At Subway, we understand that artificial flavors, colors from artificial sources and artificial preservatives are not desired by our customers. Where possible, we have removed them from our sandwiches, salads, soups and cookies. We continue to innovate and work with partners to seek removal while ensuring we also deliver nutritious, safe, high quality, great tasting food at affordable prices.

At Subway, we believe children are a unique and special audience, and take particular care to responsibly communicate our meals to them and their caregivers. We also know it is important to provide growing children with a well-balanced meal that includes a variety of food groups including grains, vegetables, fruits and lean meats. While regulations may differ by country, and we always abide by the local regulations, any advertising to children under age 12 only contains those offerings that encourage the consumption of nutritious foods and beverages.

At Subway, the safety of our products is a top priority and we abide by regulatory guidelines everywhere in the world where we do business. Decades of research and much scientific literature have established that caramel colorings, and the foods and beverages they are in, are safe. Their use continues to be approved by regulatory authorities. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority, and Health Canada, among others, have approved the use of caramel colorings in foods and beverages.

Even though deemed safe, we do recognize that many customers prefer products without caramel coloring.  For many countries across the globe, we have removed caramel colorings from our sandwich ingredients to meet these customer interests.  We also recognize our beverage partners and other non-Subway branded products may contain caramel coloring.

Subway is dedicated to producing the highest-quality, safest, and best-tasting sandwiches and meals in every part of the world. Developing and maintaining robust food safety programs is how we work to assure safety for every meal, every day, in every market.

Our produce farmers and growers must follow Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), while all other food manufacturers must adhere to the rigorous Food Safety and Quality Expectations outlined in our audit standard. This ensures that only the best products make their way to Subway restaurants in all of our global markets. Further, Subway has comprehensive internal programs and procedures for controlling food safety within our restaurants. Franchisees and Sandwich Artists^TM are trained to manage these programs, and all restaurants are inspected on a regular basis.

At Subway, we are committed to producing great-tasting meals of the highest quality in every part of the world, ensuring that all of our products meet or exceed appropriate safety and quality standards.

We understand that some customers and other stakeholders have questions about bioengineered ingredients or genetically modified organisms (aka GMOs).

The use of bioengineered ingredients is safe. Many of the most influential regulatory agencies and organizations that study food safety, including the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, Health Canada, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Academy of Sciences have found that bioengineered ingredients are safe and that there are no negative health effects associated with their use.

We recognize that customers may still be concerned about the use of GMO ingredients, so some markets may choose to restrict their use.

At Subway, we believe in providing complete and accurate nutrition information and clear ingredient listings.  As a global brand, it is important for Subway to provide simple, fact-based, and easy-to-understand information so that our customers can make an informed menu selection that meets their individual dietary and lifestyle needs.

All nutrition and ingredient details are compiled and reviewed by a registered dietitian, and nutrition information is verified routinely by third-party accredited laboratories.

At Subway, we provide our guests with choices and ingredient information so they can make decisions that suit their tastes and dietary needs through informed choices. Nitrites/nitrates are preservatives commonly used to cure meats such as salami, bacon, and ham. In those meats, they cannot be removed, but some other meats may contain added nitrates as a preservative. Customers can choose from many menu items that are nitrite/nitrate-free when visiting our restaurants.

Creating a healthier relationship between people and food is integral to our business. While we are transforming the nutritional profile of many of our products by reducing added sugars, and sodium, and increasing whole grains, vegetables and lean proteins, we are also building our portfolio of nutritious products, accelerating a journey that we began with our founding.

Subway has always aimed to provide better choices to our customers and, as an established nutritional leader in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, is committed to:

• Offering a variety of balanced choices that can fit into any lifestyle.
• Providing detailed and accurate nutrition, diet, and balanced lifestyle information.
• Serving ingredients you can feel good about.
• Marketing and promoting nutritious choices for both adults & children.

Informed by the guidelines on sodium intake provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other authorities, we understand the potential positive health impacts of reducing sodium consumption. We are committed to finding the right balance between sodium and flavor in our products around the world.

The majority of added sugars on our menu comes from the beverages we serve.  Our global beverage partners have shown their own commitment to reducing sugar and calories in their drinks. At Subway, we also ensure we provide customers with other beverage options without added sugars, ranging across waters, dairy-based drinks and juices.  We will continue to add beverage options to better meet health and customer interests in every region across the globe, and always provide transparency to the customer on the sugar content of our menu offerings.

In recognition of the negative health impact of artificial trans fats (TFAs) and to support public health initiatives around the world, in accordance with guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), Subway has removed partially hydrogenated oils in its Subway branded menu. These cooking oils contain minimal amounts of TFAs that can develop during the refining process.

We do recognize that some branded chips/crisps offered in restaurants may contain trace amounts of artificial TFAs.  As our partners work to reduce TFAs in their offerings, we will always ensure menu and nutritional transparency.

As part of our ongoing commitment to improving animal welfare throughout our supply chain, we are happy to be working with Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), a widely recognized global leader in animal welfare.  In collaboration with CIWF, we will continue to evaluate emerging and evolving systems and practices to advance long-term improvements in animal welfare throughout our global supply chain.

Subway takes the issue of animal welfare seriously and believes the ethical treatment of animals is an essential component of our commitment to responsible sourcing. Subway uses eggs in our breakfast and other menu offerings, as well as in a number of our baked products, and Subway supports various responsible layer hen housing approaches.

At Subway, we believe building and implementing solutions to address the risks associated with climate change is important to the future of our company, customers, and the world.  To do so, we believe all interested stakeholders should commit to science-based actions. 

As a 100% franchised business with more than 20,000 Franchise owners across the globe with over 45,000 restaurants, our extended supply chain is complex. 

While we help our Franchisees and suppliers implement known technologies to reduce their energy footprint or GHG emissions, we are still currently studying the best means to measure our total Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions and devise science-based solutions that can be implemented.

Subway understands our ingredients and packaging depend upon a safe, high-quality, affordable supply of raw materials to support the expectations of our customers, Franchisees and other stakeholders. Agriculture is a critical element of our value chain and it is linked to the health of the world’s forest system.  Subway’s influence on forests is mainly through the sourcing of agricultural materials (palm oil, soy and beef value chains) and paper/wood-based products for disposable packaging and restaurant design.

Subway aims to source from suppliers that strive to:

• Use sustainable forest management practices in forests they own, lease, or manage to provide fiber, paper, timber, and other forest-based products.
• Leverage principles and implement sustainable agriculture practices that enable farmers to increase production on currently farmed land and minimize impacts on the surrounding area.
• Preserve biodiversity and cultural values and optimize the social, environmental, and economic benefits of managed forests.
• Ensure that this policy is implemented in such a way that supports the inclusion of smallholders in their supply chains.

Packaging plays an important role in the way our meals are experienced. In addition to understanding its necessary role in protecting the quality and experience consumers have with our meals, we have a responsibility to minimize resources used, potential waste created, and overall environmental impacts in our communities across the globe. We do this by optimizing the use of materials in sandwich wraps, bowls, napkins, and other packaging, with the goal of -- continually improving our designs and supporting increased recovery. 

We recognize there is a level of complexity when balancing considerations that relate to the source of materials, their efficacy in use, and eventual disposal.  In a perfect world, all materials would operate in a closed-loop system with no waste, loss or litter – as we strive to meet this ideal, we have set the following goals related to packaging in our restaurants:

• Strive to design 100% of our packaging to be recyclable, compostable or biodegradable.
• Increase recycled materials in our paper and plastic packaging.
• Reduce our packaging's carbon impact via minimalist design and material choice based on sound science.
• In partnership across the QSR industry, work to increase container (paper cups and plastics) recycling rates both in-restaurant and for take-away/delivery.

At Subway, palm oil is used as a sub-ingredient in several of our ingredients due to its desired baking characteristics and in support of our initiative to eliminate added trans fats. We believe that best practice today is to source palm oil from Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil members (RSPO) and endorse the RSPO as the primary sustainability standard for palm oil products.  Subway seeks to uphold standards for sustainable palm oil in our own supply chain, even though it is not a primary ingredient, as we continually seek alternative ingredients that have fewer potential supply chain impacts.

At Subway, the breadth of ingredients that come from farms are key to making our menu unique.  Pesticides in farming play a key role in controlling insects and weeds thereby protecting the vegetables. This improves yields for farms, creates reliable, affordable supply from minimal agricultural footprints, prevents deforestation and improves farmer incomes.

Responsible use of pesticides is an important aspect of sustainable agriculture. Subway recognizes pesticide use has led to concerns around the potential for unintended environmental and health impacts all across the globe. Subway understands these concerns and takes pesticide issues seriously, and we continue work across our value chain to support responsible pesticide use.

At Subway, we hold our suppliers to the same standards of integrity to which we hold ourselves.

Working with our Franchisee-owned Independent Purchasing Cooperatives/Companies (IPCs), the Subway brand looks for suppliers who share our values and commitment to environmental and social responsibility. Therefore, all suppliers are expected to follow our Supplier Code of Conduct, and relevant policies and commitments as a condition of doing business with us.

These standards are based on international conventions including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

At Subway, ensuring sustainable agriculture systems is a critical element to creating a healthy, profitable business for our Franchisees founded on safe and high-quality ingredients.  Even as a global brand, we recognize agriculture is a local operation, each of which presents different opportunities and risks when promoting strong sustainable agricultural practices. 

Our efforts to promote sustainable agriculture practices focus on engaging with farmers and supportive stakeholders to promote and share best practices on water management, pesticide use, and other critical processes.  By working with farmers directly whenever we can, we believe we can improve the supply and quality of our ingredients, reduce impacts to the environment and help build healthy local businesses and communities all across the globe.

Waste reduction is important to Subway for many reasons, ranging from cost savings and productivity improvements for our Franchisees to being a good neighbor in the communities where we have restaurants by reducing our environmental footprint.

Our actions and involvement in waste reductions cover all aspects of our supply chain, including helping Franchisees with restaurant design, promoting material recycling, and reducing food waste, and designing our boxes and disposable packaging to minimize materials used.

At Subway, we recognize the importance of water to every individual in every community across the globe.  Many regions around the world are experiencing varying degrees of water stress due to increases in population, weather pattern changes and/or inadequate water management infrastructure that can result in the insufficient supply of safe drinking water.  As a brand that relies on water to grow the crops needed for our business, we have a vested interest in proper water use within our value chain, from the restaurants operated by our Franchisees to the farmers growing our vegetables.

We will continue to research in-restaurant investments that optimize water usage, as well as work with farmers worldwide to share best practices in water management techniques.

The values of health and safety in our Corporate offices, and independently owned and operated restaurants around the globe are some of our top priorities. We work in a variety of ways to reflect these values through our employee codes of conduct and restaurant operating manuals.

Open Carry of Firearms

For the consideration and comfort of restaurant employees and guests, Subway respectfully requests that guests (other than authorized law enforcement) refrain from openly displaying firearms inside restaurants — even in states where “open carry” is permitted.

For more than 50 years, Subway’s mission has been to let customers design their own sandwiches, and to serve local tastes through a network of independently-owned restaurants. That hasn’t changed. A limited number of Subway locations across the globe have offered a Halal menu. We follow the local regulations on menu labeling for Halal products when they are available.

Subway’s commitment to respecting the human rights of workers throughout our value chain is articulated through the expectations we set across our Supplier Code of Conduct, Statement on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, and other relevant policies including those on land rights, deforestation, and sustainable agriculture. 

Subway recognizes that the eradication and prevention of modern slavery and human trafficking is a global challenge that businesses must address through their own operations, local and global supply chains, and business partners.

Integrity in our operations, products, and supply chains is of the utmost importance. We are fully committed to working collaboratively across industries to seek eradication of modern slavery and human trafficking.

This statement addresses the Modern Slavery Act of the United Kingdom and the Transparency in Supply Chains Act of the U.S. State of California for 2017 and 2018.

Subway believes that where our ingredients come from and how the animals in our supply chain are raised are essential components to preparing great food for our guests. We also take the issue of antimicrobial resistance seriously and believe that the responsible stewardship of antibiotics in the raising of farm animals is a critical component of our commitment to responsible sourcing.

In the past, we announced a US commitment to serving turkeys raised without the use of antibiotics to be completed by the end of 2019. Additional research and insight has provided a deeper understanding of the critical role that responsible antibiotic use plays - not only for the well-being of the animals but in food safety and human health as well. Treating sick animals is the ethical thing to do.

After reviewing the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, Subway has developed a Global Antibiotics Policy which outlines our updated responsible antibiotic stewardship within our supply chain. The Global Antibiotics Policy aligns sourcing practices to World Health Organization recommendations to eliminate the use of antibiotics that are important to human health.

Subway's research processes and those of our partners are confidential for competitive reasons. However, Subway does not conduct or fund research – including research funded by Subway but performed by third parties – that utilizes any cloned organisms. Furthermore, any meat, dairy, poultry, fish or egg derived from a cloned animal, including subsequent generations, must not be used in Subway menu offerings.

At Subway, our Report It hotline provides Corporate employees, as well as customers, Franchisee staff and Sandwich Artists^TM, business partners, and others with a means to report potential violations of the Subway Business Code of Conduct, our policies, or applicable law.  This hotline is an important part of our culture of ethics and compliance at Subway.

Subway is committed to protecting the rights of those individuals who report issues. We prohibit retaliation against any individual who, in good faith, reports a suspected violation of the law or the Code of Conduct. Any instance of retaliation against an employee for reporting a concern in good faith is itself a serious violation of our Code of Conduct, and should be reported. Any employee found to have engaged in such retaliation will be subject to appropriate discipline.

If you wish to report questionable behavior or a possible violation, please contact us through any of the following methods:

• Email: Send an email to the General Legal, Compliance, and Privacy Office at: reportit@subway.com with the subject heading of REPORT IT – Subway Code of Conduct
• Mail: Send a letter to the General Legal, Compliance and Privacy Office at Franchise World Headquarters, LLC, 325 Sub Way, Milford, CT 06461 with the attention line of REPORT IT – Subway Code of Conduct

We will maintain confidentiality to the extent possible and will not tolerate any retribution or retaliation taken against any individual who has, in good faith, sought out advice or reported questionable behavior or a possible violation of this Code of Conduct.

People are our greatest asset. We require all associates throughout the Subway system to adhere to ethical principles and employment standards to ensure that all workers at our corporate headquarters and regional offices, are valued and treated fairly and with respect.

Franchise World Headquarters, LLC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. Franchise World Headquarters, LLC does not tolerate discrimination of any kind on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, color or national origin.

 

We value the views of our interested stakeholders and the input we receive from them is critical to the development of our policies, commitments, and actions.  As a 100%-franchised business model, our stakeholder set have unique attributes in comparison to other global brands. These broad engagements help inform our efforts, surface emerging topics in Sustainability, and help Subway be a more productive member within the neighborhoods of our extended operations.

We use a variety of mechanisms to solicit feedback from our stakeholders, including partnerships, bilateral meetings, topical industry forums, and other methods. When we are engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, we have a better chance to incorporate thinking on topics from different perspectives than our own – including organizations that are critical of our policies or actions.  Listening and engaging in conversation with organizations who may be critical of our approach helps us better understand their concerns and enables us to incorporate their views into our development.

At Subway, we believe having a foundation of governance for our policies, commitments, and actions regarding sustainability enables us to build a strong business rooted in long-term thinking.  Integrating sustainability into our overall business strategy supports growth and stability for our Franchisees, their Sandwich Artists^TM, our business partners and Subway brand employees across the globe. For us to ensure that sustainability topics are integrated into, and not separate from, our business, we have built a sustainability governance structure that incorporates every level of leadership – from our Executive team to the front-line teams that operate our business daily - inclusive of outside stakeholder engagement.

Laying Hens

Subway seeks to transition our entire global supply chain to egg procurement practices with improved animal welfare outcomes and we will accomplish that goal for our North America and Latin America restaurants by 2025, with 100% cage free eggs.

Broiler Chickens

By 2024, Subway is committed to implementing the following changes for our US chicken products and will demonstrate compliance via third party auditing.

• Source only chickens that are given more space, with a maximum stocking density of 6 lbs/sq. foot, per GAP’s standards;
• Ensure all chickens sourced have an improved environment, including litter, lighting and enrichment, per GAP’s standards;
• Source only chickens that are more humanely processed, through a multi-step, controlled-atmosphere system.

And by 2026, source only chicken breeds that are approved by Global Animal Partnership (GAP) as having higher welfare outcomes.

100% of the chicken served in the US has also been raised without antibiotics and fed a vegetarian diet since 2016.

Pork

Subway supports the elimination of gestation crates and we will work with our global suppliers to align our entire pork supply chain with a transition toward group housing. We have completely phased out gestation crates in our European supply chain, and we expect to reach similar milestones in the US by 2022 and Latin America by 2025.

Dairy

Subway seeks to transition our entire global dairy supply chain to be free of the supplemental growth hormone, rBST, and this goal has been accomplished in the US.

The following geographies are committed to sourcing cage-free eggs by the end of 2025: North America, Latin America, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea. 

• In North America, 11% of our egg supply (shell and liquid) is cage free, as of November 2018.

In key markets across the globe, we have achieved 100% cage-free or 100% free-range supply.

• In Australia, we have been serving cage free eggs since 2014.
• In Europe, Subway sources 100% Free Range eggs and we have been awarded multiple “Good Egg Awards” by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF).  
  • Our UK business was awarded Good Egg Awards in both the Whole Eggs and Egg Products categories in 2008 and as we extended to our commitment across all of Europe, we were awarded a 2010 Good Egg Award for Europe for both Whole Eggs and Egg Products.

As of Q1 2020, our US turkey supply chain transitioned to a certified responsible antibiotic use program which aligns our sourcing practices to World Health Organization recommendations to restrict the use of antibiotics that are important to human medicine. The US supply of pork and beef products from animals raised without antibiotics important to human medicine is limited, and we expect our transition to be completed by 2025. We will continue to serve chicken raised without antibiotics as part of our US menu.