NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced the publication of its 2020 Sustainability Report. The report covers Chipotle's impact, progress and goals across a variety of areas that play a critical role in its mission to Cultivate a Better World.

Chipotle achieved a 51% waste diversion rate through recycling, composting, and waste-to-energy programs, reaching a key goal outlined in its 2018 Sustainability Report. The company continues to expand its innovative methods of diverting waste, including its Glove to Bags program, an initiative that transforms used plastic gloves into trash bags in partnership with Revolution Bag, and the Chipotle Goods Avocado Dye Line, an open-looped collection of Chipotle apparel dyed with upcycled avocado pits from Chipotle restaurants.

"Sustainability is and always will be a strategic priority for Chipotle," said Brian Niccol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Chipotle. "I, along with the rest of the organization, strongly believe that how we grow our food is how we grow our future."

Additional highlights from Chipotle's 2020 Sustainability Report include:

Food & Animals

• Purchased more than 28.1 million pounds of organic and transitional ingredients
• Purchased more than 31 million pounds of local produce – an investment of more than $23.3 million into local food systems
• Committed $5 million to young farmers over five years

New Goals

• Partner with Chipotle growers to convert more than 400 acres of conventional farmland to organic farmland via transitional growing methods by 2025
• Purchase more than 37 million pounds of produce from local farmers through its Local Growers Program in 2021

People

• Donated more than $5 million to local community organizations through 26,000 fundraisers in its restaurants
• Promoted 13,689 employees at all levels
• Offered industry-leading, debt-free degrees in business for employees and recently expanded the program to include Culinary, Hospitality and Agriculture majors

New Goals

• Launch Emerging Leader and Mentoring programs aimed at ensuring Chipotle has a diverse slate of 'ready now' internal talent for critical roles within the organization by year-end 2021
• Develop a robust Minority Supplier Development program where Chipotle will continue to identify opportunities for minority owned businesses to increase access to its sourcing opportunities by year-end 2021 and develop a method to measure the amount paid annually to minority-owned businesses by year-end 2022

Environment

• Achieved a 51% landfill diversion rate at its restaurants through recycling, composting, and waste-to-energy programs
• 100% of new restaurant openings participated in Chipotle's Harvest Program, which donates excess food to local food banks
• Saved an estimated 65,582,000 kWh of energy, the emissions equivalent of 10,000 passenger vehicles driven for one year or 5,300 homes powered for one year
• Launched Real Foodprint, a sustainability educational tool that compares average impact values for each of Chipotle's real ingredients to their conventional counterparts
• Upcycled more than 60,000 avocado pits into natural clothing dye as part of the Chipotle Goods line

New Goals

• Reduce overall waste by 5% by 2025, as compared to a 2020 baseline
• Pilot at least one innovative new packaging design that reduces plastic in 2021

"Keeping half of all the waste we produce out of the landfill is an extraordinary achievement, particularly for an organization of our scale," said Caitlin Leibert, Head of Sustainability. "We are dedicated to doing the work it takes to be a leader in this space and passionate about continuously innovating solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our time."

To learn more about sustainability at Chipotle and review the full report and its executive summary, fans can visit: www.chipotle.com/sustainability.

Round Up For Sustainability
To inspire the next generation, Chipotle is partnering with the nonprofit Earth Force, who will launch a sustainability challenge that engages youth as environmental problem-solvers, to create innovative solutions for sustainable food and agriculture.

From now through May 5, guests can help fund the challenge by rounding up their change to the next highest dollar amount on the Chipotle app or Chipotle.com at checkout.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had over 2,750 restaurants as of December 31, 2020, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. With nearly 88,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. Steve Ells, founder, first opened Chipotle with a single restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.