0:00:01.500,0:00:05.643
Who remembers this[br]infamous Styrofoam container?

0:00:05.667,0:00:08.226
(Applause)

0:00:08.250,0:00:11.559
Well, it sure changed me,[br]it changed my company,

0:00:11.583,0:00:13.518
and it started a revelatory journey

0:00:13.542,0:00:17.768
about how adversaries[br]can be your best allies.

0:00:17.792,0:00:19.351
You know, back in the late '80s,

0:00:19.375,0:00:24.518
this Big Mac clamshell[br]was the symbol of a garbage crisis.

0:00:24.542,0:00:26.518
People were really angry.

0:00:26.542,0:00:28.768
For example, thousands of students,

0:00:28.792,0:00:32.559
young students around the globe[br]were sending letters, blaming McDonald's,

0:00:32.583,0:00:36.434
because we were using[br]millions of these at that time.

0:00:36.458,0:00:40.518
Now, no one at McDonald's knew anything[br]about environmentally friendly packaging,

0:00:40.542,0:00:42.018
including me.

0:00:42.042,0:00:43.309
The last 10 years,

0:00:43.333,0:00:46.351
I was in charge of logistics[br]and truck drivers.

0:00:46.375,0:00:48.351
Then out of nowhere, my boss comes to me

0:00:48.375,0:00:53.601
and says, "Hey, we want you[br]to save this clamshell for the company

0:00:53.625,0:00:56.917
and lead the effort to reduce waste[br]within McDonald's."

0:00:58.167,0:01:00.226
I looked at him and I asked him,

0:01:00.250,0:01:01.708
"What is polystyrene?"

0:01:03.875,0:01:06.018
But it all sounded intriguing to me

0:01:06.042,0:01:08.792
because it brought me back to my roots.

0:01:13.875,0:01:16.809
You see, I grew up[br]in the late '60s, early '70s,

0:01:16.833,0:01:20.500
in a time of huge social upheaval[br]in the United States.

0:01:21.333,0:01:24.434
And I was really in tune[br]with the protests, the sit-ins,

0:01:24.458,0:01:26.184
the anti-Vietnam sentiment,

0:01:26.208,0:01:29.875
and I really felt there was a need[br]to question authority.

0:01:30.958,0:01:33.476
But as I went into university,

0:01:33.500,0:01:37.726
I realized that I'm not[br]going to make a living doing this.

0:01:37.750,0:01:40.268
And that whole movement had subsided,

0:01:40.292,0:01:43.684
and my activist spirit went dormant.

0:01:43.708,0:01:45.184
And I needed to make a living,

0:01:45.208,0:01:47.167
so I got involved in the business world.

0:01:47.958,0:01:50.643
So, now these students against pollution,

0:01:50.667,0:01:53.893
who were sending those[br]protest letters to McDonald's,

0:01:53.917,0:01:57.976
they reminded me of myself 20 years ago.

0:01:58.000,0:02:00.018
They're questioning authority.

0:02:00.042,0:02:02.518
But now, I'm the man.

0:02:02.542,0:02:04.393
(Laughter)

0:02:04.417,0:02:05.958
I'm the corporate suit.

0:02:07.042,0:02:09.375
I'm the one representing authority.

0:02:10.250,0:02:12.059
And this new thing was emerging

0:02:12.083,0:02:14.434
called corporate social responsibility,

0:02:14.458,0:02:16.934
later corporate sustainability,

0:02:16.958,0:02:19.958
and now I had a chance[br]to make a difference.

0:02:21.042,0:02:22.976
So the beginning of this journey

0:02:23.000,0:02:26.434
started when McDonald's agreed[br]to a partnership

0:02:26.458,0:02:28.768
with the Environmental Defense Fund.

0:02:28.792,0:02:30.309
They were an NGO

0:02:30.333,0:02:34.750
that was founded with the principle[br]of "sue the bastards."

0:02:35.708,0:02:37.601
So I'm thinking,

0:02:37.625,0:02:40.434
what are they thinking[br]about me and my team?

0:02:40.458,0:02:42.934
When I first met Richard Denison,

0:02:42.958,0:02:46.351
he's the senior scientist for EDF,

0:02:46.375,0:02:48.143
I was very apprehensive.

0:02:48.167,0:02:50.059
I thought he's a tree-hugger,

0:02:50.083,0:02:53.434
and I'm thinking he thinks[br]all I care about is the money.

0:02:53.458,0:02:58.851
So we wanted the EDF team[br]to give us real-world solutions.

0:02:58.875,0:03:00.750
So we did the logical thing.

0:03:01.750,0:03:05.143
We had them flip burgers[br]in our restaurants.

0:03:05.167,0:03:07.184
So you have to imagine Richard,

0:03:07.208,0:03:10.018
who, by the way, is a PhD in physics,

0:03:10.042,0:03:12.809
and there he is, he's trying[br]to dress a quarter-pounder,

0:03:12.833,0:03:15.851
and you're supposed to have[br]two squirts of ketchup, one mustard,

0:03:15.875,0:03:18.268
three pickles and an onion,[br]go on to the next one,

0:03:18.292,0:03:19.559
you've got to be so fast.

0:03:19.583,0:03:22.309
And you know what?[br]He couldn't get it right all day long.

0:03:22.333,0:03:23.934
And he was frustrated.

0:03:23.958,0:03:26.851
And I was so impressed,

0:03:26.875,0:03:30.625
because he was trying[br]to understand our business.

0:03:31.583,0:03:32.851
Now, the EDF team,

0:03:32.875,0:03:37.768
they thought reusables[br]were the holy grail for our business.

0:03:37.792,0:03:40.768
Me and my team thought, reusables?

0:03:40.792,0:03:42.601
Too much space, they'd make a mess,

0:03:42.625,0:03:44.434
they would slow us down.

0:03:44.458,0:03:46.434
But we didn't reject the idea.

0:03:46.458,0:03:51.601
We went to the restaurant they chose[br]outside DC, we went to the back room.

0:03:51.625,0:03:53.559
The dishwasher wasn't working properly,

0:03:53.583,0:03:55.393
it's spitting out dirty dishes.

0:03:55.417,0:03:58.143
The kitchen area is dirty and grimy.

0:03:58.167,0:04:00.351
And compared to their[br]experience at McDonald's

0:04:00.375,0:04:01.726
that's clean and organized,

0:04:01.750,0:04:04.518
they could see the stark difference.

0:04:04.542,0:04:07.518
We also sat in a restaurant[br]at McDonald's, all day long,

0:04:07.542,0:04:10.518
and watched the customers eating in.

0:04:10.542,0:04:11.976
Their behavior.

0:04:12.000,0:04:14.684
Ends up that many customers[br]left with the food,

0:04:14.708,0:04:16.393
they left with the beverage.

0:04:16.417,0:04:19.268
And EDF came to their own conclusion

0:04:19.292,0:04:22.184
that reusables wouldn't work for us.

0:04:22.208,0:04:25.768
But they did have[br]a lot of ideas that did work.

0:04:25.792,0:04:28.768
And we never would have thought[br]of them by ourselves,

0:04:28.792,0:04:30.684
without the EDF team.

0:04:30.708,0:04:34.934
My favorite was switching[br]from the white carry-out bag

0:04:34.958,0:04:36.583
to the brown bag.

0:04:42.292,0:04:45.226
We had been using the white bag.

0:04:45.250,0:04:47.184
It's virgin material,

0:04:47.208,0:04:50.559
it's made from chlorine[br]bleaching chemicals,

0:04:50.583,0:04:53.101
and they said, use an unbleached bag,

0:04:53.125,0:04:54.500
no chemicals.

0:04:55.667,0:04:57.476
It's made from recycled content,

0:04:57.500,0:05:00.101
mostly recycled shipping corrugated boxes.

0:05:00.125,0:05:03.768
Ends up that the bag is stronger,[br]the fiber is stronger,

0:05:03.792,0:05:05.476
it didn't cost us more money.

0:05:05.500,0:05:07.042
It was win-win.

0:05:12.875,0:05:14.976
Another idea they had

0:05:15.000,0:05:18.643
was that we could reduce[br]our napkin by one inch.

0:05:18.667,0:05:21.250
And make it from recycled office paper.

0:05:22.833,0:05:25.559
I'm thinking, one inch, no big deal.

0:05:25.583,0:05:29.684
We did it, it reduced waste[br]by three million pounds a year.

0:05:29.708,0:05:32.184
Sixteen thousand trees saved.

0:05:32.208,0:05:36.351
(Applause)

0:05:36.375,0:05:40.226
What was really cool[br]is we changed that bright white napkin,

0:05:40.250,0:05:44.184
because the recycled content[br]became gray and speckled.

0:05:44.208,0:05:46.434
And we made that look, you know,

0:05:46.458,0:05:48.792
in tune, in vogue with customers.

0:05:50.667,0:05:54.476
So, I came to really enjoy

0:05:54.500,0:05:57.351
the time working with the EDF team.

0:05:57.375,0:05:59.559
We had many dinners,[br]late-night discussions,

0:05:59.583,0:06:01.643
we went to a ball game together.

0:06:01.667,0:06:03.667
We became friends.

0:06:04.667,0:06:06.893
And that's when I learned a life lesson.

0:06:06.917,0:06:09.851
That these NGO crusaders,

0:06:09.875,0:06:11.643
they're really no different than me.

0:06:11.667,0:06:14.059
They care, they have passion,

0:06:14.083,0:06:16.184
we're just not different.

0:06:16.208,0:06:18.226
So, we had a six-month partnership

0:06:18.250,0:06:22.684
that ended up producing a 42-point[br]waste reduction action plan.

0:06:22.708,0:06:25.351
To reduce, reuse, recycle.

0:06:25.375,0:06:27.476
We measured it during[br]the decade of the '90s,

0:06:27.500,0:06:33.250
and over 10 years we reduced[br]300 million pounds of waste.

0:06:34.667,0:06:38.018
Now, if you're wondering[br]about that polystyrene clamshell,

0:06:38.042,0:06:39.851
yeah, we ditched it.

0:06:39.875,0:06:42.976
And luckily, I still had a job.

0:06:43.000,0:06:47.393
And this partnership was so successful

0:06:47.417,0:06:52.351
that we went on to recycle[br]the idea to work with critics.

0:06:52.375,0:06:54.726
Collaborate with them[br]on solutions that could work

0:06:54.750,0:06:57.375
for society and for business.

0:06:58.917,0:07:02.101
But could this idea of collaborating

0:07:02.125,0:07:05.309
work with the most contrarian folks?

0:07:05.333,0:07:09.184
And on issues that are, you know,[br]not within our direct control.

0:07:09.208,0:07:10.917
Like animal rights.

0:07:12.042,0:07:13.309
Now, animal rights,

0:07:13.333,0:07:16.226
obviously they don't want[br]animals used for meat.

0:07:16.250,0:07:18.851
McDonald's, probably[br]the biggest purchaser of meat

0:07:18.875,0:07:20.309
in the food service industry.

0:07:20.333,0:07:22.893
So there's a natural conflict there.

0:07:22.917,0:07:24.434
But I thought it would be best

0:07:24.458,0:07:29.309
to go visit and learn from[br]the most vociferous and vigilant critics

0:07:29.333,0:07:31.101
we had at that time,

0:07:31.125,0:07:35.018
which were Henry Spira,[br]head of Animal Rights International,

0:07:35.042,0:07:36.643
and Peter Singer,

0:07:36.667,0:07:38.684
who wrote the book "Animal Liberation,"

0:07:38.708,0:07:42.250
which is considered the modern treatise[br]about animal rights.

0:07:43.208,0:07:45.184
You know, I read Peter's book to prepare,

0:07:45.208,0:07:47.226
I tried to get into his mindset,

0:07:47.250,0:07:48.893
and I have to admit, it was tough,

0:07:48.917,0:07:50.976
I'm not becoming a vegan,

0:07:51.000,0:07:53.518
my company wasn't going that way.

0:07:53.542,0:07:55.893
But I really thought we could learn a lot.

0:07:55.917,0:07:58.893
And so I set up a breakfast meeting[br]in New York City.

0:07:58.917,0:08:01.143
And I remember sitting down,[br]getting ready,

0:08:01.167,0:08:03.559
and I decided I'm not[br]going to order my favorite,

0:08:03.583,0:08:05.934
which is you know, bacon[br]and sausage and eggs.

0:08:05.958,0:08:08.101
(Laughter)

0:08:08.125,0:08:10.684
And I'm just going to stick[br]to the pastries.

0:08:10.708,0:08:11.976
But I have to admit,

0:08:12.000,0:08:15.309
I was waiting for the adversarial[br]discussion to happen.

0:08:15.333,0:08:17.268
And it never did.

0:08:17.292,0:08:20.018
Henry and Peter were just gracious,

0:08:20.042,0:08:23.559
they were caring, they were smart,[br]they asked good questions.

0:08:23.583,0:08:26.143
I told them about[br]how working on animal welfare

0:08:26.167,0:08:27.559
is very tough for McDonald's

0:08:27.583,0:08:31.476
because our direct suppliers,[br]they only make meat patties.

0:08:31.500,0:08:35.559
The animals are three or four steps[br]removed from our influence.

0:08:35.583,0:08:37.851
And they were very empathetic.

0:08:37.875,0:08:40.643
And while we were so directly opposed

0:08:40.667,0:08:43.434
in terms of the missions[br]of our organizations,

0:08:43.458,0:08:45.268
I felt that I had learned a lot.

0:08:45.292,0:08:48.976
And best of all, they gave me[br]a terrific recommendation.

0:08:49.000,0:08:50.351
And that is, they said,

0:08:50.375,0:08:53.393
"You should work with Dr. Temple Grandin."

0:08:53.417,0:08:56.101
Now, I didn't know her at the time.

0:08:56.125,0:08:57.393
But I tell you,

0:08:57.417,0:09:02.643
she's the most renowned expert,[br]then and now, on animal behavior.

0:09:02.667,0:09:06.833
And she knows how animals move[br]and how they should react in facilities.

0:09:07.708,0:09:09.226
So I end up meeting her,

0:09:09.250,0:09:12.476
and she's the very best type of critic,

0:09:12.500,0:09:14.726
in a sense that[br]she just loves the animals,

0:09:14.750,0:09:16.018
wants to protect them,

0:09:16.042,0:09:19.726
but she also understands[br]the reality of the meat business.

0:09:19.750,0:09:21.018
And I'll always remember,

0:09:21.042,0:09:24.018
I had never been[br]to a slaughterhouse in my life,

0:09:24.042,0:09:26.476
and so I go with her for my first trip.

0:09:26.500,0:09:28.518
I didn't know what to expect.

0:09:28.542,0:09:33.976
And we find that the animal handlers[br]have electric prods in their hands,

0:09:34.000,0:09:39.268
and are basically zapping[br]almost every animal in the facility.

0:09:39.292,0:09:42.309
We're both appalled,[br]she's jumping up and down,

0:09:42.333,0:09:43.601
you'd have to know her,

0:09:43.625,0:09:45.816
she's saying, "This can't be,[br]this isn't right,

0:09:45.840,0:09:47.983
we could use flags,[br]we could use plastic bags,

0:09:48.007,0:09:51.083
we could redesign the corrals[br]for natural behavior."

0:09:52.125,0:09:54.226
Well I set up Temple with our suppliers

0:09:54.250,0:09:57.309
to set up standards and guidelines.

0:09:57.333,0:10:01.226
And ways to measure her ideas[br]of implementing animal welfare.

0:10:01.250,0:10:03.809
We did this for the next[br]two to five years.

0:10:03.833,0:10:06.976
And it all got integrated,[br]it all got enforced.

0:10:07.000,0:10:09.559
By the way, two of McDonald's[br]suppliers lost business

0:10:09.583,0:10:11.441
because they didn't meet our standards.

0:10:11.465,0:10:12.726
And best of all,

0:10:12.750,0:10:16.976
all these standards ended up scaling[br]to the entire industry.

0:10:17.000,0:10:20.226
And no more zapping of those animals.

0:10:20.250,0:10:24.851
Now, what about issues[br]that we're blamed for elsewhere?

0:10:24.875,0:10:27.059
Like deforestation.

0:10:27.083,0:10:29.101
You know, on that issue, I always thought,

0:10:29.125,0:10:32.101
policy makers and government,[br]that's their role.

0:10:32.125,0:10:34.976
Never thought it would end up in my lap.

0:10:35.000,0:10:37.559
But I remember in early April 2006,

0:10:37.583,0:10:40.101
I opened up my Blackberry,

0:10:40.125,0:10:44.018
and I'm reading about[br]Greenpeace campaigners

0:10:44.042,0:10:48.184
showing up in the UK by the dozens,

0:10:48.208,0:10:50.184
dressed as chickens,

0:10:50.208,0:10:52.476
having breakfast at McDonald's

0:10:52.500,0:10:55.601
and chaining themselves[br]to the chairs and tables.

0:10:55.625,0:10:57.518
So they got a lot of attention,

0:10:57.542,0:10:59.393
including mine.

0:10:59.417,0:11:02.351
And I was wondering if the report[br]that they had just released,

0:11:02.375,0:11:04.768
it was called "Eating Up the Amazon."

0:11:04.792,0:11:08.184
And by the way, soy[br]is a key ingredient for chicken feed,

0:11:08.208,0:11:10.726
and that's the connection to McDonald's.

0:11:10.750,0:11:13.893
So I called my trusted friends[br]at the World Wildlife Fund,

0:11:13.917,0:11:16.393
I called Conservation International,

0:11:16.417,0:11:21.518
and I soon learned that[br]the Greenpeace report was accurate.

0:11:21.542,0:11:23.268
So I gathered internal support,

0:11:23.292,0:11:26.518
and I'll always remember,[br]next day, after that campaign,

0:11:26.542,0:11:27.809
I called them up,

0:11:27.833,0:11:30.167
and I said, "We agree with you."

0:11:31.083,0:11:34.351
And I said, "How about working together?"

0:11:34.375,0:11:37.018
So three days later,

0:11:37.042,0:11:39.226
miraculously, four people from McDonald's,

0:11:39.250,0:11:40.726
four people from Greenpeace,

0:11:40.750,0:11:43.518
we're meeting in the London[br]Heathrow airport.

0:11:43.542,0:11:46.476
And I have to say,[br]the first hour was shaky,

0:11:46.500,0:11:48.851
it wasn't a whole lot[br]of trust in the room.

0:11:48.875,0:11:52.059
But it seemed like[br]everything came together,

0:11:52.083,0:11:56.559
because each of us[br]wanted to save the Amazon.

0:11:56.583,0:11:57.934
And during our discussions,

0:11:57.958,0:12:00.226
you couldn't really tell, I don't think,

0:12:00.250,0:12:04.167
who was from Greenpeace[br]and who was from McDonald's.

0:12:05.458,0:12:07.559
So one of the best things we did

0:12:07.583,0:12:12.434
is we traveled with them for nine days[br]on a trip through the Amazon,

0:12:12.458,0:12:16.059
on the Greenpeace airplane,[br]on the Greenpeace boat.

0:12:16.083,0:12:18.601
And I'll always remember,

0:12:18.625,0:12:21.976
imagine traveling hundreds[br]of miles west of Manaus,

0:12:22.000,0:12:24.643
the capital city of the Amazon.

0:12:24.667,0:12:26.601
And it's so pristine beauty,

0:12:26.625,0:12:29.351
there's no man-made structures,[br]there's no roads,

0:12:29.375,0:12:31.476
not one wire, not one house.

0:12:31.500,0:12:33.809
You would travel east of Manaus

0:12:33.833,0:12:37.458
and you would see the blatant[br]rainforest destruction.

0:12:38.542,0:12:44.809
So this very unlikely collaboration[br]produced outstanding results.

0:12:44.833,0:12:46.101
By working together,

0:12:46.125,0:12:50.143
we recruited over a dozen[br]other retailers and suppliers

0:12:50.167,0:12:52.184
for the same cause.

0:12:52.208,0:12:54.684
And by the way, within three months,

0:12:54.708,0:12:57.809
a moratorium on these[br]clear-cutting practices

0:12:57.833,0:13:00.268
was announced by the industry.

0:13:00.292,0:13:05.351
And Greenpeace themselves declared it[br]as a spectacular drop in deforestation

0:13:05.375,0:13:07.500
and it's been in effect ever since.

0:13:08.917,0:13:11.976
Now, you think these types[br]of collaborations that I've described

0:13:12.000,0:13:14.351
would be commonplace today.

0:13:14.375,0:13:15.768
But they're not.

0:13:15.792,0:13:18.268
When organizations are battered,

0:13:18.292,0:13:22.059
the common response[br]is to deny and push back,

0:13:22.083,0:13:24.143
put out some sort of lame statement

0:13:24.167,0:13:26.893
and no progress is made at all.

0:13:26.917,0:13:29.768
I say the alternative is really powerful.

0:13:29.792,0:13:32.018
I mean, it's not going to fix[br]every problem,

0:13:32.042,0:13:33.893
and there's more to do for sure,

0:13:33.917,0:13:36.476
but this idea of working with critics

0:13:36.500,0:13:39.184
and trying to do more good for society

0:13:39.208,0:13:41.184
that actually is good for business,

0:13:41.208,0:13:43.768
believe me, it's possible.

0:13:43.792,0:13:45.726
But it starts with the idea

0:13:45.750,0:13:50.893
that you need to assume[br]the best intentions of your critics.

0:13:50.917,0:13:53.768
Just like you have the best intentions.

0:13:53.792,0:13:55.184
And then secondly,

0:13:55.208,0:13:57.518
you need to look past[br]a lot of these tactics.

0:13:57.542,0:14:01.351
I admit, I did not like[br]a lot of the tactics

0:14:01.375,0:14:03.101
used on my company.

0:14:03.125,0:14:06.268
But instead, focus on what the truth is,

0:14:06.292,0:14:07.851
what's the right thing to do,

0:14:07.875,0:14:10.934
what's the science, what's the facts.

0:14:10.958,0:14:13.226
And lastly, you know, I would say,

0:14:13.250,0:14:15.684
give the critics the keys.

0:14:15.708,0:14:17.809
Show them the back room.

0:14:17.833,0:14:19.809
Bring them there, don't hide the details,

0:14:19.833,0:14:22.351
because if you want allies and support,

0:14:22.375,0:14:24.792
you need to be open and transparent.

0:14:26.208,0:14:29.059
Now, whether you're a corporate suit,

0:14:29.083,0:14:31.018
whether you're a tree-hugger,

0:14:31.042,0:14:33.809
I say the next time you're criticized,

0:14:33.833,0:14:36.309
reach out, listen, learn.

0:14:36.333,0:14:39.601
You'll become better,[br]your organization will become better,

0:14:39.625,0:14:43.059
and you might make[br]some good friends along the way.

0:14:43.083,0:14:44.351
Thank you.

0:14:44.375,0:14:46.708
(Applause)