LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today released its annual Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report, highlighting the Company’s strategic investments in socially responsible growth, risk management and sustainable stewardship of its people, food and impact on the planet. Yum! and its KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill brands made progress in critical areas including climate action, food safety and creating greater equity and opportunity across its system.
“2020 marked a turning point for communities and businesses around the world, as the pandemic deepened existing societal issues and inequalities,” said David Gibbs, CEO, Yum! Brands, Inc. “Across our global system, we plan to be a meaningful part of the solution to the world’s most pressing issues—inequality and the lack of opportunity that goes with it along with climate change and the impact to our lives and the planet. Our Recipe for Growth & Good shows the steps we are taking to make even greater impacts for our people, franchisees, customers and communities.”
Yum! Brands continued to advance its global citizenship and sustainability agenda, called its Recipe for Good, which focuses on the priority areas of people, food and planet. On people, Yum! began to execute the Unlocking Opportunity Initiative, a five-year commitment to invest $100 million inside and outside its business to tackle inequality. Unlocking Opportunity Grants are being made to invest in equity and inclusion, education and entrepreneurship for employees, front-line restaurant teams and communities around the world. On the planet, Yum! also set science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 46% below 2019 levels by 2030 across its restaurants and supply chain and pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In addition, Yum! continued its unwavering focus on food safety and expanded investments in plant-based and vegetarian options.
“We’ve sharpened our strategic focus as the growing intersection of business and corporate purpose has become clearer,” said Jerilan Greene, Global Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer of Yum! Brands, Inc. and Chairman and CEO of the Yum! Foundation. “Our global scale gives us a big opportunity and a responsibility to make a material impact on the issues facing our people, communities and the planet and our brands are taking action to do that with ever greater ambition.”
Yum! has a long history of investing in programs that advance priority environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and participating in regular disclosure to show progress and transparency through key reports including the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, CDP and Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America, in addition to publishing its annual Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report.
The report reflects key initiatives and areas of work announced since Yum! Brands published its last report in 2020, showcases progress against its existing public commitments and covers the Company’s ESG strategy. The report is prepared according to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the most widely recognized framework for sustainability reporting.
Highlights from Yum!’s new Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report include:
Citizenship
- Completed a new materiality assessment to further align priority topics driving Yum!’s ESG agenda
- Conducted first-ever Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) assessment to understand climate risks and opportunities across its restaurants and supply chain
- Reported first-time data consistent with the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
People
- Made initial grants through the $100 million global Unlocking Opportunity Initiative to launch, expand or advance programs that support front-line restaurant teams and communities around the world
- Launched the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence at the University of Louisville, a first-of-its-kind education and research center offering multiple levels of online education about franchising across industries and educating underrepresented people of color and women on the possibilities of franchising as a pathway to entrepreneurship
- Joined the OneTen coalition, uniting with other U.S. businesses to create career mobility and advancement opportunities for 1 million Black individuals in the U.S. over the next 10 years
- Joined the Publicis Media Once & For All Coalition, a multi-year, cross-industry collaboration to build a more equitable advertising ecosystem for ethnically diverse media suppliers, content creators and production partners, with an initial focus on Black and Hispanic platforms. Alongside the Coalition, Yum! Brands will establish a U.S. Multicultural Marketing Leadership Council to drive cross-brand implementation of the Company’s multicultural marketing strategies
- Increased the number of women in senior leadership globally to 47%, accelerating its target to achieve gender parity in leadership globally by 2025
- Yum! and its brands donated $70 million to support brand efforts such as KFC’s Blessings in a Backpack partnership, Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! Program and the Taco Bell Foundation’s Live Más Scholarship
- Strengthened supplier development and engagement around human rights in the supply chain by committing to have all suppliers globally on Sedex platform by 2023
Food
- Conducted more than 467,500 restaurant food safety audits since 2016
- Expanded plant-forward innovation to meet growing demand for sustainable options and flexible diets through a new strategic partnership with Beyond Meat, Inc., in which each of Yum!’s major brands will introduce plant-based menu offerings
- Continued working to reduce sodium on menus globally, with Pizza Hut International using low-sodium cheeses in approximately 40% of its markets
Planet
- Announced science-based targets to reduce GHG emissions 46% below 2019 levels by 2030 and pledged to reach net-zero by 2050 across restaurants and supply chains by working closely with brands, franchisees and suppliers
- Committed to move 1,000 restaurants to renewable energy by the end of 2021 and joined the Renewable Energy Business Alliance (REBA)
- Continued sustainable packaging efforts through strategic partnerships, with Taco Bell leading the way by collaborating with international recycling leader TerraCycle to explore the recyclability of its sauce packets
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, 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. Yum! Brands was included on the 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. In 2020, Yum! Brands was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and was ranked among the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media.
