donation, every little bit helps. Together with our franchi-sees, suppliers and guests, McDonald’s Germany donated a total of EUR 4.9 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2020. Our digital fundraising campaign in McDonald’s restaurants raised over EUR 200,000 alone from December 21, 2020 to January 6, 2021. Our guests were able to safely and easily donate to this good cause during the pandemic whenever they placed an order using our app, a terminal or McDrive point.

Getting better togetherTwins Anna and Leonhard had to part ways after they were born because Anna was severely underweight and needed to be transferred to the pediatric hospital in Passau. The family was able to remain together, however, thanks to the Ronald Mc-Donald House and Ronald McDonald Family Room based at the hospital. Anna’s parents were able to retreat to a quiet space where they could recharge their batteries while still remaining close to their daughter. Anna’s big sister Victoria was able to play in the family room and immediately build a relationship with her siblings. “The Ronald McDonald House enabled us to bond as a family from day one despite this tough start,” says Anna’s mother Carina as she recalls the help they received atthisdifficulttimebefore thefamilyoffivewas finallyabletoreturn home together.

A helping hand across GermanyRonald McDonald House Charities currently runs ...

22 Ronald McDonald Houses, which provided a temporary home away from home for 5,448 families with critically ill children in 2020.

6 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, providing families with awelcomeretreatwithinhospitalwalls.In2020,3,320familiesmadeuseofthese rooms.

Everyone wins!Sharethejoy!Wealwaysofferouryoung guests the option of choos-ing a book as their Happy Meal gift

instead of a toy. And for every Happy Meal that we sell with a book, we

donate 10 cents to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Want to know more about Ronald McDonald House Charities?Visit the website here!

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1,474 trainees in three apprenticeship programs

82 %of our trainees and students in the combined work/studyprogramsubse­ quently onboarded in 2020.

Employees from 118 countries

91 employees with disabilities in company- owned restaurants

Women in management positions:

47 %in company- owned restaurants

34 %in administration

“Initially, some of the other students at uni were surprised at the thought of studying for McDonald’s. They thought that all we did here is sell burgers. Now I know that there’s so much more to it than that. Working at McDonald’s is fun and I’m learning so many things that I can apply in theory and practice. I really can’t seeanydifferenceatallbetweenmyselfand people studying business manage-ment in other areas.”Finn Maciejok Food & Beverage Management, second semester bachelor student

Serving up bright futuresfor everyone! Asalargecompany,wecanofferpeopleindifferentcircumstancesandwithdifferenteducationalbackgroundsarangeofopportunitiesfor starting a career in the foodservice sector or business world – fromapprenticeshipsandcombinedwork/studyprogramsthroughinternships to direct employment opportunities.

“Lots of people don’t even know that you can do an apprenticeship at McDonald’s. But I’m pleased I decided to train here. Our employer does a lot to create a pos-itive working environment. McDonald’s also supports its people with language courses.Andbestofall,whenIfinishmy apprenticeship, I will have countless opportunities to continue learning and kick-start my career.”Medina Kalac Expert in the foodservice sector, in her second year of training

Careers without prejudice? Find out about apprenticeships at McDonald’s here!

Our society is colorful and diverse – and that’s a beautiful thing. Our doors are open to everyone regard- less of nationality, gender or education. All we’re inter-ested in is who you are as a person and how motivated you are to start a career with us. In terms of equal op-portunities, our goal is to reach gender parity globally in leadership roles (Senior Director and above) by the end of2030.

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94 %

franchise

restaurants

204 franchisees

*Online survey of McDonald’s franchisees, n=108

Making dreams come trueEvery year, the students of Göttingen’s school for children with learning disabilities get exclusive use of the city’s ice rink. It’s an event that everyone looks forward to – even students who have left the school. Petra Hebig makes this dream come true. Together with other partners, she invites students with disabilities to the rink. More than 100 children have an amazing time – and it’s been happening for over 20 years now. McDonald’s employees are also on hand to help, attaching runners to wheelchairssothatthestudentscanglideovertheice. PetraHebighasalsobeenactively involved in environmental campaigns for many years: As part of Göttingen’s “You bin – we all win” campaign to clean up litter in the city, Petra agreed to sponsor a stream close to her restaurant and help ensure it is kept clean.

Petra Hebig Franchisee for 30 years 5 restaurants in a number of locations, including Göttingen

Want to know more about how McDonald’s engages with your local community? Take a look here!

Embedded in local communities!Our 204 franchisees are local ambassadors for McDonald’s. They represent our company in their communities and the work they do in their restaurants and beyond brings our brand to life. Their experi-ence and expertise are vital to McDonald’s success and they also set a great example through their corporate citizenship activities and community engagement.

David Ehmann Second-generation franchi- see, running restaurants for 7 years 11 restaurants in a number of locations including Hanover and the surrounding region

A huge plus for climate and environmental protection For David Ehmann, keeping his restaurant and surrounding area litter-free is extremely important. Which is why he and his employees collect litter from around his restaurant every day. He tells guests how to dispose of waste prop-erly, providing information in his restaurants and also posting on social media, for example on World Cleanup Day. To ensure the air also stays clean, David is graduallytransitioningtheMcDeliveryfleetofvehiclesandemployees’compa-ny cars to electric and hybrid models. David is equally committed to helping people in need, providing McMenu vouchers to the Obdachlosenhilfe e.V. home-less charity for example.

88 % of our franchisees are involvedinsocialand/orenviron­ mental projects in their communities

Approx. 2/3of our franchisees support local waste collection campaigns

86 % of our franchisees support local sports clubs*

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Publishing Details

Edited by McDonald’s Deutschland LLC  Sustainability: Daniel Neusser, Anne Zurek  Corporate Affairs: Tanja Rötger, Birgit Höfler-Schwarz,  Ramona Steer

Designedby Eberle GmbH Werbeagentur GWA  Goethestr. 115 73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

Text DDB München GmbH Blumenstrasse 28 80331 Munich, Germany

Contact McDonald’s Deutschland LLC Zweigniederlassung München Drygalski-Allee 51 81477 Munich, Germany www.mcdonalds.de/nachhaltigkeit T: +49 89 78594 413 F: +49 89 78594 479 E-mail: verantwortung@mcdonalds.deBlog: www.change-m.dePress contact: presse@mcdonalds.de    

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