Chipotle

   To quote someone who said it best, “Chipotle is my life.” While that is a hyperbole, Chipotle has been my favorite fast-food restaurant for years. When I think of Chipotle, I think of delicious, high-quality, affordable fast food. In regards to ethics and sustainable business practices, you can say Chipotle has been ahead of the “trend”. The company’s previous slogan for many years was “food with integrity”. That slogan represented the company’s strategy for how it sourced and prepared its foods. At the time of the slogan (2001), the company prepared all its food on-site. They sourced their ingredients from suppliers who used human practices. This meant they worked with many smaller-sized local farms and with farmers who humanely raised their animals (no hormones, antibiotics) 

   Fast forward to over 29 years since the opening of the first Chipotle restaurant (1993), the company is still passionate and selective about the quality of ingredients they use. While the company has shifted away from its previous “food with integrity” tagline, they have kept the essence of the message with its new tagline “be real.” With over 3,000 restaurants nationwide, Chipotle’s be real is a slogan that celebrates and highlights the company’s commitment to using real ingredients. According to Chipotle, its restaurants only use 53 ingredients in their foods. They do not use ingredients with added hormones, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. 

   Their commitment to fresh ingredients isn’t solely just about the taste of their food, the company is also committed to sustainability. Brian Niccol, the company’s chairman, and CEO stated “I, along with the rest of the organization, strongly believe that how we grow our food is how we grow our future.” Chipotle to be transparent about its sustainability and impact releases sustainability reports which can be accessed on its website. Some highlights of their 2020 sustainability report include

• investing 5 million to young farmers over the next 5 years 
• purchasing 31 million pounds of local produce (which is an investment of 23.3 million dollars which supports local food systems)
• offering employees a debt-free degree program 
• donated 455,000 meals
• donated over 5 million dollars to local community organizations 
• achieved a 51% landfill diversion rate
•  Turned 11,840 cubic yards of waste into energy
• Launched Real Foodprint, providing information to our consumers about how our supply practices can help influence various sustainability measures

What recommendations do you have for how to create a more ethical, socially responsible, and/or sustainable business? What practices do you recommend the organization pursue?

My recommendation for Chipotle to create a more sustainable business is to invest more in young farmers and smaller farms. Also, possibly creating programs that encourage and teach people how to farm. As chipotle continues to grow and open new restaurants, so will the demand for their food. That means if the company only relies on its current suppliers, there’s a great risk that its food supply will not meet the demand of its future customers. Which can put the company in an ethical dilemma, because they then might have to break away from their ethical code and start using suppliers who do not meet their standards. Investing in future farmers and smaller farmers ensures a future generation of farmers/farms producing quality ingredients that meet chipotle standards, ensuring that the company can keep up with future consumer demand.