Often, when we think of sustainable companies and corporate social responsibility we think of Patagonia, Stonyfield, Seventh Generation and the like: companies that have sustainability as part of their DNA and stakeholder engagement as the foundation for company culture. But what about the sustainability efforts of not so green companies?
What about the CSR initiatives at corporations that have bad reputations, make questionable products and are late to the CSR game? Is there room for them?
For a case in point, let’s consider McDonald’s, the undisputed king of big fast food. The company, which provides an impressive 71 page 2009 sustainability report on its website, lists improvement strategies and tactics that remind me of a sustainability index provided by a certain big box retailer. McDonald’s suppliers are required to maintain codes of conduct and standards with regards to fair labor and equitable working conditions and be open to inspection by McDonald’s representatives. Failure to comply, of course, could result in loss of approved vendor status by McDonald’s. The company also hopes to work with its suppliers on environmental impacts of the supply chain, including efforts towards more sustainable packaging.