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McDonald's Corporation released a 2009 Corporate Responsibility Report focusing on the company's practices in "sustainable supply chain, nutrition and well-being, environmental responsibility, employment experience, community and corporate governance and ethics."

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The company said highlights include:

• Sustainable Supply Chain – In 2008, 98% of the whitefish sourced for McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwiches originated from fisheries with favorable sustainability ratings
• Nutrition and Well-Being – All nine of McDonald's largest markets* offer a fruit and/or vegetable option for Happy Meals, such as fruit bags, cherry tomatoes, corn cups and Apple Dippers
• Environmental Responsibility - In McDonald's Europe, more than 80% of used cooking oil is converted into biodiesel fuel
• Employment Experience – More than 80% of company-owned restaurant employees in McDonald's nine largest markets say they would recommend working at McDonald’s to a friend
• Community – Since 2002, McDonald's and its customers have raised nearly $150 million to support the work of Ronald McDonald House Charities through our annual fundraiser, McHappy Day, to help children and their families in need around the world

The full report can be downloaded here.

The company said its 2009 survey of 224 business leaders shows that 60 percent believe that environmental and social responsibility has increased in importance over the past year while only 6 percent say it is a lower priority.  "These responses defy the conventional wisdom that the new economic environment dilutes CSR focus," IBM said.

Among other findings:

"Demands for information pertaining to an organization’s social and environmental impact – whether from consumers, regulators, NGOs or conscientious investors – have risen dramatically. Given today’s harsh realities of global warming, increased regulation, scarcer and costlier resources, and exploding populations, attention to environmental, health and societal concerns will only intensify.

Global connectivity has raised the stakes relating to a corporation’s accountability for its actions. Points of view abound – on what’s harmful and what’s not, as well as what constitutes good business, good practice or even good sense. With the advent of the Internet, NGO scrutiny is being matched by a new kind of viral and pervasive consumer advocacy."

Perhaps not surprisingly - given that the survey was conducted by IBM - the results indicated a much greater need for information and information systems.

"Today, determining the exact field where a tree, copper or ore is extracted is as feasible as examining employees’ labor rights in a factory located in a village of a thousand on the tip of an isthmus in Vietnam. With so much information available, leading organizations are finding they can satisfy the demands of a new generation of consumers: the information omnivores," IBM said.

The complete IBM report can be downloaded here.