Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell has released its 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report. By using more efficient technologies for lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration, the company has saved a record 530 million kWh of energy. Accumulated savings from energy efficiency efforts have resulted in a measured reduction of almost 1.2 million metric tons of CO2 since 2009. The company has nearly reached its goal of reducing energy consumption in company-owned restaurants by 15% by the end of 2015.
Yum has more than 30 LEED certified restaurants built or under way across nine countries, and by the end of 2015, all of Yum’s new company-owned stores will be LEED certifiable.
Low-flow faucets and restroom fixtures inside company restaurants, as well as water-saving irrigation systems and timers outside of restaurants, resulted in the reduction of more than 220 million gallons of water in 2014. While the company has saved 577 million gallons of water over the past nine years, it is only 37 percent of the way toward its target of reducing water consumption in company-owned restaurants by 10 percent by the end of 2015.
Yum has phased out or avoided using unwanted fiber sources in its paper-based packaging and has progressively increased the amount of recycled content used in its packaging. By 2020, the company aims to purchase 100% of paper-based packaging with fiber from responsibly managed forests and recycled sources.
A large percentage of the company’s back-of-the-house waste is recycled or donated through its oil recycling, corrugate recycling and Harvest program. The company is in the process of establishing a 2020 goal for waste and recycling, which will provide more measurable targets for its brands.
