McDonald's sets its arches on green across Europe
In November 2009, McDonald's began rolling out a redesigned exterior identity for its European restaurants.1 The familiar red background behind the Golden Arches was replaced with a deep forest green, while the M itself remained the yellow specified in the company's corporate identity.2 The change was announced in Germany, where about 100 restaurants converted by the end of the year, and was scheduled to extend across additional locations during subsequent refurbishment cycles.1, 3
A Europe-wide initiative
Although the rollout drew most public attention in Germany, McDonald's framed the move as a coordinated European programme rather than a national experiment. The company's spokesman in Germany told reporters at the time that the change was "not only a German initiative but a Europewide initiative."1, 4 By the time the German redesign was first reported in late November 2009, the green livery had already begun appearing on restaurants in France and Great Britain, where franchise operators had been adopting the new colour scheme through ongoing refurbishment cycles.1, 3, 5
The reasoning behind the colour change
McDonald's positioned the green identity as a visual signal of environmental responsibility.6 The new colour scheme followed a set of greener practices the company had adopted in recent years, including environmentally friendly refrigeration and the recycling of used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel, and in Germany the first energy-efficient McDonald's restaurant had opened in Achim in spring 2009.1, 2, 3 Officials in Germany described the green colour as a way of clarifying the company's "responsibility for the preservation of natural resources" rather than as a piecemeal cosmetic update.1, 3, 6
The decision also reflected the cultural context of the European market. Surveys cited by McDonald's at the time indicated that consumers in countries such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Nordic markets placed significantly higher importance on a brand's environmental positioning than counterparts in the United States. Independent observers, including environmental groups, viewed the colour change as a deliberate communicative gesture toward those audiences.
Continuity within the master brand
Despite the visible recolouring, the Golden Arches themselves were retained. The M continued to use the proprietary yellow specified by McDonald's corporate identity, ensuring that the central asset of the brand retained its global continuity. The shift therefore operated as a regional adaptation of the supporting palette rather than as a rebranding of the master brand. Restaurants in the United States, Asia, and other regions continued to use the long-established red field.6
For the European market, the green livery was applied initially to exterior building bands, the panels behind freestanding pole signs, and elements of in-store wayfinding.3 Interior refurbishments that accompanied the colour change frequently introduced timber surfaces, leather seating, and warmer light temperatures, completing what the company referred to as a more "premium" environment for European customers.5
Reception and longer-term effect
The change drew attention beyond the foodservice press. Coverage by NBC News, NPR, CBS News, and PotatoPro all reported on the symbolic and strategic implications of a brand so closely associated with red adopting a colour conventionally linked to nature and sustainability.1, 2, 6, 4 Marketing commentators noted that the move marked one of the first large-scale colour-driven repositioning efforts by a global quick-service restaurant chain.
Over the following years, the green field remained the standard exterior colour for newly built and refurbished McDonald's restaurants across much of continental Europe.7, 8 The contrast with markets that retained the original red palette made McDonald's Europe one of the most visible examples of regional colour adaptation within a single global brand identity, and it remained in place as part of the company's European visual standards through the 2010s and into the 2020s.8
Written with AI assistance, edited by a human. Find out more about our Use of AI.
1. NBC News, carrying The Associated Press, "McDonald's rolling out green logo in Europe", 23 November 2009, for McDonald's swapping its traditional red backdrop for "a deep hunter green" to promote a more eco-friendly image in Europe, for "About 100 German McDonald's restaurants will make the change by the end of 2009, the company said in a statement Monday", for "Some franchises in Great Britain and France have already started using the new color scheme behind their Golden Arches", which settles the corrected sentence on where the change first appeared, for the words of Martin Nowicki, McDonald's Germany spokesman, "This is not only a German initiative but a Europewide initiative", for the company having warmed to "greener" practices "including environmentally friendly refrigeration and converting used oil into biodiesel fuel", for the statement of the vice chairman of McDonald's Germany, spelled Hoger Beek in the report, "With this new appearance we want to clarify our responsibility for the preservation of natural resources. In the future we will put an even larger focus on that.", and as the NBC News report named in the reception section. The report dates the announcement, not the start of the rollout, presents the refrigeration and biodiesel as practices of recent years, as the body now does, quotes a single spokesman, and says nothing of refurbishment cycles. The listed address refused automated retrieval; the article was read from the AMP edition of the same NBC page, which gives the day only as "Monday", and the date, the Berlin dateline and the byline of Mary Macpherson Lane come from the same AP report as carried by HeraldNet. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34111784 and https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna34111784 and https://www.heraldnet.com/2009/11/23/mcdonalds-makes-its-logo-more-green-in-europe/
2. NPR, Morning Edition, Renee Montagne, "McDonald's Makes Its Logo More 'Green' In Europe", 24 November 2009, for "golden arches on a red background" becoming "those yellow arches on a dark green background", for "By the end of this year, about 100 McDonald's restaurants in Germany will have changed the color behind the arches to green to promote a more eco-friendly image", for "It is, for example, recycling used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel", and as the NPR report named in the reception section. The item is a short business note that mentions neither France nor Great Britain and says nothing of refrigeration. The listed address refused automated retrieval; the item was read from NPR's transcript page of the same story. https://www.npr.org/2009/11/24/120738574/mcdonalds-makes-its-logo-more-green-in-europe and https://www.npr.org/transcripts/120738574
3. HORIZONT, Marco Saal, "McDonald´s: Was sich am Außenauftritt und der Werbung ändert", 23 November 2009, off whitelist and used for corroboration only, for the German original of the statement the body quotes in English, "Mit dem neuen optischen Auftritt wollen wir unsere Verantwortung gegenüber dem Erhalt natürlicher Ressourcen verdeutlichen. Hierauf werden wir zukünftig einen noch größeren Fokus legen", made by Holger Beeck, "stellvertretender Vorstandsvorsitzender von McDonald's Deutschland", for red no longer dominating "Auf den Fassaden und Schildern der McDonald´s-Restaurants", for "Bis Ende 2009 sollen rund 100 Restaurants das neue Design erhalten. Danach soll der Ausbau sukzessive weitergehen.", for France, "wo McDonald´s sein neues Design-Konzept ebenfalls eingeführt und bereits erste Kampagnen" with the golden M on a green background launched, which settles the corrected sentence, and for the first energy-efficient McDonald's restaurant, opened in spring 2009 in Achim near Bremen, as the company's example of its ecological focus. The article ties the further rollout to no refurbishment cycle and mentions neither pole signs, wayfinding nor refrigeration. https://www.horizont.net/marketing/nachrichten/-McDonalds-Was-sich-am-Aussenauftritt-und-der-Werbung-aendert-88665
4. PotatoPro, "McDonald's logo gets green background in Europe", 26 November 2009, credited to AFP, for about 100 German restaurants making the change by the end of 2009 according to a McDonald's statement of "Monday", for some franchises in Great Britain and France having already started using the new colour scheme according to Martin Nowicki, McDonald's Germany spokesman, for his words "This is not only a German initiative but a Europewide initiative we've already begun", given there as told to the AP in a phone interview, and as the PotatoPro report named in the reception section. https://www.potatopro.com/news/2009/mcdonalds-logo-gets-green-background-europe
5. Wikipedia, "McDonald's France" and "McDonald's", consulted on 2 October 2026. The first for "In 2009, McDonald's France modified its logo, replacing the red color with green, in a marketing strategy to fight against the reputation of being environmentally unconscious and present a greener image", which bears out the French adoption. The second, listed in the verse, for "In 2006, McDonald's introduced its 'Forever Young' brand by redesigning all of its restaurants", which were turned into "cafe-esque space, being mostly terracotta, grey, and olive" and "primarily furnished with wood furniture". It says nothing of the green European livery, leather seating, lighting or a "premium" environment and does not tie the interiors to the 2009 colour change. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_France and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s
6. CBS News, Katherine Glover, "McDonald's Changes Color Scheme of Iconic Arches", updated 30 November 2009, for restaurants "across Europe" replacing the red background behind the golden arches with green, a change "supposed to make customers associate the company with a commitment to the environment", for the statement of Holger Beeck, there "McDonald's Germany VP", "We want to clarify our responsibility for the preservation of natural resources. In the future we will put an even larger focus on that", for "The green arches are only appearing in Europe", and as the CBS News report named in the reception section. The piece says nothing of restaurants in Asia. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-changes-color-scheme-of-iconic-arches/
7. Designtagebuch, Achim Schaffrinna, "McDonald's ist einfach grün", 30 May 2011, for the green logo tile having first been used about eighteen months earlier, "im Zuge der Neugestaltung der Filialen im Bereich der Außenwerbung", and for "Neu ist allerdings, dass diese nun auch in den Werbespots zu sehen ist", which bears out the green remaining in use in the following years. The article concerns Germany and speaks of no European standard. https://www.designtagebuch.de/mcdonalds-ist-einfach-gruen/
8. McDonald's Schweiz, "Unsere Geschichte", undated corporate history page, consulted on 2 October 2026, for "Seit 2009 ist das Logo von McDonald's® Schweiz auch auf grünem Hintergrund zu sehen.", which bears out the green field in a further European market and its use from 2009 to the present. The same entry opens "Ab 2009 wird das Logo neu gestaltet um ihm ein moderneres Aussehen zu verleihen. Die Bögen sind nun weniger dick.", a redrawing of the arches in that market, which is why the body no longer calls them unchanged in form. The page says nothing of continental Europe as a whole. It resolves the McDonald's Corporate Newsroom index listed in the verse, which returned 404 on 2 October 2026 and carries no 2009 material. https://www.mcdonalds.com/ch/de-ch/our-history.html and https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/news-stories.html
