After reading the article “Chipotle board opposes idea of sustainability report” it can be said that there are many foods related corporations, such as McDonald’s, Darden Restaurants, Dunkin Brands and Starbucks that are publishing annual sustainability reports. However, there are other companies that are opposing to this new fashion. One example is Chipotle, whose board has recently decided (May 25th) not to develop any sustainable report.
The company argues that it is pointless to invest their resources in writing such a report, as the cost and time required are very high. They point out the fact that whereas other corporations are following the trend and are being well considered by their customers (as they think these companies are being greener than the ones not publishing the report), it would be more useful and greener to invest Chipotle’s resources in actually taking action, adopting practices and communicating these efforts in areas that have a positive impact on the sustainability of their business.
It is important to take into account what they stated in their annual meeting of shareholders:
“Although we continue to believe that the reporting being suggested in this proposal would not provide sufficient benefits to Chipotle or its shareholders to justify the costs, that should not be misunderstood as an indication that our Board or our company are not focused on environmental, social and governance issues”.
After having a greater idea of the reason why Chipotle’s board has decided not to publish the annual sustainability report, I understand their arguments I still feel, though, that they can not leave this issue like this. As mentioned above, customers perceive as greener those companies publishing these kinds of reports. Even if it is not costly worth it, Chipotle should consider the idea of publishing a similar kind of report, in which they should highlight their goals as well as their achievements.
It would not be necessary to follow the same way as other corporations have followed when writing their reports. They should consider to use a simpler and less costly pattern instead. This is important for them because even if they are convinced to be super green, what really matters is to what extend their customers perceive them to be green.
mollyh
April 8, 2016 — 7:23 pm
I agree with your argument. I think that if Chipotle would rather invest those resources into actual sustainable improvements and plans than I agree that it is better use of their time. Although CSR reports are costly, I think its still important for companies to show their transparency. So once Chipotles invest their resources and capabilities into making sustainable changes in their company, I think they should create a report explaining what they have achieved and quantify the results from their green investments.