As the calendar turns to 2023 and Taco Bell celebrates its 60th anniversary, its commitment to making a positive impact has been renewed.

In a letter released to employees just before the new year, Taco Bell CEO Mark King laid out such.

The letter reads in part, “Our commitments and values are what makes us proud and hold us accountable to our most important audiences: our teams, our customers and the communities in which we serve.”

It then further expresses Taco Bell’s commitments for 2023, detailing three main categories: advocating for the workforce, on its menu, and intentional impact.

“We’re furthering our commitment to redefine what it means to work in QSR, creating pathways to ownership, and helping our people pursue their passions,” the letter states.

In 2022, Taco Bell launched its Taco Bell Business School to help diversify its franchise program.

The first-of-its-kind franchise program aims to elevate restaurant leaders as entrepreneurs and train more people of color to become franchise owners. 

Taco Bell will continue to build its momentum toward diversifying its franchisee ownership through its Yum! Franchise Accelerator program this year. 

In addition, Taco Bell launched the new Ambition Accelerator for young people to become changemakers in their communities. 

Furthermore, it continued its Live Más Scholarship program, which will be offering $10 million in scholarships this year.  

Taco Bell also ensured that equity, inclusion & belonging remained a part of its fabric, with the hiring of its first-ever Chief EI&B Officer, KT Thornton.

“We’ll lift the voices of our employees so we can champion change and continue to make Taco Bell a great place to work,” the letter said. 

On its menu, Taco Bell has included vegetarian offerings, as 12% of sales were vegetarian options in 2022. 

Currently, Taco Bell offers over 30 vegetarian ingredients certified by the American Vegetarian Association, which can be combined for nearly one million combinations. 

“We’ll explore new ways to implement fan and employee feedback to serve up more vegetarian innovations next year,” the letter states. 

This year, Taco Bell will make further progress on its pledge to reduce antibiotics important to human medicine in beef by 25% in U.S. and Canada supply chains by 2025. 

The goal is to continue to find new ways to continue making intentional impact across the board. 

Overall, Taco Bell is seeking to make 2023 its most creative year yet.

“We’ll continue to be restlessly creative, push the status quo and rethink the way things can be,” the letter reads.

To see the full letter, click here.