- The 2016 Social and Environmental Impact Report details achievements across key categories: People, Community, Supply Chain, Food and Planet.
- Providing employment and training opportunities for young people is a key focus.
- Arcos Dorados is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Press Release – Montevideo, Uruguay, July 24, 2017 – Arcos Dorados, the world’s largest McDonald’s franchisee operating in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, announces the publication of its 2016 Social and Environmental Impact Report, titled “Preparing the Recipe of the Future”, which outlines significant progress the Company has made against its key sustainability objectives.
The Company’s plan to create shared value for its business and society focuses on five main areas: People, Community, Supply Chain, Food and Planet. In the report, the Company details its commitment to youth employment, emphasizing its work with labor ministries, private organizations, and initiatives such as the Inter-American Development Bank’s New Employment Opportunities for Youth Program, which seeks to provide young people with their first formal job opportunity.
“As operators of the largest quick service restaurant chain in Latin America and the Caribbean, we are taking an industry leadership role regarding sustainability,” said Sergio Alonso, CEO of Arcos Dorados. “Sustainability is an important component of our strategy and identity. I am proud of the progress we have made and we are guided by clear sustainability goals as we strive to operate our business in a manner that benefits the environment and the communities we serve. Our extensive footprint spanning twenty countries means we are agents of change in Latin America and the Caribbean, and our actions have widespread benefits.”
- People: Arcos Dorados offered more than 73,000 young people across Latin America their first job opportunity in 2016, providing its youngest employees with broadly applicable technical and leadership training. The Company also works with labor ministries and private organizations to act as a catalyst for social mobility for young people who wish to enter the labor market.
More broadly, Arcos Dorados partners with academic institutions to provide ongoing training for managers. McDonald’s University in São Paulo offers a Master’s in Strategies for Sustainable Development in conjunction with the FIA Business School in São Paulo and the prestigious Getulio Vargas Foundation. With respect to gender diversity, 53% of the Company’s restaurant managers and corporate associates are female. Arcos Dorados Mexico was recently ranked as one of the top companies for gender equality. The Company is also committed to creating an inclusive culture for employees with disabilities and in 2016 there were almost 1,300 people employed with disabilities. - Community: Among its activities to support the communities in which it operates, the McHappy Day is a day on which Arcos Dorados donates 100% of Big Mac sales to charitable causes in each market, including Ronald McDonald House Charities, which helped over 122,000 families in 2016. In addition, as of the end of 2016, Arcos Dorados employed approximately 1,300 people with motor and/or intellectual disabilities in its restaurants, and in Colombia in particular, 150 young people with impaired hearing as well as approximately 1,200 vulnerable youths, including those displaced by violence.
- Supply Chain, Food and Planet: Many of Arcos Dorados’ products are sustainably sourced. For example, in Brazil – Arcos Dorados’ largest market – all the coffee and fish served is certified as sustainably produced. The Company also utilizes paper packaging that is developed in a sustainable manner and recyclable where possible. By the year 2020, Arcos Dorados has committed to sustainably sourcing all of its packaging, coffee, palm oil and fish. Since 2012, Arcos Dorados has implemented efficiencies which enable restaurants to reduce energy consumption by roughly 5% each year. Restaurants in the Company’s seven largest markets are also implementing the Natal program, an initiative in which the water condensation from air conditioners is repurposed for other uses in order to reduce the restaurant’s total water usage. In addition, initiatives to support communities in which the Company operates include local sourcing, with over 90% of the restaurant chain’s suppliers comprising local producers. The Company strives to promote the transparency of its operations, and in 2016 invited over 3.1 million guests into its kitchens as part of the ongoing Open Doors Program.
Woods Staton, Chairman of Arcos Dorados noted: “As a particular area of focus, we are dedicated to providing employment opportunities for young people and ensuring they have access to the most comprehensive training programs in the region. Our employees are the face of the Arcos Dorados family and we are proud to work together to support the communities in which we operate.”
To view the Arcos Dorados 2016 Social and Environmental Impact Report: Preparing the Recipe of the Future, please visit: http://www.arcosdorados.com/img/editorial/comunidad/AD_informe_eng.zip
About Arcos Dorados
Arcos Dorados is the world’s largest McDonald’s franchisee in terms of systemwide sales and number of restaurants, operating the largest quick service restaurant chain in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has the exclusive right to own, operate and grant franchises of McDonald’s restaurants in 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries and territories, including Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Company operates or franchises over 2,100 McDonald’s-branded restaurants with over 90,000 employees and is recognized as one of the best companies to work for in Latin America. Arcos Dorados is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ARCO). To learn more about the Company, please visit the Investors section of our website: www.arcosdorados.com/ir
