McDonald's trying out a greener look in Europe (not pictured). (Photo: tom.arthur/flickr)

McDonald's has traditionally been a polarizing brand in Europe, and not one that immediately brings images of sustainability to mind. But now the Golden Arches--the very symbol of capitalist resource exploitation and American cultural imperialism--are getting a new green backdrop. In Germany,  company officials announced in Monday that the iconic red McDonald's sign would now be green, in an effort to bring attention to the what the company claims is a strengthened position on sustainability.

The company will not just change the colors of its sign and call it good. The company says a green design philosophy will be incorporated into new and existing buildings themselves, a design that McDonald's hopes will evoke a more contemporary and "natural" look and feel for the fast-food behemoth.

"Simplicity and a focus on the essentials is the new design philosophy," Holger Beeck, deputy head of McDonald's in Germany, said in a Monday statement.

"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," said Beeck.

But environmental campaigners remain a bit skeptical about how claims that, German newspaper Der Spiegel writes, "Ronald McDonald is becoming a tree hugger," will resonate in Germany and other European nations like France and Great Britain, where McDonald's has had an even tougher time in the past.

More than 2.58 million people eat at McDonald's daily in Germany and the company employs 58,000 people.