Biodiversity & Nature
Yum!’s commitment to addressing climate change by reducing deforestation goes beyond the sourcing of our animal products. In 2019, we endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) and the private sector goal of eliminating deforestation from the production of agriculture commodities such as beef, soy, palm oil and paper products. NYDF members have collectively committed to end natural forest loss by 2030.
See How Yum! Is Addressing Key Commodities
Beef
We continue working to better understand and address sourcing of beef and soy from areas with high risk for deforestation. Through close collaboration with our direct and indirect suppliers on traceability, we estimate that 99% of our beef supply was sourced from regions of lower risk of tropical deforestation in 2023 with about 85% coming from the U.S. and Canada.
Soy
Soy, which is a primary ingredient in our chicken feed, has a complex supply chain. While our business is at least five steps removed from the soybean field, we continue to work across our supply chain to achieve greater levels of visibility and accountability. Specifically, we’ve mapped our sourcing of Brazilian soy for chicken feed going to Western Europe and continue to invest in data collection to better understand the use of soy by our supply chain partners.
Palm Oil
Sourcing palm oil used for cooking from responsible sources is a long-standing commitment of Yum!. We use a satellite technology to analyze and mitigate deforestation risks across our supply chain and continue to look for ways to reduce our impact. We also report to the Annual Communication of Progress through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Paper
We are committed to purchasing 100% of our paper-based packaging with fiber from responsibly managed forests and recycled sources and are exploring sustainable alternative fibers like bamboo.
As an active member of the NYDF, Tropical Forest Alliance, and UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya, Yum! and our brands are monitoring legislation worldwide and participating in discussions about how governments and businesses can protect forests. We also continue to increase disclosure and our progress is evident in our CDP scores.
