![\"green-logo\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Green-Logo.png\"){kind=logo}
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When McDonald\u2019s France changed their iconic red and yellow logo to a golden arch on a green background in<\/span> 2010<\/span>, the signal was quite clear that they intended to be perceived as a leading environmentally-friendly company. Many people regarded this move as purely opportunistic and were very skeptical about McDonald\u2019s France\u2019s (further referenced as McDF) capacity to deliver on their promises. After all, McDF is at the crossroads of many issues related Global Warming. From the ingredients they use to their energy consumption, their logistical operations or to their waste management, McDF needed to rethink the way they operate a very profitable business. We will focus on the logistical changes that McDF has operated to comply with a growing pressure to reduce\u00a0their Greenhouse gases emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Facing consumer pressure in a strategic market:<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Can operations be improved while minimizing carbon footprint ?<\/b><\/p>\n While McDF has taken actions on the different fields mentioned above, they reviewed their logistical practices and have implemented measures to become more efficient in their operations. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another initiative that McDF has been piloting is aimed at maximizing the utilization of their truck fleet. Operating adjustments to their logistical partners\u2019 trucks (a company named Martin Brower)<\/span> and building compartments allowing their trucks to carry every type of products from \u201cfrozen\u201d to \u201cdry\u201d or \u201cfresh\u201d products altogether has allowed McDF to maximize the utilization of their trucks and minimize the number of deliveries. By making each of their trucks fuller, they manage to save costs on their logistics. These changes have been made possible by the long-lasting relationship existing between McDF and Martin Brower and by the importance of McDF as a customer for their logistical partner.\u00a0{6}<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a conclusion, McDF has been a frontrunner in terms of environmental best practices has demonstrated unique answers to these challenges by combining an approach that helped them reducing their impact on Global Warming while making their operations even more efficient. As evidence by the graph, McDF managed to cut their CO2 emission\/per meal by half in 10 years. While some businesses can see the need to take action on Climate Change as a threat to their businesses\u2019 profitability, McDF has leveraged the opportunity to improve their logistics.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 797 words<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sources<\/p>\n {1}\u00a0McDonald\u2019s 2014 10-K report<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>La Croix (leading French newspaper)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n {2}\u00a0Pew Research Center, Spring 2015 Global Attitudes survey cited in Richard Wike, \u201cWhat the world thinks about\u00a0<\/span>climate change in 7 charts,\u201d Pew Research, April 18, 2016<\/a>, Provided in Case Material.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n {3} Company’s Website:\u00a0https:\/\/www.mcdonalds.fr\/entreprise\/developpement-durable\/gaz-a-effet-de-serre<\/a><\/p>\n {4}\u00a0U.S. Department of Energy, <\/span>gasoline economy.gov.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n {5}\u00a0OECD report, 2013<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n {6}\u00a0Company website: <\/span>http:\/\/www.martinbrower.fr\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n {7} Company’s Website:\u00a0http:\/\/www.mcdonalds-donneescorporate.fr\/indicateurs\/lutte-contre-le-rechauffement-climatique<\/a><\/p>\n Image sources, in order:<\/p>\n Header: Company Website\u00a0https:\/\/www.mcdonalds.fr<\/a><\/p>\n Logo:\u00a0Company Website\u00a0https:\/\/www.mcdonalds.fr<\/a><\/p>\n Map: Case Material, Pew Research Center<\/p>\n Graph:\u00a0U.S. Department of Energy, <\/span>gasoline economy.gov.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Image: Company Website\u00a0https:\/\/www.mcdonalds.fr<\/a><\/p>\n Image: Company Website\u00a0https:\/\/www.mcdonalds.fr<\/a><\/p>\n Image: Company Website\u00a0https:\/\/www.mcdonalds.fr<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Historically, France has been a strategic market for McDonald\u2019s, totalling 17% of the group\u2019s global sales ($4.6B of the $27.4B annual sales in 2014) {1}<\/span>. Generally, McDonald\u2019s has gained a strong place in the French culture by providing a place to meet and work and by employing many young people. However, this <\/span>structuring role i<\/span>n the French society comes at the price of being very scrutinised and expected to behave as a role model in their efforts to be more sustainable, specifically in a market where approximately 60% of the population considers Climate Change as a \u201cvery serious problem\u201d{2}<\/span>. <\/b>To respond to popular pressure, McDF has pledged to reduce their greenhouse gases emissions by 20% by 2020<\/span>.\u00a0{3}<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span> <\/a>The first initiative that McDF took was to reduce the speed of their trucks to 50 mph instead of the legal 60.1mph<\/span>. McDF operated a tradeoff, deciding to have longer delivery times but to make substantial cost reductions on gasoline and limit their greenhouse gases emissions. Reducing the speed from 60 mph to 50mph allowed McDF\u2019s truck to drive at a 28 miles\/gallon average instead of 33 miles\/gallon {4}<\/span>, hence saving up to 15% of their gasoline consumptions, in a market where gasoline is heavily taxed (average of $3.07 taxes per gallon in France, $0.53 in the US)<\/span>.\u00a0{5}<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Along this line of maximizing their operational efficiency and to minimize the costs of their logistics, McDF and Martin Brower are now using electrical vehicles for the \u201clast mile\u201d deliveries . Last mile deliveries are the final step of the supply chain, when a good is transported from a hub (McDF\u2019s warehouses) to the final destination (the restaurants). While electric vehicles would not be a viable option for McDF for the \u201chub-to-hub\u201d deliveries of for the longer distances, due to the current technology limitations, these vehicles can be used for the last mile deliveries, allowing McDF to make substantial savings on gasoline and reduce further their CO2 footprint, while using the trucks to communicate their initiative to the public. With the latest technologies in electrical vehicles, McDF will be able to expand this program to longer journey.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Finally, McDF and Martin Brower have rolled out an innovative program aiming at recycling the deep fry oil to power 17 trucks of their fleet. This initiative not only allows McDF to make additional savings on gasoline cost but has allowed them to start a partnership with the French Government on how this initiative could be scaled more broadly. Through this initiative, McDF might not only reduce their own carbon footprint but also help many other France-based company make their operations more effective.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>