LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today released its annual Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report, highlighting the Company’s strategic investment in socially responsible growth and outlining efforts of its KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill brands to make a meaningful impact in three strategic focus areas: people, food and planet. The Company advanced its global citizenship and sustainability agenda, called its Recipe for Good, by creating a new social purpose to unlock opportunity in frontline restaurant teams and communities with a $100 million investment over five years. In addition, Yum! expanded efforts to offer customers globally more balanced choices including plant-based and vegetarian menu items, and the Company continued its climate change journey by increasing efficiencies in its restaurants and corporate offices and making progress on key deforestation commitments including paper, palm oil, beef and soy.
“As a global restaurant company, we can and must do more to unlock opportunities and make real and lasting change that will benefit our businesses and communities,” said David Gibbs, CEO, Yum! Brands, Inc. “To reflect the growing intersection of business and purpose, we recently integrated our Recipe for Growth – the guiding principles of our business strategy – with our Recipe for Good. This unified approach will help us better serve our employees, customers and communities when it comes to the issues they care about most.”
The content of the report reflects key initiatives and areas of work announced since Yum! Brands published its last report in June 2019 and showcases progress against its existing public commitments, which align with priority topics identified in the Company’s most recent materiality assessment. The report is prepared according to Global Reporting Initiative Standards, the most widely recognized framework for sustainability reporting.
Highlights from Yum! Brands’ new Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report include:
People
- Launched the Unlocking Opportunity Initiative with an investment of $100 million over five years to fight inequality for frontline restaurant teams and communities around the globe with a focus on Equity & Inclusion, Education and Entrepreneurship.
- Announced commitment to increase representation of Black, Latinx and female associates among the Company’s executive and management ranks, franchisees and suppliers.
- Acquired Heartstyles, a company offering a world-class leadership development program, to further unlock potential and build the capabilities of people who drive performance for the Company’s restaurants around the world.
- In 2019, Yum! donated $66 million globally to support brand efforts such as the KFC Foundation, Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! Program and the Taco Bell Foundation’s Live Más Scholarship. The Company also donated 5.95 million pounds of food globally through its food donation program Harvest.
Food
- Conducted more than 90,0000 restaurant food safety audits in 2019, totaling more than 367,000 since 2016.
- Established a new goal, aligned with the World Health Organization and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to offer more lower calorie menu options across main dishes, combos and sides.
- Expanded plant-forward product innovation to meet the lifestyle choices of consumers, including plant-based tests at its brands globally and launching “Veggie Mode” at Taco Bell U.S.
Planet
- On track to submit science-based targets (SBTs) by the end of 2020 as part of the Company’s continued climate change strategy. Additionally, achieved goal to use 100% renewable energy at its corporate U.S. offices by the end of 2020 by purchasing Renewable Energy Credit, entering into a Power Purchasing Agreement to offset electricity use and exploring onsite options for the future.
- Advanced Yum!’s no deforestation commitments by continuing to make progress on its paper-based packaging goal, meeting its palm oil goal and increasing transparency by reporting to CDP Beef for the first time. The Company also disclosed that 100% of Brazilian feed mills in its supply chain were audited as compliant in aligning with the Amazon Soy Moratorium to help protect tropical forests in 2019.
- Announced plans to remove Styrofoam and expanded polystyrene from all packaging by 2022 with 2019 data reporting that only 2% of plastic used by KFC consisted of expanded polystyrene.
For more information and to view Yum! Brands’ new Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report visit www.yum.com/citizenship.
About Yum! Brands, Inc.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 50,000 restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories, making it a leader in global retail development primarily operating the company’s brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. The Company’s family of brands also includes The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual restaurant concept specializing in made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches and more. In 2019, Yum! Brands was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and in 2020, the company ranked among the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media.
