Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Ensuring business sustainability is a challenging task, especially for global companies that work with countries with different cultures and regulations. Some countries have incentives for companies to sort and recycle waste, while others do not have the resources to organize these processes. However, McDonalds is committed to practicing sustainability packaging and plastic schemes for all restaurants and has successfully implemented this initiative in many countries. However, these practices still have disadvantages associated with plastic waste collection, which can be improved with some marketing solutions.
An analysis of McDonalds sustainability packaging and plastic schemes shows that the company has developed an effective strategy to help reduce waste. The main steps for McDonalds are to reduce plastic packaging, introduce new sustainable materials and recycle them to create new packaging ( Packaging & waste, n.d.). For this purpose, McDonalds applied such value-driven activities as an investment in innovation, higher material costs, and incentives for sustainable production practices (Pullman and Sauter, 2012). Changing the packaging materials and waste management produced by workers in the kitchen or by visitors in the restaurant has allowed the company to significantly reduce the amount of waste. For example, only 20% of the packaging is plastic, and the same amount is not recycled, while the rest of the materials are recycled and reused in McDonalds packaging ( Packaging & waste, n.d.). However, the problem with this approach is that only the waste collected in the restaurants gets into the recycling.
A large proportion of McDolnads orders are carried out through delivery or take away , especially under pandemic and quarantine conditions. Consequently, waste ends up in trash bins, but not all countries have effective recycling programs. Thus, McDonalds loses recycled raw materials that could be used for packaging, and the sustainability initiative is less effective than it could be. A marketing solution that can mitigate this problem is providing users with a small discount or gift, such as a free sauce, for using used packaging. In addition, the cost of packing can be included in the order as an additional incentive. On the one hand, buyers will see that they benefit the environment by reducing waste, and on the other hand, they will be able to save their money by choosing a more sustainable lifestyle. A similar system works in many European countries, where the cost of a plastic bottle is added to the price of a drink, and a person can return it by throwing away the bottle to a special machine.
In addition, this approach also promotes the sustainability initiative across all McDonalds restaurants. Today, only 25% of restaurants have an efficient collection and recycling system ( Packaging & waste , n.d.). However, if the company reduces the need to engage a third party for waste collection, states where waste management practices are underdeveloped are more likely to facilitate their development in partnership with McDonalds. Thus, the company will be able to increase its supply of recycled raw materials, prove itself as a socially responsible company, and improve its sustainable packaging and plastic schemes.
Reference List
Packaging & waste (no date).
Pullman, M. and Sauter, M. (2012) Sustainability delivered: designing socially and environmentally responsible supply chains. Business Expert Press.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.