Over the past several years, Darden has invested in sustainability-related activities. We developed a sustainability strategy and established an Office of Sustainability and an internal Sustainability Leadership Council. We are now working to identify and spread sustainable best practices throughout the company. We’re also partnering with our suppliers and key stakeholders to protect resource availability and create long-term collective value through innovative approaches to ecosystem conservation and enhancement.
We have recently begun documenting our sustainability goals, activities, and achievements. Our first-ever corporate sustainability “report”—actually an interactive, user-friendly website filled with compelling sustainability stories and in-depth discussion of our most material issues—is under development and slated for launch in Summer 2010. The website will cover issues such as energy use, water use, waste, packaging, seafood sustainability, food safety and animal welfare, among others. For example, the website will highlight specific topics such as:
- Darden’s new, state-of-the-art “green” headquarters building in Orlando, which opened September 2009
- Our total “carbon footprint” (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions) and our plans for reducing that footprint going forward
- The activities of “green teams” within our 1,800 restaurants
- Our efforts to evaluate—and reduce—the amount of packaging coming to our restaurants from suppliers
- Our participation in collaborative activities such as the Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, the Global Fish Alliance, and Conservation International’s Business and Biodiversity Council
