Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s restaurant with an unwavering commitment to serve fresh food, at a fair price, in a comfortable atmosphere. He founded Wendy’s on the premise that Quality Is Our Recipe®, and the quality our customers expect from every restaurant visit begins long before products and ingredients reach the kitchen.
More than 50 years later, we remain committed to the values Dave taught us, and we believe that doing the right thing – for our people, our customers and our planet – is the only responsible way to do business.
We take pride in the freshly prepared food we serve—and the traceable, responsible practices that make it possible.
Respect, equality and fair treatment for our team members, franchisees and partners is a central part of our business. And so is giving something back.
Squarely Sustainable™, a nod to Wendy’s signature square hamburger, is our four-pronged approach to sustainability and reducing our environmental footprint.
Our corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts are now under one united banner called Good Done Right. These efforts include strengthening existing initiatives and launching new ones to enhance our approach to Food, People and our Footprint.
Read more in our 2019 CSR Report.
You've heard us say we're all about serving up better food. Here's how we actually do it.
In 2017, we expanded the Wendy's Supplier Code of Conduct, including the addition of requirements related to human rights and labor practices of certain suppliers. Beginning in 2017, the code now requires third-party reviews related to the human rights and labor practices of suppliers of certain fresh agricultural products harvested by hand or in an otherwise manually intensive way. Adding third party reviews was due in part to the nature of agricultural work, its typical workforce and an evaluation of various risk factors. As with other aspects of the Code, Wendy's will continue to evaluate its requirements related to human rights and labor practices as necessary based on evolving standards and risks.
Since 2015, we've been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and have started reporting our progress through the RSPO's Annual Communication of Progress and the World Wildlife Fund Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard. We are tracking toward sourcing only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) as an ingredient in our U.S. and Canadian products and as a cooking oil internationally. Progress continues on this journey, and while we're a minor user of this oil, we understand the interest and are committed sourcing only CSPO in North American products by 2022. We will be announcing a plan for our international restaurants in late 2017.
In 2016, we committed to eliminate the use of all antibiotics in chicken that are important to human medicine by the end of 2017, and we are on track to complete this goal. We also committed to announce further plans for a reduction in the antibiotics administered to beef and pork by the end of 2017.
With a commitment to serve only fresh, never frozen North American beef in our restaurants, we have long partnered with innovators and leaders throughout the beef industry to advance responsible practices in animal production, health and welfare. In 2016, we joined the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) to have an active voices in discussions about the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the U.S. beef industry. We are a participant in the ongoing discussions to create accountability throughout the U.S. beef value chain and anticipate reporting our progress as USRSB establishes programs and standards.
In 2012, we established a goal to work with our U.S. and Canadian pork suppliers to eliminate the use of sow gestation stalls by 2022. We continue to make progress on this goal and are closely watching industry and production trends.
Because of one adoption, a child was given the love and support to pursue his dream of starting an old-fashioned hamburger restaurant. His name was Dave Thomas, our founder. That's why Wendy's has helped thousands of children find safe and loving families, so they can pursue their dreams just like Dave. When you visit Wendy's, you are supporting our charity, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Dave's charity works hard every day to match kids waiting in foster care with parents waiting for kids. Adoptions happen through an amazing program called Wendy's Wonderful Kids. We believe every child deserves a loving, permanent family and to date, Wendy's Wonderful Kids has made that dream come true for more than 6,000 kids. Together, we can make this dream a reality for every child, so they will have what Dave had - a place to call home.
In January 2016, we joined the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Building Challenge. Among the first restaurants to join this challenge, we committed to reduce energy consumption in our U.S. company-owned locations by 20 percent by 2025. To broaden this commitment, we launched the Wendy's Energy Challenge, encouraging franchisees in the U.S. and Canada to lower the energy use in their restaurants. As of mid-2017 more than 19 franchisees have joined the Wendy's Energy Challenge, representing more than 1,400 restaurants. In our company-owned restaurants, we've lowered energy use per transaction by 12 percent in 2016 against a 2013 baseline. The approximately 500 franchise restaurants that repoted data in 2016 have saved enough energy to power 540 U.S. homes for a year.
In 2017, we expanded the Wendy's Supplier Code of Conduct, including the addition of requirements related to human rights and labor practices of certain suppliers. Beginning in 2017, the code now requires third-party reviews related to the human rights and labor practices of suppliers of certain fresh agricultural products harvested by hand or in an otherwise manually intensive way. Adding third party reviews was due in part to the nature of agricultural work, its typical workforce and an evaluation of various risk factors. As with other aspects of the Code, Wendy's will continue to evaluate its requirements related to human rights and labor practices as necessary based on evolving standards and risks.
Since 2015, we've been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and have started reporting our progress through the RSPO's Annual Communication of Progress and the World Wildlife Fund Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard. We are tracking toward sourcing only Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) as an ingredient in our U.S. and Canadian products and as a cooking oil internationally. Progress continues on this journey, and while we're a minor user of this oil, we understand the interest and are committed sourcing only CSPO in North American products by 2022. We will be announcing a plan for our international restaurants in late 2017.
In 2016, we committed to eliminate the use of all antibiotics in chicken that are important to human medicine by the end of 2017, and we are on track to complete this goal. We also committed to announce further plans for a reduction in the antibiotics administered to beef and pork by the end of 2017.
With a commitment to serve only fresh, never frozen North American beef in our restaurants, we have long partnered with innovators and leaders throughout the beef industry to advance responsible practices in animal production, health and welfare. In 2016, we joined the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) to have an active voices in discussions about the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the U.S. beef industry. We are a participant in the ongoing discussions to create accountability throughout the U.S. beef value chain and anticipate reporting our progress as USRSB establishes programs and standards.
In 2012, we established a goal to work with our U.S. and Canadian pork suppliers to eliminate the use of sow gestation stalls by 2022. We continue to make progress on this goal and are closely watching industry and production trends.
Because of one adoption, a child was given the love and support to pursue his dream of starting an old-fashioned hamburger restaurant. His name was Dave Thomas, our founder. That's why Wendy's has helped thousands of children find safe and loving families, so they can pursue their dreams just like Dave. When you visit Wendy's, you are supporting our charity, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Dave's charity works hard every day to match kids waiting in foster care with parents waiting for kids. Adoptions happen through an amazing program called Wendy's Wonderful Kids. We believe every child deserves a loving, permanent family and to date, Wendy's Wonderful Kids has made that dream come true for more than 6,000 kids. Together, we can make this dream a reality for every child, so they will have what Dave had - a place to call home.
In January 2016, we joined the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Building Challenge. Among the first restaurants to join this challenge, we committed to reduce energy consumption in our U.S. company-owned locations by 20 percent by 2025. To broaden this commitment, we launched the Wendy's Energy Challenge, encouraging franchisees in the U.S. and Canada to lower the energy use in their restaurants. As of mid-2017 more than 19 franchisees have joined the Wendy's Energy Challenge, representing more than 1,400 restaurants. In our company-owned restaurants, we've lowered energy use per transaction by 12 percent in 2016 against a 2013 baseline. The approximately 500 franchise restaurants that repoted data in 2016 have saved enough energy to power 540 U.S. homes for a year.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® Canada, a non-profit public charity, works to dramatically increase the adoptions of children from foster care. With more than 30,000 children in Canada waiting to be adopted, we believe that no child should live without a loving family.
We'll use this space to give you The Square Deal™ — our views on food, quality, culture, foster care adoption, and doing our best to make Dave proud.