The environmental transparency non-profit works with McDonaldвЂ™s and other big corporations to implement and assess progress on companiesвЂ™ climate plans. The drop mostly comes from McDonaldвЂ™s switching to more energy efficient lightbulbs at its nearly 40,000 restaurants, said Dexter Galvin, global director of corporations and supply chains for CDP. McDonaldвЂ™s October press release boasts an вЂњ8.5% reduction in the absolute emissions of our restaurants and offices from the 2015 baselineвЂќ.Д«ut restaurants and offices account for a very small portion of McDonaldвЂ™s emissions, which means the 8.5% slice is much smaller than marketing makes it appear. вЂњOne of the main signs that something is вЂgreenwashingвЂ™ is that itвЂ™s not clear or transparent,вЂќ she added. Molidor said you have to be a вЂњclimate nerdвЂќ to understand the story that McDonaldвЂ™s complex numbers and insider terminology really tells, and that alone is a red flag. It labeled criticisms of its plans вЂњopinion-basedвЂќ. In a statement, a McDonaldвЂ™s spokesperson didnвЂ™t address specific questions about emissions or its plans, but said the company has been вЂњpursuing ambitious actions to help address climate change in areas where we have the biggest opportunities for impactвЂќ, including reducing packaging waste and improving livestock management.

вЂњNot moving boldly on their menus suggests motivations might not be to mitigate climate change but to manage investors.вЂќ вЂњWhen it comes to the most meaningful solution for the climate crisis вЂ“ serving far less beef and shifting toward low-carbon options right now вЂ“ we donвЂ™t see the action on menus that we need from this megacorporation,вЂќ she said.

More important are the plansвЂ™ absence of menu changes needed to significantly reduce beef production and emissions, said Jennifer Molidor, вЂ‹a senior food campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity. The new вЂњnet zeroвЂќ plan has also drawn criticism from environmental groups over its lack of specifics and long timeline. In October the company announced a commitment to вЂњnet zeroвЂќ emissions by 2050 and included an optimistic progress report on the 2018 emissions reductions goals.Д«ut climate scientists have called into question the math behind McDonaldвЂ™s 2018 plans, and a closer look at its 2021 progress report finds that little headway has been made. Its 2018 sustainability plan pledged by 2030 to reduce total emissions from its restaurants and offices by 36% and to reduce вЂњemissions intensityвЂќ across its supply chain by 31% compared with 2015 levels. McDonaldвЂ™s announcements suggest itвЂ™s already well on its way to reducing emissions. Raising cows exacts a вЂњmultidimensional burdenвЂќ on the Earth, Eshel said, because the industry also pollutes, consumes water and spurs deforestation. The amount of feed, water and land that cows require to produce a pound of meat is much higher than other animals, and that inflates their carbon footprint. And a recent study found the worldвЂ™s food system accounts for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, with the beef industry comprising as much as 25% of that figure.Д«eef is particularly problematic because cows release high levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in their burps and manure. Investment funds managing more than $29tn in assets in late September called on the worldвЂ™s 1,600 largest polluters to cut emissions in line with climate science. McDonaldвЂ™s announced its most recent plan in October amid mounting pressure on companies to act. McDonaldвЂ™s revenue jumped 14% to $6.2bn in the July-September 2021 period.

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