Historic Shareholder Agreement Reached With McDonald's on Pesticide Use Reduction

Historic Shareholder Agreement Reached With McDonald's on Pesticide Use
Reduction

First Environmental/Worker Health Shareholder Resolution From College
Endowment Prompts Action By Nation's Largest Potato Buyer

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Responding to shareholder
concerns, McDonald's Corporation has agreed to formally survey and promote
best practices in pesticide use reduction within its American potato supply
chain. As the largest buyer of potatoes in the U.S., McDonald's commitment
will support progress on this important issue, which affects the environment,
public health, and farm employees.

This agreement led to the withdrawal of a shareholder resolution filed by the
Bard College Endowment, Newground Social Investment, and the AFL-CIO Reserve
Fund. This was the first shareholder resolution focused on environmental and
worker health issues ever to be filed by a college or university endowment.

Through this agreement, McDonald's has committed to: (1) survey its current
U.S. potato suppliers; (2) compile a list of best practices in pesticide
reduction that will be recommended to the company's global suppliers (through
the company's Global Potato Board); and (3) communicate findings related to
best practices to shareholders, and in the company's annual corporate social
responsibility (CSR) report.

The agreement was developed in collaboration between shareholders and
McDonald's, with support from the Investor Environmental Health Network. The
agreement between McDonald's and shareholders can be found on the SEC website
at: http://tinyurl.com/c49uof.

Bard College student Katherine Burstein, a member of the college's Committee
on Investor Responsibility, said: "The Bard community believes that colleges
and universities can leverage their power as investors for positive social
change. Through our work with the Responsible Endowments Coalition -- which
works on responsible investment issues with colleges and universities across
the nation--- we learned about the measures companies can take to reduce the
undesirable effects of pesticide use, and decided to engage McDonald's on the
issue."

Newground Social Investment CEO Bruce Herbert, a member of the Board of
Directors of the Institute for Children's Environmental Health, said:
"Because McDonald's has such a commanding presence in the marketplace, this
commitment offers the promise of significant reductions of pesticide use --
which will benefit consumer health, as well as farm workers, local
agricultural communities, and the environment."

"Consumers, workers and our environment all suffer from over-use of
pesticides," said John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO. "As investors, we
knew McDonald's could take an important first step and we're ready to work
with the company to change and grow."

Taun Toay, administrative member of Bard College's Committee on Investor
Responsibility, said: "Bard College prides itself on the progressive education
it affords its students. Part of such an education should involve active
citizenship, including a willingness to engage companies over issues of
concern. Sound environmental policies reflect strong corporate governance and
we are quite pleased that McDonald's is taking further steps in that
direction."

Dr. Richard Liroff, executive director of the Investor Environmental Health
Network, said: "Leadership companies such as Sysco (which supplies Wendy's),
General Mills, and Campbell's have already demonstrated that pesticide use
reduction makes sense from both an environmental health and business
perspective. We welcome McDonald's stepping up to the plate and look forward
to supporting the company's efforts to reduce pesticide use in the future."

ABOUT THE GROUPS

Bard College's Committee on Investor Responsibility is composed of both
students and administrators. Bard is a four-year liberal arts college founded
in 1860, located in the Hudson Valley of New York State. http://www.bard.edu.

Newground Social Investment is a Seattle, WA based Registered Investment
Advisor. Newground provides socially conscious (SRI / ESG) money management
and shareholder engagement services to individuals, institutions, and
not-for-profit clients. http://www.newground.net.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO) www.aflcio.org/ is a voluntary federation of 56 national and
international labor unions , representing 11 million members, including 2.5
million members in Working America, its new community affiliate. The AFL-CIO
Reserve Fund is a long-term investor and works with Union and other
worker-based pension, health and savings funds, worth some $6 trillion,
holding the retirement and health security of millions of working families.

The Investor Environmental Health Network is a collaborative partnership of
investment managers, advised by nongovernmental organizations, who are
concerned about the financial and public health risks associated with
corporate toxic chemicals policies. http://www.iehn.org.

The Responsible Endowments Coalition works to build and unify the college and
university-based responsible investment movement, both by educating and
empowering a diverse network of individuals to act on their respective
campuses, and by fostering a national network for collective action.
http://www.endowmentethics.org.

SOURCE Investor Environmental Health Network, Falls Church, VA

Pat Mitchell, +1-703-276-3266, pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com, for Investor
Environmental Health Network; Katherine Burstein, +1-267-241-5379, for Bard
Committee on Investor Responsibility; or Bruce Herbert, +1-206-522-1944, for
Newground Social Investment