Weekly Global News Wrap: U.S. drive-thrus slow down; McDonald’s Happy Meals going green; RBI targets net-zero emissions

Here is a summary of the most interesting news stories of the week from around the world.

McDonald’s is pledging to offer sustainable Happy Meal toys made with less plastic by the end of 2025, CNBC reported. The company is hoping to cut 90% of the amount of virgin fossil fuel-based plastic it used in the toys in 2018. Read more here.

Restaurant Brands International has new targets on climate-change-related greenhouse gases, announcing it would work with franchisees and suppliers to cut emissions 50% by 2030. As reported by Nation’s Restaurant News, the company said the goals were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and has set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. Read more here.

Subway said its U.S. weekly sales hit an eight-year high after its latest menu refresh. As reported by Business Insider, sales were up more than 4% compared to the same period in 2019. Read more here.

Speed of service in the U.S. quick-serve segment slowed by nearly 26 seconds year-over-year, from 356.80 seconds in 2020 to 382.39 seconds in 2021, according to an annual drive-thru study released by SeeLevel HX. Ten major restaurant brands and nearly 1,500 drive-thrus were tested for the study. Read more here.

KFC announced that Sabir Sami, a 12-year company veteran, will take over as its global CEO. As reported by Restaurant Business, Sami will assume the role on January 1 for Tony Lowings, who intends to retire. Read more here.