Day 009 - 08 Jul 94 - Page 55


     
     1        is, and see how improvements could be made?
              A.  Exactly correct.
     2
         Q.   So your department, although it makes recommendations, it
     3        has to fit, you did say this, it has to "fit into the
              business"?
     4        A.  Yes.
 
     5   Q.   If you felt there were some fundamental aspects of the
              business that were damaging to the environment, that would
     6        be a dilemma, would it not, considering your particular
              position?
     7        A.  The way I would describe it would be that if I see an
              opportunity where we can minimise environmental impact, it
     8        would be my job to see if I can make that happen within
              the McDonald's system.
     9
         Q.   If it challenged one of the planks of the business, would
    10        that be a dilemma for you personally?
              A.  The question would become, if you are using the word
    11        "damage", that is a whole -- I cannot speak towards
              that.  That is all a relative term, but the way we look at
    12        it is environmental impact.
 
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But this is just the old sore about:  Do you
              leave the party or stay in and fight from within, is it
    14        not?  How can he help about that?  I may have
              misunderstood the line of your questioning.
    15
         MR. MORRIS:  You probably understood it quite well, in fact.
    16
              But it was suggested before, also by Mr. Justice Bell,
    17        that there may be a conflict of interest between different
              departments.  If your job is to be concerned about the
    18        environment, it may be bringing into conflict, would it
              not, with the finance and accounting department that
    19        believes in promoting drive-throughs because of the
              profitability of them?
    20
              I know you said that was not strictly within your remit,
    21        but do you not raise these kinds of issues and then
              someone says to you:  "Well, that is not really something
    22        that can be open to question"?
              A.  OK, your specific question is, do I raise issues
    23        within the company related to?
 
    24   Q.   Which challenge some aspects of the business.
              A.  Yes.  In a broad sense, yes, that is part of my
    25        responsibility to look at environmental issues, to look at
              science, to see where we can make improvements in any 
    26        aspect of our business and to make recommendations to do 
              so in our business.  I would not call it a conflict at 
    27        all.
 
    28        That is part of our management style at McDonald's, is to
              work in teams, and to work through issues related to all
    29        departments in our company take all things into
              consideration, so that we are never satisfied with what we
    30        do.  We want to have continuous improvements in our
              operations.  I know the reusable issue pretty well, to a

Prev Next Index