In line with its ever increasing pro-environment initiatives, McDonald’s has implemented a number of recent sustainability programs to help reduce waste, water and energy use both with its restaurants and from its suppliers. The first initiative has been discussed before, but is still as important as ever: encouraging its suppliers to operate in an environmentally conscious way. McDonald’s is a leader in this field and has been successful with this for a few years now (see the last issue of Ethisphere Magazine).

The other, less common initiative involves “10 different green design restaurants,” according to Bob Langert, VP for social responsibility at McDonald’s. Langert told Daily Finance News that the 10 stores will be used as “learning laboratories” that will help teach the company how to reduce water and energy usage. According to Langert, a Chicago store already “reduced its water usage by 50 percent and energy usage by 25 percent.” McDonald’s hopes to extend the same reductions company-wide.