DUBLIN, Ohio — The Wendy’s Company has released its 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report, detailing significant progress against the three key pillars of the company’s Good Done Right ESG strategy: Food, People and Footprint.
Food – Advancing responsible sourcing goal and achieving an animal welfare commitment:
- Identified approximately 140 suppliers in scope for the responsible sourcing program, established criteria used to measure progress and enlisted a technology partner to aid in assessing supplier performance;
- Evaluated roughly 30 suppliers spanning 90 facilities through the Animal Care Standards Program to benchmark performance and identify trends and areas for improvement in support of Wendy’s goal to achieve a comprehensive accounting of animal welfare best practices for beef, pork, chicken, eggs and dairy by 2024; and
- Achieved Wendy’s 10-year goal to transition the company’s pork supply chain in the U.S. and Canada away from sow gestation stalls to open pen or group housing for confirmed pregnant sows.
People – Creating more inclusive workplaces and communities
- Nearly doubled new, approved franchise candidates entering the Wendy’s system, compared to the prior year through the new franchise recruiting initiative, Own Your Opportunity;
- Broke in-restaurant fundraising records, collecting more than $8.2 million through Boo! Books sales to support the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA), which celebrated its 30 th year of helping find forever families for children in foster care. To date, the system has raised nearly $300 million to support the DTFA; and
- Created a new Employee Resource Group, GiveCare, to provide support and resources for parents and caregivers and to offer a space for employees to share their experiences.
Footprint – Reaching key milestones in sustainable packaging and mitigating Wendy’s climate impact
- Set aggressive science-based targets nearly a year ahead of schedule, validated by the Science Based Target initiative, to reduce Scope 1, 2 and targeted Scope 3 greenhouse-gas emissions by 47 per cent by 2030 across the global system;
- Surpassed the halfway mark on Wendy’s goal to sustainably source 100 per cent of customer-facing packaging by 2026 following the rollout of clear plastic drink cups more customers can recycle; and
- Expanded efforts to reduce energy consumption and increase renewable energy procurement, introducing Global Next Gen, the brand’s new design standard, which is approximately 10 per cent more energy efficient than its existing restaurant design, and subscribing to Duke Energy Florida’s Clean Energy Connection pilot program, which supplies select restaurants with solar energy.
“After establishing our corporate responsibility goals and laying a strong foundation in prior years, we are now taking significant steps forward in delivering on our commitments across Food, People and Footprint,” says Liliana Esposito, Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer. “I’m proud of the collective efforts of our team, stakeholders and franchisees as we prepare the brand for accelerated global growth while working toward a more sustainable Wendy’s.”
