2019年经济学人 改善快餐连锁店形象的25年之战 (1)

 

Every day McDonald's serves 69m customers, more than the population of Britain or France.

麦当劳每天接待6900万顾客，比英国或法国的人口都多。

The company has what is estimated to be the most valuable fast-food brand in the world, cherished as a cheap dining option for families.

该公司有着被认为是世界上最具价值快餐的品牌，是受家庭欢迎的廉价餐饮选择。

But do consumers perceive McDonald's as a socially or environmentally responsible company?

但顾客们认为麦当劳是一家对社会或环境负责任的公司吗？

If they do not, it is in spite of the best efforts of Bob Langert.

如果不是，那么这就忽略了鲍勃·兰杰特的最大努力。

In 1988, he took a temporary assignment managing a furore over polystyrene "clamshells" in which the company's burgers were served,

1988年，麦当劳聚苯乙烯“汉堡盒”问题引众怒，该公司也因对美国垃圾问题的“贡献”而被指责

and which were being damned for their contribution to America's litter problem.

此时鲍勃·兰杰特暂时接手处理此事。

That turned into a 25-year career (he has since left the firm) dealing¹ with the chain's various negative external effects.

临时受命变成了一份25年的事业（此后他离开了公司）专门处理连锁店的各种负面外部效应。

It was a Herculean task, akin² to being fashion consultant³ to Steve Bannon.

这是一份艰巨的任务，类似于给史蒂芬·班农当时尚顾问一样艰巨。

Apart from litter, he had to deal with animal welfare, environmental destruction, obesity⁴ and workers' rights.

除了垃圾问题，他还需要处理动物福利、环境破坏、肥胖以及员工权益问题。

When he began, the company's mascot⁵ was being dubbed⁶ "Ronald McToxic" because of the clamshell problem.

开始这份工作时，受汉堡盒问题影响，公司的吉祥物被称为“Ronald McToxic”。

But he had more success than outsiders might think.

但他取得的成功比外人以为的多。

His book "The Battle to Do Good: Inside McDonald's Sustainability Journey"

他的书《The Battle to Do Good: Inside McDonald's Sustainability Journey》

is a must-read even for those who are cynical⁷ about the business of corporate⁸ social responsibility.

甚至是那些对企业社会责任愤世嫉俗之人的必读书籍。

At times, the fast-food chain did not help itself. In the 1990s, it sued two Greenpeace activists⁹ for producing leaflets about its practices.

有时，这家快餐连锁店心不由己。在20世纪90年代，该公司起诉了两名发传单的绿色和平组织积极分子。

The ensuing "McLibel" trial gave the claims worldwide publicity¹⁰ and was described as the world's biggest corporate-PR disaster.

随后的“审判麦当劳”引起了全世界的关注，并被称为是世界上最大的企业公关灾难。

Mr Langert tried to reduce the damage. The company consulted panels of independent experts and engaged with campaigning groups.

兰杰特试图减少伤害。该公司咨询了独立专家小组并和活动组织合作。

On occasion it aimed to keep one step ahead of the activists—McDonald's took action even when there was little sign of public concern.

有时其目标是领先积极分子一步——麦当劳甚至在公众还没注意到之前就采取了行动。

Shaving one inch off the napkins saved 3m lbs of paper annually¹¹, for example, but few consumers noticed.

例如，将餐巾纸缩短一英寸，每年可节省三百万镑，但很少有顾客注意到了。

Environmentalists did attack the firm for its impact on the Amazon rainforest,

环保主义者确实因其对亚马逊雨林的影响而攻击了该公司，

saying trees were being cut down to make room for cattle pasture or the expansion of soy farming for cattle feed.

因为为了给放牧腾出空间以及为了牲畜饲料而扩大大豆种植面积，树木遭到了砍伐。

In 1989 the company announced that it "never has and never will buy beef from recently deforested rainforests"

1989年，该公司宣布“从未且绝不会从近期遭破坏的雨林购买牛肉”

and it has also worked to limit the expansion of soy farming in the region.

并且还将致力于限制区域内的大豆种植面积的扩张。

The rise of veganism amid doubts about the health effects of eating meat have given McDonald's new worries.

对食肉所带来的健康影响的疑虑让素食主义者人数增加，这也给麦当劳带来了新的担忧。

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

3 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

5 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

6 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

11 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。