Consumers have begun to look for more accountability from the fast food industry, and it looks like they may get it. Menu changes are becoming visible — one of the major issues with fast food has been the question of health. More restaurants are providing healthy eating options, like salads.

While consumers' health issues are important, though, a new question of accountability is growing. How do we know if a given fast food chain is making an effort to protect the environment?

Ellen Kennedy, a senior social research analyst at Calvert Group, identified four issues that investors should consider when looking at fast food chains: the company's environmental footprint, workplace issues, animal welfare and product safety, and marketing to children.

In an interview with WhatPC?, Kennedy expanded on that list: "Like Wal-Mart, large fast food companies can influence whole categories of suppliers by virtue of their purchasing decisions. So one way to think about fast food operations is to start with each ingredient and follow it through the supply chain to disposal or recycling. For example, we know that global seafood supplies are predicted to crash in the 2040s. Does the company sell fish species that are threatened? Does the company have good seafood supplier standards that are independently monitored? Does the company source shrimp that have been farmed with high levels of pesticides or antibiotics? How is the fish processed, transported, and refrigerated? What does the company do with trash and organic waste?"

It isn't just investors who are keeping an eye on fast food chains, though. Consumers are looking for more and more transparency from their favorite eateries. Groups like the National Restaurant Association are making an effort to help lead fast food restaurants to greener practices. "Some of the most clear-eyed critics of the industry are the long-time NGO advocates who have developed relationships with companies over years, or even decades," Kennedy says. "They often have a sense of which companies 'you can work with' and which ones give the run around."

The process remains fairly slow. While the number of certified green restaurants has been growing, they still make up only a fraction of U.S. restaurants. Not all restaurants recycle, make their buildings energy efficient or even refuse to use Styrofoam containers (about 40 percent of restaurants currently use Styrofoam take-out containers). To date, there isn't even a definitive guide showing which restaurants are green. But progress is underway, aided by the fact that consumers want sustainable fast food and will support it with their purchasing power.

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Photo by Chris Bloom