Boston, August 20, 2026 – Darden Restaurants, which operates more than 2,200 restaurants in the United States, including Olive Garden and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, is providing new transparency. The company is disclosing more information about the steps it has taken to ensure it doesn’t contribute to global deforestation. Darden has also agreed to assess how it can more accurately measure and report the percentage of the beef, soy, palm oil and other ingredients that are known to be deforestation-free. The moves came in response to a shareholder proposal filed by Green Century Capital Management (Green Century).
“Darden should do everything possible to ensure its ingredients don’t undermine the very ecosystems the company relies on,” said Leslie Samuelrich, president of Green Century. “By reaffirming its support for deforestation-free ingredients, Darden is building the resilience of its supply chain.”
Agriculture is one of the leading drivers of deforestation and nature loss globally. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that current agriculture practices carry a $3 trillion environmental price tag.
The natural world at risk
The world is losing about 25 million acres of forest every year. The main cause of this deforestation is agricultural activity, primarily related to the production of beef, soy, palm oil, coffee and cocoa. This deforestation harms the environment in multiple ways. It contributes to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing the number of trees that remove carbon from the air. Species that rely on forests for food, water and shelter start dying off and deforestation disrupts natural water cycles, leading to less rainfall and more droughts.
Darden Restaurants purchases $3.5 billion of ingredients from 30 countries annually.
“No one should clear cut forests just so people can order prime cuts of meat at a restaurant,’” said Andrew Shalit, shareholder advocate at Green Century. “Darden has taken an important step by assessing its supply chain for deforestation risk. We look forward to continuing our engagement with the company about ways to strengthen its environmental commitments.”
Darden’s updated disclosures were included in the company’s 2026 Impact Report.
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