McDonald's ploughs £1m into growing greener farms
Fast-food giant McDonald’s will today take a step closer to creating a greener supply chain, after announcing a major new programme designed to boost the sustainability of British and Irish farming.
The restaurant chain will today launch Farm Forward - a three tiered scheme to help McDonald’s source more of its food locally, while reducing the carbon footprint of suppliers.
As part of the program the company will make an initial £1m investment in three projects to train young farmers, fund research and development, and trial a carbon calculator for suppliers.
Brian Mullens, senior vice president of supply chain for McDonald’s UK, said it hoped to help the farming industry tackle some of the major environmental challenges it faces, such as adapting to increased demand for food and the impacts of climate change.
“Supporting the next generation of farmers is vital if we are to secure the future of farming in this country, and our new work programme for young farmers is designed to help them develop the blend of skills and experience that progressive, modern farmers want and need,” he said.
Central to the initiative will be a trial by 200 livestock farmers of a new carbon calculator, developed by energy-auditing company E-CO2 following a two-year research study with the Carbon Trust.
The device will be modified next year, depending on the results of the trial, and then rolled out to beef farmers across the UK and Ireland.
The programme was welcomed by Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman as a major boost for sustainable farming in the UK.
“With rising global demand for food, there are more opportunities than ever for British farmers and it is vital they are fully equipped to make the most of them in a sustainable way,” she said.
“I applaud the support Farm Forward is offering students interested in becoming farmers and the contribution this will make to securing the future of the farming industry.”
Earlier this week, McDonald’s pledged to only serve British chicken at this year’s London Olympics, after it was criticise for failing to source food locally for the event as prescribed by the Games’ Food Vision agreement.
The restaurant chain will today launch Farm Forward - a three tiered scheme to help McDonald’s source more of its food locally, while reducing the carbon footprint of suppliers.
As part of the program the company will make an initial £1m investment in three projects to train young farmers, fund research and development, and trial a carbon calculator for suppliers.
Brian Mullens, senior vice president of supply chain for McDonald’s UK, said it hoped to help the farming industry tackle some of the major environmental challenges it faces, such as adapting to increased demand for food and the impacts of climate change.
“Supporting the next generation of farmers is vital if we are to secure the future of farming in this country, and our new work programme for young farmers is designed to help them develop the blend of skills and experience that progressive, modern farmers want and need,” he said.
Central to the initiative will be a trial by 200 livestock farmers of a new carbon calculator, developed by energy-auditing company E-CO2 following a two-year research study with the Carbon Trust.
The device will be modified next year, depending on the results of the trial, and then rolled out to beef farmers across the UK and Ireland.
The programme was welcomed by Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman as a major boost for sustainable farming in the UK.
“With rising global demand for food, there are more opportunities than ever for British farmers and it is vital they are fully equipped to make the most of them in a sustainable way,” she said.
“I applaud the support Farm Forward is offering students interested in becoming farmers and the contribution this will make to securing the future of the farming industry.”
Earlier this week, McDonald’s pledged to only serve British chicken at this year’s London Olympics, after it was criticise for failing to source food locally for the event as prescribed by the Games’ Food Vision agreement.
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