Restaurant Brands International
QSP on NYSE CA76131D1033
Key Information
HQ:
Canada
Market Cap:
$27.53bn
Primary Market:
North America
Meat Sourcing Engagement
Analysis Breakdown
Board oversight
Is the board briefed by management on the company’s strategies for mitigating environmental risks associated with their meat and dairy supply chains on at least an annual basis?
RBI reports that its Board of Directors oversees ESG topics and receives twice annual updates from the sustainability steering committee. This committee is made up of RBI's Chief Corporate Officer, Chief Marketing Officers, and Global Head of Supply Chain who it reports are jointly accountable for its sustainability framework and strategy. It is not clear from public disclosure whether the Board receives reports specific to meat and dairy supply chains.
*No change
Partial
Have company representatives presented to the Board on physical/transition risks from climate change impacts on commodity sourcing?
RBI states that ongoing stakeholder engagement enables the company to identify and understand risks. In its first public CDP Climate disclosure (2021), the company states that it considers acute and chronic physical risks in its climate-related risk assessments. It is unclear whether these risks are presented to the Board, and water risk assessments are not disclosed on. The company's CDP Climate disclosure does not touch on physical/transition risks from climate change and water specifically on commodity sourcing.
*No change
No
Supplier policy
Does the company have a publicly-available supplier policy that addresses the climate, deforestation, water use and quality impacts of its commodity suppliers?
RBI's Vendor Code of Conduct includes provisions on environment and responsible sourcing. Vendors are "encouraged" rather than "required" to manage, measure and reduce environmental impacts including GHG emissions and water. It has a commitment to responsible sourcing, which includes working towards the elimination of deforestation. The Vendor Code currently lacks specific requirements for each commodity and each environmental issue. These should be clarified and discussed in further detail.
*No change
Partial
Does the company have a supplier monitoring and verification system that ensures that direct and indirect suppliers meet the company’s environmental requirements?
Vendors must complete questionnaires to certify compliance with the code and RBI reserves the right to conduct audits to ensure compliance, however, as the company does not yet have clear requirements on climate and water management, it is not clear how suppliers can demonstrate compliance with the code. RBI states on its website that it requires all approved vendors to certify their compliance with the Code through self assessment questionnaires, but that it prioritises the assessment of highest risk vendors
*No change
Partial
Does the policy include a non-compliance protocol that specifies specific criteria (e.g. violation of no-deforestation pledge or major pollution incidents) that would trigger the suspension or termination of contracts and facilitates development of time-bound action plans for suppliers to return to compliance?
If a supplier violates the code, RBI may terminate the relationship or require the implementation of a corrective action plan. However, the vendor code does not have specific environmental criteria and it is not clear how exactly the non-compliance measures would be triggered other than failure to comply with relevant regulations.
*No change
Partial
Does the policy specify that suppliers address all major emissions sources, including those related to land use change and deforestation, enteric emissions from animals, and emissions from manure and chemical fertilisers?
RBI "encourages" its vendors to manage, measure and reduce greenhouse gases. The vendor code does not specifically require suppliers to address major sources of emissions. The company reports to CDP Climate that it plans to collect supplier data to engage suppliers, increase its partnership with "low-footprint" suppliers, and engage on how they can decrease their footprints. This disclosure lacks specificity on what metrics are considered as part of a supplier's "footprint".
*No change
No
Does the policy ask direct suppliers to measure, report and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their direct operations and agricultural supply chains?
RBI "encourages" its vendors to manage, measure and reduce greenhouse gases and report back to RBI if requested. There is no explicit reference to agricultural supply chains. This disclosure has not changed since Phase 2 of this engagement, however, the company states that it plans to collect supplier data to engage suppliers and increase its partnership with "low-footprint" suppliers and engage on how they can decrease their footprints. This disclosure lacks specificity on what metrics are considered as part of a supplier's "footprint".
*No change
No
Does the policy specify that direct and indirect suppliers address all major sources of water pollution and waste in the animal protein supply chain, including slaughtering and processing activities, animal production (CAFOs), and feed production?
RBI "encourages" its vendors to manage, measure and reduce wastewater and solid waste. The vendor code does not specifically require suppliers to address pollution impacts.
*No change
No
Does the policy encourage suppliers to set science-based and/or context-based targets on water?
RBI "encourages" its vendors to manage, measure and reduce water usage and wastewater. There is no explicit reference to agricultural supply chains.
*No change
No
Does the policy ask direct suppliers to measure, reduce (beyond regulatory compliance levels) and report on the water quantity and quality impacts of their direct operations and agricultural supply chains?
RBI's vendor code does not require suppliers to set context-based water targets.
*No change
No
Does the company have a time-bound, quantifiable zero deforestation/conversion-free policy that covers the entire supply chain for soy, cattle and palm commodities?
RBI has set a target to eliminate deforestation from its priority commodities including beef, palm oil, soy in poultry feed, coffee and fibre-based packaging by 2030 or sooner. The company is also working on a policy on animal feed, however this does not cover pork or beef sourcing. Also, the company is developing a global animal feed strategy and policy. The company has not expanded or provided an update on this disclosure since Phase 2 of this engagement.
*No change
Yes
Targets
Has the company set a time-bound, quantitative reduction target for Scope 1 + Scope 2 GHG emissions?
RBI has set an absolute target to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030, compared to a 2019 basline. This target has been approved by the SBTi.
*Upgrade from Planned to Yes
Yes
Has the company set a time-bound, quantitative emissions reduction target that explicitly address Scope 3 emissions?
RBI has set an intensity-based target to reduce its Scope 3 emissions insensity by 50% per metric ton of food and by 50% per franchise restaurant by 2030, compared to a 2019 basline. This target has been approved by the SBTi. Additionally, the company has set a target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.
*Upgrade from Planned to Yes
Yes
Has the company set time-bound quantitative targets to reduce water use in direct operations?
The company states that it will measure its "impact on water" to inform its water reduction strategy, it disclosed this information in its 2020 "Restaurant Brands For Good" Year in Review. However, the company has not released a 2021 report or updated this disclosure since.
*No change
No
Has the company set time-bound quantitative targets to reduce water quality impacts in direct operations?
The company states that it will measure its "impact on water" to inform its water reduction strategy, it disclosed this information in its 2020 "Restaurant Brands For Good" Year in Review. However, the company has not released a 2021 report or updated this disclosure since. The company's website states that it has a target to design, build, and operate its restaurants to be "measureably more sustainable". This target includes water use, but is not quantative or time-bound.
*New category
No
Has the company set time-bound quantitative targets that explicitly address water use and quality impacts in the supply chain?
The company has measured its supply chain water use and will use the findings to inform its water reduction strategy, it disclosed this information in its 2020 "Restaurant Brands For Good" Year in Review. However, the company has not released a 2021 report or updated this disclosure since.
*No change
No
Risk assessment/Scenario analysis
Has the company committed to undertaking and publishing a scenario analysis in line with TCFD recommendations?
The company states that it is working to align its disclosures with TCFD guidelines, for which it will hire third party TCFD and climate experts. The analysis is planned to include two scenarios for analysis ("business as usual" and "low carbon") and projections from external public and private sources.
*Upgrade from DNF to Partial
Partial
Has the company conducted a water risk assessment across its direct operations?
While the company's website states that it is working to reduce water use in its new restaurants and in corporate offices around the world, it does not disclose having conducted a water risk assessment across its direct operations.
*No change
No
Has the company conducted a water risk assessment of suppliers & major commodities?
The company discloses on its website that it has conducted a global lifecycle assessment (LCA) covering all food, beverage, and packaging categories, which includes water impacts. This LCA is designed to inform RBI's responisble sourcing strategy, which will initially focus on emissions reduction. The extent of this water risk assessment is unclear and the company does not make the results of this LCA public.
*Upgrade from DNF to Partial
Partial
Workstream Information
Last Updated:
14 June 2022
2022 Resources
Phase 3 | Progress Briefing Report Meat Sourcing Engagement