Thank you for this opportunity to introduce Proposal 10 on behalf of Harrington Investments, prompting full, global, political disclosure. I am Nathalie Rengifo Alvarez, Latin America climate campaign director with Corporate Accountability.
As you’ve just heard from prior proponents: McDonald’s U.S. political disclosures are both lagging and inconsistent. Now consider that the U.S. is but one of more than 100 countries in which McDonald’s does business, where disclosures are even more lacking.
For example, McDonald’s has launched a full-court offensive against proposed EU laws on waste reduction even as the corporation generates the weight of more than 100 Eiffel towers in packaging each year. To the backdrop of next week’s global plastic treaty negotiations, the corporation’s politically-motivated activities around plastic waste reinforce the need for rigorous and global disclosures.
Perhaps most opaque of all of McDonald’s political activities, are those in my home region, Latin America, where our sister organizations regularly contend with the displacement of Indigenous people and mass deforestation by McDonald’s suppliers like Cargill. Investors have no visibility into the potential complicity of the corporation in such activities.
In place of disclosure, investors will instead find lofty CSR commitments, with largely unverifiable progress claims, and a political code of conduct; the adherence to which investors are asked to take on faith. For a corporation that takes pride in “being a good neighbor,” “doing the right thing,” and “putting people first,” it is urgent and imperative that its investors are offered full visibility into all of its political activities across all regions. I urge you to vote ‘yes’ on Proposal 10 and the many aligned proposals before you today.
Thank you
