Arcos Dorados

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses the channels it uses to engage with its stakeholder groups.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company has time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains.

GHG emissions
The company has targets to reduce its scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

Solid and air pollution
The company discloses quantitative data with regards to plastic use reduction and use of sustainable packaging.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Act ethically
The company has a public commitment to protecting personal data and  prohibiting bribery and corruption. Furthermore, it has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints regarding bribery and corruption.

Provide and promote decent work
The company has a publicly available policy statement that commits to ensuring the health and safety of its workers. Moreover, the company conducts Social Workplace Accountability (SWA) audits, which cover various aspects, including human rights, labor standards, and workplace environments, for all its food, packaging, distribution, and marketing suppliers.

In terms of workforce demographics, the company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce across various employee categories and age groups. Furthermore, it provides insight into the representation of women in its workforce across different employee categories. These transparency measures showcase the company’s commitment to accountability and inclusivity in its operations.

Respect human rights
The company discloses a website, an email address, a phone number, and a mail address for reporting grievances. Also, on visiting its website, it is clear that the channel is open for anyone to make a report and there is a choice for the complainant to either remain anonymous or identify themselves. It is accessible to all external stakeholders who may be adversely impacted by the company.

Lobbying
The company does not report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy.

Stakeholder engagement
The company has an opportunity to disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses some sustainability objectives/targets including climate and ecosystem conversion. However, there is an opportunity to establish group-wide targets for the most material parts of its value chain. Also, while it reports consistently against some targets including ecosystem conversion, it could report consistently against all its targets. Additionally, the company has an opportunity to disclose having persons, teams or committees within the company who are responsible for the implementation of its sustainability strategy. Furthermore, it could link performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Lastly, the company could improve its transparency by disclosing whether its highest governance body has expertise with respect to the company’s most material sustainability topics.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company does not have a commitment to ensure zero conversion, and does not disclose activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains. Furthermore, the company is not committed to restoring ecosystems, and it does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

GHG emissions
The company should report against its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Crucially, the company needs to reduce its scope 1,2 and 3 emissions and its targets need to align with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has an opportunity to disclose assessments of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations and in its supply chain. It also has the opportunity to disclose its dependencies on nature within its own operations and upstream business relationships.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Key areas and species
The company has an opportunity to disclose locations within or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity, both in its own operations and its supplier locations. It could also disclose existing species populations existing in or adjacent to both its own and its suppliers’ locations, as well as the conservation status of species identified at its own sites according to national and international lists.

Resource exploitation and circularity performance
The company has an opportunity to disclose its inputs according to an international standard, and to report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company also has an opportunity to disclose activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices, to disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices and to report progress against it.

Solid and air pollution
The company does not disclose relevant information related to pollution in its operations or supply chains.

Water
The company does not disclose relevant information related to water, in its operations or supply chains.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not show if it is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company has an opportunity to commit to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders. Moreover, it should track its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities.

Act ethically
The company could describe the process for identifying bribery and corruption risks and impacts within specific locations or activities, particularly within its own operations. Furthermore, it could incorporate anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses into its contracts with business relationships.

In terms of political engagement and transparency, the company can establish a comprehensive approach by formulating a policy that outlines its lobbying and political engagement strategy. Additionally, the company has an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to responsible corporate behavior by disclosing a publicly available policy statement specifying that it does not make political contributions.

To enhance transparency further, the company could consider disclosing its expenditures on lobbying activities. Additionally, it can reinforce its commitment to ethical lobbying practices by requiring third-party lobbyists to comply with its lobbying and political engagement policy.

Provide and promote decent work
The company has opportunities to strengthen its commitment to ethical practices. It can require suppliers to prioritize worker health and safety. Additionally, the company can establish time-bound targets for ensuring all workers receive a living wage and disclose the methodology used for determining this wage in various regions. Furthermore, the company can actively collaborate with suppliers to support the implementation of living wages.

In the realm of gender equality and empowerment, the company can publicly affirm its commitment and set clear, time-bound targets. Currently, the board comprises 20% women, but the company could aim for at least 30% to align with diversity standards. Lastly, to address gender pay disparities, the company can disclose salary and remuneration ratios between men and women across different employee categories and significant locations of operation. These actions will reinforce the company’s dedication to social and gender-related responsibilities.

Respect human rights
The company presently has a public commitment to respect human rights, yet there’s room for improvement by formalizing and strengthening this commitment. Beyond specific pledges concerning workers’ rights, the company can elevate its policy by including all ILO-declared fundamental rights at work within a formal policy document. Furthermore, extending this commitment to its suppliers to uphold these fundamental rights throughout the supply chain would demonstrate a comprehensive approach to human rights.

In terms of transparency, the company can enhance its reporting by disclosing its methodology for identifying human rights risks and impacts, particularly within specific locations and the supply chain. Additionally, it could detail its process for identifying salient human rights issues and share the results of its human rights risk assessment. To solidify its global commitment to human rights, the company might consider disclosing the existence of a global system designed to address, prevent, or mitigate its salient human rights issues.