Editor's note- ESG, which contains sustainable ideas through environmental and social responsibility and management, is taking a place as mandatory, not an option. Yet, quite a number of businesses are still ignoring this matter. ESG management is directly linked to consumption value. Thus, we are reporting on the steps of leading ESG management businesses this year, hoping to bring messages to both consumers and businesses that are not aware of their importance.

[Consumerwide - Jinil Kang Reporter / Yohan Bok Reporter] McDonald's Korea practiced ESG management in many sectors, from environmental sustainability to shared growth, open recruitment, and equality in the burger franchise industry.

E: Efforts towards environmental sustainability

McDonald's Korea has been practicing the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) policy, aiming to switch packaging systems for active recycling and use recyclability-certified materials while recycling plastic packages (plastic bags, forks, and knives) by 2025. As the first step, they organised the Plastic Straw Retirement Ceremony in 2021, aiming to remove the place for plastic straws, and reduced the average tonnage of plastic straws to 6.9 tonnes monthly, which is a 51% decrease from the previous time. In January of this year, McDonald's presented the PET Recycling Outer, which is a crew uniform that contains filling made out of recycled plastic lids from McDonald's stores in Korea, under a treaty with BYN Black Yak. (Treaty for high-quality resource circulation of plastic waste from domestic areas) McDonald's changed the plastic lids of McFlurry to paper lids, which reduces 14 tonnes of plastic use annually while also using 50 types of FSC-certified paper wraps. Besides, McDonald's is recycling 3500 tonnes of cooking oil annually to environmental biodiesel.

McDonald's Korea began re-sourcing coffee grounds under the ESG management treaty through coffee ground resource circulation with Cargill Agri Purina, Inc., Maeil Daries Co.Ltd., and Recycling Cooperative last year. As a practical step, McDonald's delivers coffee grounds from McCafe to the Maeil cow farm after processing. Maeil Dairies feed these processed grounds to cows, and cows produce milk. Milk and ice cream from Maeil Daries are supplied to McDonald's Korea. Through this natural circulation system, McDonald's Korea expects to reduce 4394kg of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases annually. Also, they are recycling coffee grounds from newly opened stores as synthetic wood for the environment.

S: Shared growth in the local area, social contribution activities

McDonald's Korea is practicing shared growth in local society through the Taste of Korea Project. This project has released Changnyeong Garlic Burger, Boseongnokdon Burger, and Jindo Daepa Cream Crocket Burger, all of which source ingredients from domestic areas, since 2021. The menu is meaningful in the aspect of practicing shared growth with local farms by businesses utilising local products while also supplying delicious and fresh menus to customers. 0.5 million Jindo Daepa Cream Crocket Burgers were sold just a week after its first release in July, and 1.5 million burgers were sold during a month. McDonald's Korea was awarded for promoting Jindo region as a major Daepa production area while contributing to the vitalization of the local economy by selling a large quantity of Daepa through Jindo Daepa Cream Crocket Burger from the head of Jindogun. (Daepa: big green onion) By producing Changnyeong Garlic Burger, McDonald's consumed 130 tonnes of garlic from Changnyeong over the course of three years. This year, just by producing Jindo Daepa Cream Crocket Burger, McDonald's contributed to increasing the income of fars by purchasing 100 tonnes of Daepa from the Jindo region. Changnyeonggun (Gyeongnam) and Jindogun (Jeonnam) were rewarded in both the 2022 innovation and innitiative administration case competition and the 2023 government initiative administration case contest due to their cooperation with McDonald's regarding the Taste of Korea Project.

Besides, McDonald's Korea is using 17,000 tonnes of food ingredients from domestic areas annually, which led to positive responses from customers. The sales record of the Taste of Korea menu approaches 19 million units, and burger sales count 9.5 million units among the entire sale. (Najubae Chiller, Jeju Hallabong Chiller, Changnyeong Garlic Burger, Boseong Nokdon Burger, Jiindo Daepa Cream Crocket Burger, Honey Butter Injeolmi Fry)

McDonald's Korea is also the biggest sponsor and old partner of RMHC Korea, and they have been donating part of the sales profit of the year-end limit menu "Lucky Burger." This year, 1.7 million Lucky Burgers were sold. And 240 million won were donated through the 10th anniversary of the Lucky Burger campaign this year. Donations are used for RMHC (Ronald McDonald House Charities). RMHC is a charity organisation that helps children, patients, and family members concentrate on medical treatment. McDonald's Korea also supported Ulim Baekiljang, which is one of the annual events of the RMHC.

In May, McDonald's promoted the importance of RMHC through a donation campaign called "0.3pyeong, Mom's Bed Campaign" to construct the second capital branch of RMHC. On May 14th, McDonald's organised McHappy Day, which is an annual Bazzar event, and donated 561 million won, which is the largest donation in RMHC Korea history. This includes the entire sales profit of "McDonald's 35-year brand story" and accumulated cash from the McWalking Challenge, which is a McDonald's staff donation event. Donations are used to build and facilitate RMH.

G: Human capital is the greatest asset. Open recruitment, weighing variety, and embracement

McDonald's Korea has been providing various growth opportunities to members while offering open recruitment, which respects people regardless of age, gender, capacity, and education based on the management philosophy that "human capital is the greatest asset." First of all, McDonald's has invented and applied maintaining store cleanliness and facility management tasks for senior crews and crews with severe intellectual disabilities. It resulted in senior crews and crews with severe intellectual disabilities working stably for as long as 22 years. Through the open recruitment, over 55-year-old senior crew counts 650 currently (November 2023); the average age of senior is 61 years old, and the oldest is 81 years old (born in 1942). Crews with disabilities counted 200 last year, and the employment rate for people with disabilities is 3.69%, which is over the mandatory employment rate. (3.1%) During the second half of the year, McDonald's has specified foreigner crew recruitment guidelines while expanding foreigner recruitment policy to overall domestic areas.

In April, McDonald's has begun the development and training of kiosk training data for citizens with digital inaccessibility under a treaty with the National Institute for Lifelong Education. In September, McDonald's applied a kiosk voice guideline function for customers with visual impairments, which is the second-world and Asia-first case in global McDonald's history.

By installing voice guideline software and a touch pad in the kiosk, customers now have easier access to product information and the order menu. McDonald's has completed the system by accessing it with four representatives from an institute for people with visual impairments prior to applying the voice guidelines system in full scale. Advice from an institute for people with visual impairments, McDonald's is applying this system to social welfare institutes for people with visual impairments, schools for people with visual impairments, and vocational school areas in Seoul primarily. After that, it will be expanded to overall domestic stores in Korea by the first half of next year.

McDonald's is also encouraging homemakers to try on new dreams and professions by organising the "Day of Recruitment for Homemakers," which is the first case in the burger industry. McDonald's is also supporting the convenience and growth of female staff by offering flexible working hours, parental leave, maternity leave, and support during pregnancy.

Currently, the total female staff is over 50% among the entire staff. And female head staff records 47% in 2022, which is 7.5 folds of the top 500 businesses (6.3%) by revenue in Korea.