McDonald’s has now trained two-thirds of its global suppliers in social responsibility.
The fast food group, which has 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, had put 1813 of its 2670 suppliers through an accountability programme by November 2004.
The work began in 1998 as a pilot at toy factories in China making gifts for McDonald’s Happy Meals. Suppliers are required to restate their commitment to the company’s code of good conduct, which sets out standards on child labour, discrimination, fair pay and other issues. The accountability programme of lectures, workshops, tests and question-and-answer sessions aims to help suppliers see for themselves where improvements are needed.
Suppliers are expected to carry out yearly compliance checks and agree to visits by external auditors who review their records, monitor working conditions, interview employees in private and meet factory managers. McDonald’s head office then receives a report on the findings. Much of the pressure to improve suppliers’ performance has come from labour rights groups, which the company says have ‘focused considerable attention on conditions in some facilities that produce promotional items’.
McDonald’s says in its recently published second corporate responsibility report that it intends to develop ‘enhancement plans’ with suppliers to ensure they have procedures in place for staff to understand their rights under the company’s code. McDonald’s first produced a
non-financial report in 2002.
