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Planet

Our Approach

At Restaurant Brands International, protecting the planet for future generations and for the sustainability of our business and the agricultural industry is paramount. Areas of focus within the planet pillar are: packaging and recycling, green buildings, and responsible sourcing. Our commitments and progress for each of these areas can be found in the dashboard below.

Packaging and Recycling:

Packaging helps us safely and conveniently serve our guests the food they love, but we know that packaging and plastic waste is threatening the health of our planet and we have a responsibility to help solve this challenge. Working closely with our suppliers, we are innovating to reduce our use of packaging, transition to more sustainable materials and help our guests to reuse and recycle.

Green Buildings:

With four restaurant support centers and over 27,000 locations around the world, Restaurant Brands International and our brands are working to reduce the impact that our business has on the environment and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. In order to help our restaurant owners minimize their environmental footprints, our restaurant design teams develop building standards that incorporate the use of leading industry products and practices focused on reducing usage of water, energy, and waste, in both new restaurants and updates to our existing locations.

Responsible Sourcing:

Food production can be resource intensive and environmentally impactful, which is why we’re committed to responsibly sourcing the food we serve. Our commitment extends to our supply chain and the people, land and animals that may be impacted by our business. Participation in multi-stakeholder roundtables and active engagement with our suppliers supports industry wide advancements of sustainable sourcing practises for our priority commodities. At the same time, our quality assurance and supply chain teams work together to develop and uphold responsible sourcing standards through the procurement process.

Highlights

PACKAGING AND RECYCLING

  • Over 3 billion units of Tim Hortons packaging will be improved through sustainable packaging initiatives over the next year across Canada, including the removal of more than 1 billion single use plastics.
  • Burger King and Tim Hortons announced a global partnership with zero-waste packaging provider, Loop, to pilot a new reusable and returnable packaging system for food and beverages on the go, making circular packaging models more convenient and accessible for guests.

CLIMATE ACTION

  • In 2020, we measured our Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally across all three brands.

RESPONSIBLE SOURCING

  • To identify the most significant areas of environmental impact in our supply chain, we conducted our first global Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) of all food, beverage, and packaging categories, covering impacts across carbon, water, and waste. This assessment will inform the ongoing development of our responsible sourcing strategy, where we will initially focus on emissions reduction.
  • Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes have committed to using 100% cage-free eggs in North America, Western Europe, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand by the end of 2025, representing 92% of our global egg requirements. In the remaining regions, we are committed to using 100% cage-free eggs by the end of 2030.
  • By the end of 2020, all palm oil volumes within the scope of our Palm Oil Sourcing Policy will be covered by RSPO certification and credits, and 78% will be RSPO certified Mass Balance or better.

Looking Forward

Our goals over the next year.

  • Refine our GHG reduction strategy, prioritize abatement measures, and establish a GHG reduction target.

  • All brands will continue to engage suppliers to advance their efforts towards eliminating deforestation.

  • Popeyes will continue to phase out expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam from all centrally managed guest packaging globally and by 2021 or sooner will require that markets do not use EPS foam for any local guest packaging items.

  • The Popeyes brand is working towards eliminating antibiotics important to human medicine* from their chicken supply chain for the US market by the end of 2021.

  • In 2020 we engaged industry experts and suppliers to expand our policies related to deforestation, animal welfare, and antibiotics. In 2021 we will work with internal and external stakeholders to develop an implementation strategy and timeline for each.

Performance Summary: Planet

Packaging & Recycling

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Continue our work to advance packaging sustainability by improving materials and reducing overall packaging used, especially single-use items.

Ongoing

Learn more about our sustainable packaging innovations here.

By 2025, 100% of approved guest packaging will come from renewable, recycled or certified sources.

2025

We are in the process of collecting data to report on our status in this area.

Burger King and Tim Hortons require vendors to source fiber-based packaging from certified or recycled sources, globally. Popeyes is working towards implementing this requirement globally by 2021.

By 2021 we will phase out expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam from all centrally managed guest packaging globally and require that markets do not use EPS foam for any local guest packaging items.

2021

Tim Hortons approved packaging is already free from EPS foam, globally. While a limited number of Burger King restaurants may still have foam packaging items in their inventory, by the end of December 2020, EPS foam will be eliminated globally from approved guest packaging offered by centrally managed distributors.

Burger King is committed to completely phasing out non bio-degradable plastic toys from its system worldwide by the end of 2025.

2025

Burger King UK has removed all plastic toys from its King Junior Meals, estimated to save 320 tons of single-use plastic annually.

Facilitate access to waste diversion including recycling, starting with recycling guest packaging in 100% of Burger King and Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada and the US by 2025.

2025

We are in the process of collecting data to report on our status in this area.

Green Buildings

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Design, build and operate restaurants to be measurably more sustainable using our restaurant design standards to reduce energy consumption, water use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and waste.

Ongoing

In Burger King USA & EMEA, Tim Hortons Canada and US, and Popeyes Americas and EMEA, LED lighting in restaurants is the standard.

In Burger USA and Tim Hortons Canada and US, low-flow, automatic faucets are utilized to reduce water use and high-efficiency hand dryers used in restrooms eliminate waste from paper towels.

We are also working to reduce the use of water, energy and waste in our corporate offices around the world, known as Restaurant Support Centers (RSC).

Our Miami Restaurant Support Center building is proudly LEED Certified, and has added bike racks and electric car chargers for employees.

Responsible Sourcing

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Uphold responsible sourcing practises across our supply chain.

We remain committed to our Code of Business Ethics and Conduct for Vendors, which requires suppliers to operate their businesses ethically and abide by all applicable laws and regulations.

Ongoing

All approved vendors will be required to certify their compliance with the Vendor Code through self-assessment questionnaires, prioritizing the highest risk vendors in 2020. Our compliance approach is supplemented with verification audits conducted for a sample of priority vendors.

To identify the most significant areas of environmental impact in our supply chain, we conducted our first global Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) of all food, beverage, and packaging categories, covering impacts across carbon, water, and waste. This assessment will inform the ongoing development of our responsible sourcing strategy, where we will initially focus on emissions reduction.

In 2020, we will measure and understand our carbon footprint.

2020

In 2020, we measured our Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions globally across all three brands, and are currently developing our first GHG emissions reduction target.

By 2030 or sooner, we will eliminate deforestation from priority commodities within our supply chain, including beef, palm oil, soy in poultry feed, coffee and fiber-based packaging.

2030

In 2020, we engaged with expert third parties, industry roundtables and suppliers to develop a Deforestation Policy that will support us to achieve our commitment to forests. The policy outlines requirements for both direct and indirect suppliers regarding: compliance (e.g. maintaining accountability via assurance programs), land use management & governance, traceability of commodities to farm origin, and workers’ rights. In 2021, we will work with internal and external stakeholders to develop an implementation strategy and timeline.

We are currently in the process of developing a global strategy and policy on animal feed. In 2019, Restaurant Brands International joined the Roundtable for Responsible Soy to support the advancement of traceability of soy as animal feed in the industry.

Source fiber-based packaging from certified or recycled sources.

2021

Burger King and Tim Hortons require vendors to source fiber-based packaging from certified or recycled sources, globally. Popeyes is working towards implementing this requirement globally by 2021.

Sustainably source palm oil in accordance with our Palm Oil Sourcing Policy

2020

By the end of 2020, all palm oil volumes within the scope of our Palm Oil Sourcing Policy will be covered by RSPO certification and credits, and 78% will be RSPO certified Mass Balance or better.

Advance beef sustainability based on the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GSRB) principles.

Specifically, for Burger King restaurants in the US, increase the proportion of beef sourced that aligns with our vision for beef sustainability to 30% of the beef supply by 2022.

2022

We are proactively engaging with our peers, experts and industry stakeholders to advance beef sustainability through our participation in the GRSB and its associated regional roundtables, including the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) and the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB).

Burger King is currently supporting scientific efforts to reduce cow-based methane emissions by adding lemongrass to their diet during the last three to four months of the cows’ lives, and has made the research and findings open source. Our next step is to expand the pilot in additional markets around the world, while continuing to study the potential of lemongrass, long-term impact (if any) on cows, and other potential variations to the Cows Menu initiative.

In 2020, Burger King and Cargill teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund and ranchers within the Northern Great Plains to launch a three-year grasslands restoration program. This initiative brings together two major companies who deliver beef to Americans to support the rehabilitation of unproductive soil into thriving ecosystems– with cattle playing a critical role. The goal of this program is to restore nearly 8,000 acres of grasslands that support ranchers, wildlife, and the environment.

Require strong animal welfare practices throughout our global supply chains to improve animal welfare outcomes.

Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes have committed to using 100% cage-free eggs in North America, Western Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand by the end of 2025. In the remaining regions, we are committed to using 100% cage-free eggs by the end of 2030.

Burger King and Tim Hortons are committed to source pork globally only from approved suppliers that do not use gestation crates and will accomplish this in the US and Canada by 2022 and in Latin America by 2025.

By 2024, in the US and Canada, Burger King, Popeyes, and im Hortons will target the following related to broiler chicken welfare:
  • Transition to using breeds determined to have better welfare outcomes
  • Provide more space by reducing maximum stocking density, per Global Animal Partnership (GAP) Standards
  • Enhance living environments including litter quality, lighting and enrichments, per GAP Standards
  • Utilize a multi-step controlled-atmosphere stunning system

Ongoing

To further our impact, in 2020 we engaged stakeholders including animal welfare advocates, suppliers, and experts to expand our animal welfare policy documents for each respective land-based species in our supply chain, given the unique breeding, raising, handling, and processing demands of each species.

The policies will detail our species-specific, commitments, expectations, and our approaches to accountability and transparency. That said, all of the policies will be consistent with our overall position and ambition.

While each policy’s commitments, expectations, and implementation are unique; accountability provisions and our approach to transparency and disclosure will be consistent.

As a next step, policies are being vetted with suppliers to ensure clarity and identify any implementation challenges.

In the US, Burger King now sources 10% cage-free eggs.

Continue our commitments to good antimicrobial stewardship, requiring suppliers to purchase products only from farmers that administer antibiotics in a judicious and responsible manner when treatment is necessary, in keeping with veterinary and regulatory requirements.

2020

Tim Hortons in Canada and Burger King in the US only source chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine*.

The Popeyes brand is working towards eliminating antibiotics important to human medicine* from their chicken supply chain for the US market by end of 2021.

In 2020 we engaged industry experts and suppliers to expand our policy related to antibiotics use in beef cattle and dairy cows. Our next step is to develop a strategy and timeline for implementation. By expanding this policy, our goal is to measure and understand the current use of antibiotics in the beef supply chain of each brand, and implement targets to reduce the use of antibiotics important to human medicine* in our supply chain and to end animal care practises that lead to their overuse.

Tim Hortons brand is committed to strengthening its approach and commitment to ethically sourcing coffee, and supporting the people, places and partners across its coffee supply chain.

Ongoing

Using third-party verification every three years and self-audits for the years in between, Tim Hortons verifies detailed compliance with our Vendor Code, confirming that its coffee is ethically sourced.

The last third-party verification was undertaken at the mill-level in 2017 and revealed no major compliance issues, however, areas of improvement are continuously pursued.

Self-audits were completed in 2018 and 2019, where Tim Hortons vendors conducted and provided self-audits to our vendor code that demonstrated consistency in quality management systems, safety of practises and ability to trace back to where the coffee was first purchased.



*As defined by the World Health Organization in Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human Medicine 6th Revision 2018.