Sustainability At Chipotle
LINKING COMPENSATION TO SUSTAINABILTY
In March of 2021, we introduced a new Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metric that ties executive compensation to ESG goals. The objectives, which are categorized by Food & Animals, People, and the Environment, will hold our executive leadership team responsible to make business decisions that Cultivate A Better World. Ten percent of officers’ annual incentive bonus will be tied to the company’s progress toward achieving these ESG goals. Starting this year, Chipotle’s executive leadership team will be evaluated on the company’s progress toward the following overarching company goals.
Food & Animals
In effort to support more sustainable small farms, Chipotle is committed to increasing pounds of organic, local, and/or regeneratively grown/raised food used in its restaurants year over year.
People
Chipotle has set out to maintain both racial and gender pay equity. We are also implementing a program to accelerate the development of our diverse field organization and support center employees for promotion to above restaurant and next level roles.
Environment
Originally announced for 2025, we are moving up our goal to publish our Scope 3 emissions to December 31, 2021.
2020 IMPACT OVERVIEW
Purchased over 28 million pounds of Organic & Transitional ingredients
Purchased over 31 million pounds of local produce - an investment of more than $23.3 million into local food systems
Increased the amount of organic and transitional beans we buy from 9.4 million pounds in 2019 to 10.4 million pounds in 2020
OUR ACHIEVED GOALS
Increase both the total pounds of produce purchased from local growers and the number of growers in our Local Growers Program in 2019
Increase total pounds of pork produced domestically by small to medium sized farms (those that sell 10 to 1,000 hogs per year by 5% in 2019 and 2020)
Continue to work with our chicken suppliers to advance broiler chicken welfare with respect to environmental enrichments, natural lighting, improved stocking density, and controlled atmospheric stun
ANIMAL WELFARE
1. The meat and dairy we serve come from animals raised according to our strict animal welfare protocols, which include rules for humane treatment.
2. Our meat and dairy come from animals never given non-therapeutic antibiotics or added growth hormones.
3. Our protocols prohibit animal byproducts in feed.
4. Our animal welfare team regularly conducts audits to ensure that our suppliers meet these standards.
.png)
OUR NEW GOALS
Purchase over 37 million pounds of produce in 2021 from local farmers through our Local Growers Program
Develop and pilot at least one new plant-based protein offering by end of 2021
Partner with our growers to convert over 400 acres of conventional farmland to organic farmland via transitional growing methods by the end of 2025.
Achieve 100% third-party humane certification for our chicken by end of 2021
OUR COMMITMENT TO FARMERS
Farmers inspire us. How we grow food is how we grow our future. That’s why we’re giving $5 million over the next five years to help young farmers.
To date, our programs include:
TRACTOR BEVERAGE CO. PARTNERSHIP
All TRACTOR BEVERAGES sold by Chipotle help support the U.S. agricultural industry, with 5% of Chipotle’s profits from its sale of these beverages being donated to causes that benefit farmers. Funds expand Chipotle’s existing farmer programs including long-term contracts, increased local sourcing, and scholarships and grants to start, run or grow farming operations, among others.
ALUMINARIES
Chipotle’s ALUMINARIES PROJECT 2.0 accelerator program, in conjunction with Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, has helped growth stage ventures across the country advance innovative solutions in farming.
VIRTUAL FARMERS MARKET
Chipotle is supporting farmers in its supply chain by assisting in the development of eCommerce sites within the CHIPOTLE VIRTUAL FARMERS MARKET, an online marketplace where consumers can buy real ingredients online, directly from the brand’s suppliers.
YOUNG FARMER GRANT PROGRAM
To date, Chipotle and the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation have contributed over $500,000 to support the next generation of farmers. The brand is empowering the industry by offering education, scholarships, grants, and three-year contracts to young farmers.
FARMLINK PROJECT
During winter 2020-2021, Chipotle’s real change partnership with THE FARMLINK PROJECT raised awareness of food waste across the United States and allowed Farmlink to donate more than 9.5 million meals to those who needed it most. In addition, by engaging our supply chain with the non-profit, Chipotle has set an example for companies looking to make sustainable long-term change in the fight against food insecurity.
2020 IMPACT OVERVIEW
Donated over 455,000 meals to those in need in our communities
Donated over $5 million to local community organizations through 26,000+ fundraisers in our restaurants
Promoted over 13,000 of our people at all levels
Donated $525,000 to the National Urban League as part of our Diversity Equity & Inclusion commitment
OUR ACHIEVED GOALS
Make our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to all employees so they have access to quality mental health care by 2020
Expand tuition assistance for all employees to cover the cost of their dependents for General Education Development (GED) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes by 2020
Create at least three Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) throughout the organization in 2019 that will spark discussions and allow for employees to play an active role in shaping our culture and company practices
OUR VALUES KEEP US REAL
In 2020, we’ve updated our values to place even greater emphasis on the importance of diversity and inclusion
THE LINE IS THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
When our guests win, so do we.
Everything we do starts with our restaurants. Serving great food, with great service, in a safe, quick, clean, and happy environment is always priority one.
TEACH AND TASTE CHIPOTLE
Take pride in making the Chipotle experience exceptional.
Take the time to learn it well, teach it right, and hold others to the same standard.
AUTHENTICITY LIVES HERE
Our food is real and so are we.
Be your full self and make a difference.
THE MOVEMENT IS REAL
Stand up for what’s important, even when it’s hard.
We source better ingredients, hire better people, and work hard to change the world. Talk about what makes you proud, so we can do more of it.
EMPLOYEE OVERVIEW
Employees
Countries
Restaurants
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
We don’t just value diversity, we’ve fostered a culture that champions it. Chipotle’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy is centered around four pillars:
LEARN to create awareness
DEVELOP to activate our talent
CREATE ACCESS AND EQUITY by eliminating barriers for diverse candidates and employees
SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITIES by creating pathways to healthier food, education, and jobs
OUR NEW GOALS
Fill more than 70% of salaried manager positions with current employees who’ve been internally developed and promoted
Enrich our benefits offering around employee wellness including mental health, financial, and physical wellbeing including providing preventive healthcare for all employees through Telemedicine
Develop a robust Supplier Diversity program where we continue to identify opportunities for minority owned businesses to increase access to our sourcing opportunities by 2021 and develop a method to measure amount paid annually to minority-owned businesses by 2022
Continue our partnership with Guild to provide debt-free degrees and expand the program by including four-year degrees in Culinary, Agriculture, and Supply Chain to reflect our commitment to sustainable careers; adding more HBCUs; and increasing employee participation by adding professional certification tracks
2020 IMPACT OVERVIEW
Reduced 65,582 MWh of energy via our energy management systems
Recycled 1,999,224 cubic yards of waste
Achieved a 51% landfill diversion rate
Diverted 2,071,583 cubic yards of waste through recycling, composting, and waste- to- energy programs
OUR ACHIEVED GOALS
Divert 50% of our waste from landfills by 2020 against a baseline of a 37% diversion rate at the end of 2016
Set up and maintain a composting program at 25% of all restaurants by 2020, against a baseline of 10% at the end of 2016 (18% at the end of 2018)
Expand the closed-loop glove- to-trash bag pilot program to include more restaurants
OUR NEW GOALS
Set science-based emissions reduction targets verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) by the end of 2021
Identify key biodiversity hotspots throughout our operation by 2025
Identify key water risk areas and ingredients throughout supply chain in an effort to inform our water conservation strategy
Pilot scalable diversion program for construction projects by end of 2021
5% overall waste reduction by 2025 (as compared to a 2020 baseline)
WE ACKNOWLEDGE CLIMATE CHANGE AS ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES OF OUR TIME
We also recognize our organizations impact on this issue. It is with this acknowledgment that we are able to make a change for the better and further drive our climate strategies.
OUR COMMITMENT
Developing an internal climate steering committee with a focus on curbing emissions
Enlisting the assistance of industry leading experts to improve accounting methodologies, develop Scope 3 road mapping, and determine areas of climate focus
Conducting an initial Scope 3 screening as a first step in developing our full empirical measurement model and strategy
Categorically expanding our carbon offset program beyond corporate transportation
Further reducing restaurant emissions through the implementation of smart energy management systems at all restaurants, and fine-tuning reduction strategies already in place
Acknowledging climate risk and the potential impacts on our supply chain
WASTE PROGRAM
We carefully consider every item that enters our restaurants and perform annual waste audits to better understand our waste makeup and what leaves our restaurants.
.png)
WASTE DIVERSION OVERVIEW
At the end of 2020 we achieved our diversion goal by achieving a 51% diversion rate
.png)
INNOVATING FOR A BETTER FUTURE
CASE STUDY: THE GLOVE-TO-BAG PROJECT
While single-use gloves are a necessity in our industry, the vast majority of these gloves end up in the landfill. It is an industry wide problem we wanted to try and tackle.
So in 2018, we piloted a program in Portland, Oregon, where our employees’ used plastic gloves were upcycled into waste bags, which we use in over half of our restaurants. In 2019 and 2020 we continued to expand this program to 4 markets. We plan on continuing to expand this initiative across additional markets in 2021 and beyond.
CASE STUDY: CHIPOTLE GOODS: AVOCADO DYE
In 2020, we began exploring ways to reuse food waste from our restaurants. We created our first-ever natural dye line as part of our Chipotle Goods clothing launch. The natural dye capsule utilized nearly 60,000 of our avocado pits, collected to dye clothing and accessories
By leveraging food scrap items from our restaurants, we were able to give them a second life and ensure they would not end up in the landfill. All while avoiding the use of toxic dyes commonly found in the textile industry
2020 IMPACT OVERVIEW
FUNDRAISERS & DONATIONS
Over $5 million donated from over 26,000 local community fundraisers
ROUNDUP FOR REAL CHANGE
Over $3,800,000 raised for six non-profits
FOOD DONATION
455,766 meals were donated to over 468 community organizations
EQUIPMENT DONATION
Cookware and refrigerators valued at $10,000+ donated to community organizations
DISASTER RELIEF
Over $22,000 given to the Direct Relief Foundation
CULTIVATE FOUNDATION
$377,997 granted to National Young Farmers Coalition
CORPORATE GIVING
$50,000 given to the Culinary Institute of America, Make a Wish, Women on Boards, Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, The Art of Eating Magazine
WE'RE COMMITTED TO
CULTIVATING A BETTER WORLD