Youth Opportunity

We offer formal employment opportunities and personal and professional training to thousands of young people annually across the region, because we believe the future of society is built on education and work.

We are one of the main generators of first formal employment in the region, 60% of our employees are young people up to 24 years and a large percentage of them are in their first formal work experience.

Our Initiatives

Training and Inclusion

We are convinced that education, training and access to work are key factors of inclusion and social mobility. We are constantly working to promote job opportunities for young people while, at the same time, training and boosting the skills that will prepare them for their professional careers.

Through agreements with well-known NGOs, we seek to impact thousands of young people between the ages of 16 and 24, with programs designed to provide employment education skills training, reinforce good values and a strong sense of citizenship.

During 2021, we generated almost 400,000 training and professional development opportunities for young people in the region.

Our strategic alliances

Highlights 2021

516 participants in the Sustainable Development in Focus 2021 course.
More than 362,000 online training hours.
4 million hours of on-the-job training.

Hamburger University

Through one of the leading corporate universities in the world, we offer training, education and leadership development programs to employees.

This educational institution has seven campuses worldwide, one of which is located in São Paulo, Brazil, as a Digital campus. The latter aims to make a comprehensive learning experience available in one place and enhance the user experience. The content is available in 4 languages in all the countries where Arcos Dorados operates.

Due to the Covid -19 pandemic, we increased the use of technology, providing online content specially selected and adapted to continue promoting talent development during this globally-challenging time.

Highlights 2021

We launched the MCampus Community educational platform, with free virtual training courses for everyone, whether or not they are employees of the company. All courses are certified by HU.
More than 6,100 managers have graduated, thanks to the adaptation of different courses to the virtual format.
We shared more than 180 specially selected contents to continue promoting education.
More than 3,300 people participated in the HU Sessions held as part of the contingency plan, which became a permanent action.

MCampus Community

We reinforced our commitment to the training of young people in Latin America and the Caribbean and in 2021, we launched the MCampus Community, a free learning platform available for everyone, whether or not they are Company employees. Through a wide range of courses, certified by Hamburger University, we provide tools for thousands of young people who are now beginning their working lives or want to improve their professional development.

Highlights 2021

We have more than 25,000 subscribers from over 50 countries in the region.
We provided more than 362,000 training hours for our teams through digital courses and face-to-face programs.
We have partnered with CISCO, one of the most important technology Companies in the world, to offer content from the digital world that is in high demand by young people today.
Courses available: Customer service – Cybersecurity Essentials – Health and wellness in Covid-19 times – Introduction to Internet of Things (IoT) (CISCO) – Entrepreneurship – Personal finance – Emotional Intelligence – Introduction to Cybersecurity – Linux Essentials – Programming Essential in Python (CISCO) – Get connected – Digital marketing – Negotiation and Influence.

Our future commitment

2025

GOAL 3

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Access to health and well-being is a human right, and this is why the Sustainable Development Agenda offers a new opportunity to ensure that all people, not just those with the highest purchasing power, can access the highest standards of health and healthcare.

Our contribution: From Arcos Dorados and the McDonald’s system of which we are part, we work to keep families with children receiving medical treatment together and close to specialists. In addition, we are constantly evolving, providing changes in our menu offerings and alternatives to bring children to incorporate new habits into their daily lives.

GOAL 4

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Education contributes to reducing inequalities, empowering people around the world to lead healthier and more sustainable lives.

Our contribution: We remain strongly committed to providing training opportunities for all people, whether they are employees or young people in their final years of secondary school.

GOAL 8

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; full and productive employment and decent work for all

Reducing unemployment and developing useful skills, especially for young people, are essential components of sustained and inclusive economic growth. With a presence in 20 countries in the region, we employ more than 100,000 people, 71% of whom are young people between the ages of 19 and 24.

Our contribution: We are one of the main employers of young people in the region. We understand that it is through first job opportunities and ongoing training that we can ensure people’s professional development.

GOAL 13

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects

Climate change is the greatest environmental issue of our time and affects our customers, our employees, from our supply chain to the communities in which we operate our restaurants.

Our contribution: With a presence in 20 countries in the region, at Arcos Dorados, we are using our scale, engaging across our supply chain, to help address this defining issue for current and future generations.

GOAL 14

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

The ocean drives the global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food and even the oxygen in the air we breathe are provided and regulated by the sea.

Our contribution: To ensure their proper management, we work to ensure that we source from sources that are respectful of the seas and the environment.

GOAL 15

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Forests around the world are threatened by deforestation, which is estimated to account for up to 15% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This represents a real risk to our business, our supply chain and our customers.

Our contribution: Committed to caring for them, we were the first company to sign a global agreement to combat climate change, engaging in the supply chain to ensure that our raw materials do not contribute to deforestation.

GOAL 6

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

The sustainable management of water resources, in turn, allows us to improve the management of food and energy production and thus contribute to the economic growth of communities. To this end, it is important that we work to reduce the consumption of this natural resource.

Our contribution: We carry out different implementations in our restaurants that allow us to regulate consumption. In addition, through the Natal Program, we reuse water for cleaning and irrigation tasks in the restaurants.

GOAL 7

Ensure access to affordable, safe, sustainable and modern energy for all

Energy is the main contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

Our contribution: Through changes in habits in our restaurants, we are working to ensure sustainable energy management.

GOAL 12

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Responsible sourcing of our food and packaging is fundamental to our ability to continue to source high-quality raw materials in the future. This includes making the most efficient use of natural resources and minimizing negative impacts on people and the planet.

Our contribution: We have a strong commitment to source only certified and recycled raw materials. In addition, we work to eliminate single-use plastics from our operation and generate circular economy procedures that allow us to reduce our impact on the environment.

GOAL 17

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

We are aware that we cannot do this alone. Achieving this goal requires the development of strategic alliances that enable us to carry out initiatives that impact more people. This makes SDG 17 transversal to all our pillars.

Our contribution: We are all in this together, from McDonald’s employees, Franchisees and suppliers to investors, NGOs and academics, and we know that local communities and subject matter experts are critical to lasting impact. Continuing to build meaningful partnerships will help us prioritize the issues of greatest concern to our business and society, and drive innovation.