McDonald’s revealed significant progress in its operational climate and sustainability goals, but acknowledged that it does not expect to achieve its 2030 Scope 3 value chain emissions reduction targets, due to energy and supply chain challenges beyond the company’s control.

Despite anticipating missing its interim goal, however, in a statement by Jon Banner, Global Chief Impact Officer and Warren Anderson, Global Chief Supply Chain Officer, McDonald’s said that it maintains its long-term ambitions to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, while acknowledging that “we know this depends on many external variables.”

McDonald’s set a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 in 2023, alongside interim goals to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50.4%, Scope 3 energy and industrial GHG emissions from franchisee and company-owned and operated restaurants, and the facility, logistics and plastic packaging emissions in the supply chain by 50.4%, and Scope 3 Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) GHG emissions by 16% by 2030, on a 2018 basis.

In its new statement, the company said that it is on track to exceed its Scope 1 and 2 goals, with progress driven primarily through investments in lower-carbon energy and restaurant energy efficiency, and that it substantially achieved its goal to source 100% of primary guest packaging from renewable, recycled or certified materials by the end of 2025, with the company reaching 95.8%.

According to McDonald’s most recent Purpose & Impact Report, as of the end of 2024, McDonald’s reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 55% on a 2018 basis, but has only reduced Scope 3 emissions by 3%. Scope 3 accounts for the vast majority of McDonald’s emissions footprint, at around 99% of the 2018 baseline.

In the statement, Banner and Anderson said:

“While our System has shown incredible commitment, reducing our Scope 3 emissions—from franchised restaurants, suppliers, agriculture and land use, logistics, and the energy systems that power the world around us—is influenced by factors that extend well beyond any single company’s operations. Meaningful progress requires systemic change across industries, infrastructure and policy, and cannot rest on the actions of any one brand alone.”

The company pointed out key challenges it has faced in progressing towards its Scope 3 goals, including growth in energy demand in many regions that has outpaced the speed of clean energy deployment, and the fragility of global supply chains impacted by global events and geopolitical disruptions.

The statement added that the company is prioritizing work that helps to protect long-term supply, keep food affordable, and enables its system be more resilient, with efforts that include “improving energy efficiency, investing in renewable energy where it makes commercial sense, and supporting supplier led-solutions,” and highlighted plans for at least $1 billion of investment in supply chain resilience initiatives over the next decade, with a particular focus at the farm level, supporting regenerative agriculture, landscape-level solutions for key commodities, and programs that support farmers.

The statement said:

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made—and clear‑eyed about what may take longer than originally anticipated. We’ll continue working with our System, focusing on solutions that can scale, and being transparent about what’s delivering impact and where further progress depends on broader change.”