Deforestation-Free Soy: McDonald’s Sustainable Sourcing

McDonald's has joined the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF), committing to finance deforestation-free soy and reduce environmental risk across its global chicken supply chain.

The move will see the company provide funding to support the resilient transformation of Brazil’s soy-producing Cerrado region, as related to embedded soy volumes in feed for chicken procured by the company outside of the United States and Canada.

This aligns with McDonald's sustainable sourcing strategy by de-risking embedded soy in tier-n chicken supply chains.

Soy: a priority commodity for McDonald’s

At its core, the RCF was created with a mission to transform how Brazil produces and trades soy. By building a financially sustainable vehicle that rewards responsible farmers and responds to surging global demand for zero-deforestation supply chains, the facility deploys a range of programmes, each with distinct approaches and financial mechanisms, to drive meaningful environmental change.

Soy is considered a priority commodity for McDonald’s sustainable sourcing, as outlined in its Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems report.

To meet its commitment and transparently report progress, McDonald’s has embedded specific sourcing, measurement and compliance requirements for suppliers of priority commodities: beef, soy (initially prioritising chicken feed), palm oil, coffee and fibre-based packaging.

Mapping the origins of chicken feed soy

This commitment was prompted by McDonald’s after it completed a global mapping project in 2024 for its chicken suppliers, as it sought to obtain greater knowledge of the origins and possible ecosystem risks of soy used in chicken feed. This embedded supplier mapping and compliance requirements for soy in chicken feed exemplify how McDonald's integrates sustainable sourcing into category management.

Since forming its Commitment in 2015, McDonald’s has continued to strengthen its efforts to further ecosystem and business resilience in relevant sourcing regions, including by investing in landscape-level solutions and initiatives.

“Chicken is one of the most important items across our menu globally, which means we must be vigilant of how we’re sourcing chicken and its embedded soy for feed,” says Beth Hart, Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer at McDonald’s.

“Investments in landscape-level solutions and initiatives and cross-sector collaboration are key in unlocking greater landscape resilience and business resilience, helping to ensure we can serve millions of customers around the world the quality menu items they love for years to come.

“We’re excited to expand our investment in landscape-level solutions and support farmers through RCF.”

The RCF in action: Protecting forests and funding farmers

The Responsible Commodities Facility provides low-interest credit lines to soy farms that make a contractual commitment to deforestation and conversion-free production.

Backed by public and private investment, this financing mechanism protects forests and native vegetation on soy farms – delivering measurable benefits for climate, water and biodiversity. For procurement teams, RCF offers a model to embed sustainable sourcing via low-interest finance tied to contractual zero-deforestation specs.

In the 2025–2026 crop cycle, the RCF supported 280 farms, which are set to produce more than 240,000 tonnes of deforestation and conversion-free soy. The programme secured the conservation of approximately 90,000 hectares of native vegetation – around 29,000 hectares beyond what Brazilian law requires – while safeguarding carbon stocks equivalent to more than 22 million metric tons of CO₂.

Investors in the 2025–2026 growing season include UK supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, alongside Rabobank, the AGRI3 Fund, IDB Invest and the Mobilising Finance for Forests (MFF) programme.

MFF is managed by FMO, the Dutch development bank and funded by the UK Government and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. From 2026–2027, new partners, including McDonald’s, will join the RCF, bringing the fund to an estimated US$100m and significantly expanding its environmental impact.