Brinker International

In its 2024 Annual Report (AR), Brinker provides a high-level disclosure of its key proteins, describing its Chicken Crispers and burgers as some of its core equities to drive sales. Its menu items also include bacon, cheese, scampi, mussels, cod, and salmon. Eggs are listed as ingredients in menu items such as its Chicken Francese, and Chicken Parmesan. The company has not recently disclosed which of these animal proteins are its key commodities and does not provide a granular breakdown by volume or revenue of its purchased proteins.

In its 2025 Sustainability Report, Brinker International states that, in 2019, it added a commitment to eliminate antibiotics across its chicken supply chains, except for treating and non-routine control of diagnosed illness. This has changed from its 2023 Sustainability Report which stated that in 2019, it added a commitment to eliminate antibiotics important to human medicine across its chicken supply chains, except for treating and non-routine control of diagnosed illness. Furthermore in 2023, 2024, and 2025 Brinker states that 95% of chicken served in its restaurants was raised with no antibiotics important to human medicine. The company should consider clarifying which statement is correct, as this significantly affects the scope of its policy. As the company has repeated the latter statement it has been scored based on this. Further clarification is also needed regarding ‘eliminating ‘antibiotics important to human medicine’ and whether this refers to all 35 classes of medically important antibiotics or the 6 classes classified as ‘important antibiotics’ in the 2024 iteration of the WHO List of Medically Important Antimicrobials. Brinker states that it continues to support FDA Guidelines and align with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Beef Quality Assurance Program and Pork Quality Assurance Plus antibiotic principles. These do not restrict antibiotic use in a manner that aligns with the WHO Guidelines and are therefore not considered a policy in this assessment. While Brinker does not appear to have a company-specific policy for antibiotic use in its seafood, it states that it partners with the Global Seafood Alliance, which carries out audits to guide sourcing. As of 2021, the Best Aquaculture Practices program prohibits the use of antimicrobials Critically Important for Human Medicine by the WHO in its salmon farm or crustation farm standard. Brinker does not state specifically if its salmon and/or crustaceans are certified under these standards. The company does not disclose any evidence of an antibiotic policy for its other purchased proteins.

It remains unclear what percentage of Brinker International’s global restaurant footprint its broiler antibiotic policy applies to. The company discloses that it does not control its franchises' ESG programs as they are independent businesses. Therefore, its target to eliminate the use of antibiotics important to human medicine from its chicken supply chain may apply only to its company-owned restaurants. If this is so, the target would apply to 1,162 of its total 1,628 restaurants, covering approximately 71% of its global restaurant footprint.

Brinker International discloses in its 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 Sustainability Reports that more than 95% of chicken served in its restaurants was raised with no antibiotics important to human medicine, publicly disclosing a metric to demonstrate that it is, in some capacity, tracking antibiotic use in its chicken supply chain. The company does not report that it tracks and measures antibiotic use within its supply chain for any other purchased animal proteins.

Brinker International provides no evidence that it conducts internal or third-party audits to ensure compliance with its antibiotic use policy for its chicken supply chain.

Brinker International does not disclose details of its non-compliance procedure for its antibiotics policy.

Brinker International does not disclose any forward-looking time-bound antibiotics reduction target for any of its key animal proteins. The company does have a target to eliminate antibiotics important to human medicine across its chicken supply chains, however, this is not time-bound. Since 2022, Brinker International has reported that 95% of the chicken served in its restaurants was raised with no antibiotics important to human medicine. It is worth noting that this percentage has remained consistent in the last four years of reporting.

Brinker International does not disclose any forward-looking time-bound antibiotics reduction target.

Brinker International does not disclose any forward-looking time-bound antibiotics reduction target.