McDonald’s joins Responsible Commodities Facility to fund deforestation-free soy, cutting supply chain risk and strengthening sustainable chicken sourcing worldwide for long-term resilience.

McDonald’s invests in deforestation-free soy initiative to strengthen sustainable sourcingMcDonald’s invests in deforestation-free soy initiative to strengthen sustainable sourcing

Soybean plantation in Brazil.


McDonald’s Corporation has joined the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF) to support deforestation- and conversion-free soy production in Brazil’s Cerrado, targeting soy embedded in chicken feed sourced outside the United States and Canada.

The investment strengthens the company’s sustainable sourcing strategy while helping protect forests and native ecosystems in one of the world’s most critical agricultural regions. It also reflects the importance of chicken across McDonald’s global menu, making soy used in poultry feed a key sustainability focus. McDonald’s identifies soy as a priority commodity under its Commitment on Forests and Natural Ecosystems and completed a global mapping project with chicken suppliers in 2024 to better understand sourcing origins and ecosystem risks.

The RCF, created by BVRio and managed by Sustainable Investment Management (SIM), provides low-interest credit lines to soy farmers who commit contractually to deforestation- and conversion-free production. Backed by public and private sector investors, the financing model incentivises the protection of forests and native vegetation while supporting climate, water and biodiversity goals.

During the 2025–2026 crop cycle, the programme financed 280 farms expected to produce more than 240,000 tonnes of deforestation- and conversion-free soy. This helped conserve around 90,000 hectares of native vegetation, approximately 29,000 hectares more than required by Brazilian law, while protecting carbon stocks equivalent to over 22 million metric tonnes of CO₂.

Commenting on the investment, Beth Hart, Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer at McDonald’s, said:

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.

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.”

Alongside McDonald’s, investors in the 2025–2026 season include UK supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, as well as Rabobank, AGRI3 Fund, IDB Invest and the Mobilising Finance for Forests (MFF) programme. MFF is managed by Dutch development bank FMO and funded by the UK Government and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Additional companies will join the facility for the 2026–2027 season, taking total funding to an estimated US$100 million and significantly increasing its environmental impact.