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Climate change could force Chipotle to temporarily stop serving guacamole, the fast-food chain warned in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The notification, which Chipotle described as a "routine financial disclosure," notes that climate-induced freezes and droughts can take a severe toll on food-based supply chains, leading to price spikes and product shortages

Chipotle has released a short film that touts the company's ethical-sourcing policies. The video features a scarecrow who wanders through a "Crow Foods Incorporated" factory, is horrified by the treatment of animals inside and decides to open his own ethically sourced eatery -- one that bears a marked resemblance to Chipotle

Chipotle becomes first fast food chaion to tag GMO's. They have been doing so since March.

Chipotle in February will launch "Farmed and Dangerous," a Web series lampooning the factory-farming industry. The show, which will run on Hulu, stars a character named Chip but otherwise has little obvious connection to Chipotle's brand or products, Noam Cohen writes

Panera Bread has been using antibiotic-free meat for a decade, but unlike rival Chipotle, it's struggled to effectively communicate its green credentials to consumers. writes Andrew Marder. The company is introducing a communications strategy touting its produce, donations and community cafes for low-income families. "[T]here's a lot of value in the work that Panera is doing, and it just takes a few good ad campaigns to bring that value to bear on the bottom line," Marder writes.

Looking for ways to jump-start a sluggish fast food market in the US, more brands are tacking toward sustainability positioning and "clean" ingredients as the king of that approach, Chipotle, doubles down on its own efforts as profits continue to rise.

Chipotle is under pressure from shareholder activists who want the company to publish an annual report on its food sourcing, energy use, waste and labor standards. The proposal, due for a vote at Chipotle's shareholder meeting in May, is important given the brand's focus on green marketing, explains Adam Kanzer, managing director at Domini Social Investments. "They've really put their brand behind this message of sustainability and better farming techniques and cleaner agriculture," he says. "We want to understand: Is it true? How is it done? How do you manage it?"

Chipotle is attempting to win back consumer trust and increase sales with its "Ingredients Reign" campaign. The spots emphasize the brand's commitment to sourcing the best, most sustainable ingredients.

Chipotle became the first major restaurant chain to announce it would use only non-genetically modified organisms in its food preparation across its over 1,800 locations, according the New York Times.

Chipotle set a goal of sourcing over 20 million pounds of produce from local farms in 2014-up from 15 million pounds in 2013. The company will serve food from 45 farms located within 350 miles of its restaurants.

A growing number of billion-dollar companies are showing that sustainability can be a real driver of profits, writes Freya Williams. Companies such as Tesla, Chipotle Mexican Grill, IKEA, Nike and Whole Foods Market are making serious money through eco-friendly business models. "The green giants are turning a strategy of sustainability or social good into a billion-dollar business proposition, and profiting in the process," Williams explains

Chick-fil-A announced this week that it will stop using meat from chickens raised with antibiotics within five years. The chain said consumer demands sparked the change; Chipotle and Panera Bread have taken similar measures recently. "This ... surfaced as the No. 1 issue for our customers," said Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A's executive vice president of operations.

Panera Bread and Chipotle led the fast-food pack by earning A's on the new annual report card from a coalition of public interest groups that annually ranks corporate efforts to remove antibiotics from their poultry, beef and pork supplies. Twelve of the other 25 listed companies also made progress eliminating the drugs, but the report says they need to catch up with the A-listers and pay as much attention to beef and pork as to poultry.