LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) released its annual Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report, highlighting the Company’s strategic investments in socially responsible growth, risk management and stewardship of its people, food and impact on the planet. This includes addressing climate change, advancements in sustainable packaging and creating equity in the communities it serves.
“We delivered strong business results in 2021, which is a testament to our Recipe for Growth & Good, demonstrating that focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues is not incidental to growth, but an enabler of it,” said Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs. “We continue to actively embed ESG considerations into our business strategy and adopt responsible business practices because it’s the right thing to do and fuels results.”
Yum!’s achievements included announcing science-based targets (SBTs) and launching key programs targeting reductions in its restaurants and supply chain, publishing a harmonized packaging policy across all four of its brands, and a first-of-its-kind education and research center to unlock opportunities in franchising for underrepresented people of color and women.
“Over the last year, we’ve deepened our capabilities and commitment to advance progress on our climate, sustainable packaging and equity and inclusion priorities,” said Jerilan Greene, Yum! Brands ESG Council Chair, Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer and Chairman and CEO of the Yum! Foundation. “We believe that our continued investment in our Recipe for Good strategy is essential to building a more resilient business in partnership with our employees, franchisees and suppliers.”
The report reflects key initiatives and areas of work announced since Yum! Brands published its last report in 2021, showcases progress against its existing public commitments and covers the Company’s ESG strategy. Because of the Company’s continued progress and its transparent disclosure, Yum! was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America for the fifth consecutive year and included on Newsweek's ranking of America's Most Responsible Companies in 2021.
“Our environmental sustainability agenda marked a number of important milestones over the past year with the approval of our science-based targets and the launch of strategic programs around renewable energy in our restaurants and emissions efficiency in our supply chain, in addition to elevating our sustainable packaging work,” said Jon Hixson, Yum! Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of Global Government Affairs. “As we look ahead, there’s more work to do and we continue building on our strong foundation to keep making progress.”
The report is prepared according to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the most widely recognized framework for sustainability reporting, and contains a Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) disclosure.
Highlights from Yum!’s new Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report include:
People
- Awarded more than $50 million in funding to almost 30 social impact programs across nine countries through Yum!’s global Unlocking Opportunity Initiative, a five-year $100 million commitment to tackle inequality through equity and inclusion, education and entrepreneurship for employees, front-line restaurant teams and communities around the world
- In 2022, launched the Yum! Franchise Accelerator, a one-of-a-kind MBA elective opportunity supporting underrepresented people of color and women interested in the franchise restaurant industry, as part of the Yum! Franchise Center for Excellence, which was established in 2021
- Continued on path to achieve gender parity in leadership roles by 2030, in alignment with Paradigm for Parity®, with 42% of global leadership roles held by women in 2021
Food
- Conducted more than 578,400 restaurant food safety audits since 2016
- Continued to introduce relevant and distinctive plant-based offerings through partnership with Beyond Meat
- Pledged to transition to 100% cage-free eggs across at least 25,000 restaurants by 2026, including the U.S., Western Europe and other markets, across all brands for all menu items and ingredients
- Launched a new chicken welfare platform at KFC Global to further strengthen its animal welfare practices around poultry, with the U.S. market publishing a report sharing its progress against key 2021 key welfare indicators
- Made progress against Taco Bell’s goal to reduce antibiotics important to human health in its U.S. and Canada beef supply chain by publishing a Beef Policy and reporting that approximately 15% of its raw beef supply is procured from reduced antibiotic sources
Planet
- Announced SBTs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions nearly 50% by 2030 and set an ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050
- Building on Yum!’s SBTs, joined the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition, an emissions reduction training program for suppliers of beef, poultry and dairy in the U.S. and Canada
- Entered a two-year partnership between KFC U.K. & Ireland and the University of Liverpool’s Zero Carbon Research Institute (ZCRI) in which ZCRI researchers are examining KFC U.K. & Ireland restaurants to identify ways to become a net-zero business by 2040 and a circular, zero-waste business in food, packaging and materials by 2035
- Committed to move all consumer-facing plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 across all brands as part of the new harmonized packaging policy
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 54,000 restaurants in more than 155 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 named to the 2021 Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and was ranked on Newsweek’s list of 2021 America’s Most Responsible Companies. In 2022, Yum! Brands was named to 3BL Media’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens.
