Retailers are faced with a fork in the road today, tasked with handling their bottom line while remaining compliant with new plastics and packaging standards. The non-profit group As You Sow recently filed a resolution with McDonald's in an effort to push it to reduce its plastics pollution. Forty-one percent of the fast food provider's shareholders pledged support of the new action, is a little under half, which exhibits a divide on how to respond to the plastics conversation in today's restaurant world. As ecofriendly packaging becomes more common place, it's price point also lowers. Additionally, new innovations in reusable packaging continue to grow. As these factors increase, retailers will continue to face pressure to adopt them.
Per As You Sow:
- Shareholders of McDonald’s Corporation representing more than $51 billion in market value supported a resolution filed by As You Sow requesting the company develop a list of actions it could take to reduce plastic pollution. More than 206 million shares, 41.9% of ownership, supported the proposal.
- The seminal “Breaking the Plastic Wave” report reveals that corporations face an annual financial risk of approximately $100 billion should governments require them to cover the waste management costs of the packaging they produce, a policy that is increasingly being enacted around the globe.
