Sustainability has become a hot-button issue in the world of quick-service restaurants (QSRs). There is growing pressure from all sides—investors, executives, employees, and customers—for QSRs to do their part to help the planet. Sustainability can take many forms, including reducing energy usage and emissions, using renewable energy like solar, eliminating waste, responsible food sourcing, and more planet-friendly packaging.
QSRs have the potential to make a significant impact on the planet. These locations use a lot of energy, and restaurants use about five to seven times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings. QSRs also provide convenience to consumers, yet this has typically produced a lot of single-use packaging. Plus, food production accounts for an estimated 40% of global emissions. Making changes across America’s more than 200 thousand QSR locations to tackle emissions and waste can have serious benefits to the planet.
Right now, there is no industry standard for QSR sustainability. This means different brands and franchise locations are taking various approaches and there is no real benchmark for success. Though many companies are taking the lead to try and do their part, they aren’t all being held to any specific level of commitment. This isn’t ideal, as it opens the door to greenwashing, a practice where certain companies claim environmental responsibility while actually doing very little to mitigate their negative impact. An industry standard could help ensure QSRs are sharing in a higher level of dedication to fighting climate change and waste and serve as a guide for companies looking to step up their sustainability game.
Luckily, even without these standards, many QSRs are still taking the initiative and working to help the planet. Below are a few examples of popular QSRs and some of the ways they are approaching sustainability.
Subway has taken steps and made goals to improve the sustainability of its packaging. They’ve eliminated styrofoam, as it is not widely recycled, and have set a goal to design 100% of packaging to be recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable.
Subway’s franchise association has also partnered with Budderfly to help franchisees implement energy-efficient technologies to reduce their energy footprint and emissions. They’ve made LED lighting the standard to help lower energy consumption at all locations. Subway is also improving food sourcing, such as only using Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil, and committing to sustainable tuna.
Mcdonald's has made a lot big environmental commitments and progress. They joined the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, putting McDonald’s on the path to net zero emissions by 2050.
They’ve already made reductions in both the emissions of their restaurants. Plus, last December, they signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) to significantly reduce emissions across their supply chain as well.
McDonald’s has also invested in solar energy, including two partnerships with solar companies announced in 2022 and 2023. As part of these new projects, McDonald’s has committed to purchasing enough solar energy to power over 1,500 restaurants.
In 2019, Mcdonald's achieved a huge goal: 100% of its coffee sold in the U.S. is now certified sustainably sourced. What’s impressive is that Mcdonald's met this goal a year ahead of their 2020 aim. They’re also working to reduce waste, with a goal of 100% certified, recycled or renewable guest packaging materials by the end of 2025.
In 2022, the corporation even hired a Chief Impact Officer to oversee all ESG efforts including sustainability, and increasingly popular role at companies who want to legitimize their commitments to the environment.
Wendy’s is looking to help the planet on a few different fronts.
In 2020, the company set a goal to sustainably source 100% of its customer-facing packaging by 2026. By the end of 2021, Wendy’s was almost halfway there with 48% of customer-facing packaging being sustainably sourced.
Wendy’s has several other sustainability initiatives, and the company is working to reduce emissions in both corporate-owned and franchise locations. It has also made goals to lower the amount of water used and to improve overall energy efficiency.
Burger King is another QSR working towards sustainability. Burger King is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI) which also owns Popeye’s, Firehouse Subs, and Tim Hortons. RBI has a corporate program called Restaurant Brands for Good that has various goals and initiatives across its global restaurant brands.
RBI is aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and they have some other goals along the way to get them there. This includes transitioning 72% of its corporate truck fleet and 100% of its car fleet to electric models, procuring renewable energy to account for corporate-owned or controlled global operations, and much more. You can read about all their goals here.
The company is also working towards more sustainable packaging. It has phased out EPS foam, a type of foam that is essentially not biodegradable and breaks down into microplastics, from customer packaging. In 2021, RBI piloted zero-waste, reusable packaging that could be safely cleaned and refilled at locations in the U.S. and Canada. The company aims to have 100% of guest packaging sourced from renewable, recycled, or certified sources and to recycle guest packaging in 100% of restaurants in Canada and the U.S by 2025.
RBI has also made a commitment to fight deforestation, with a goal to eliminate deforestation (as defined by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization) from RBI’s global supply chain by 2030.
YUM Brands owns a few QSRs including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, The Habit, and KFC. The company has a goal to reduce emissions 46% by 2030 on the path to net zero by 2050—and they’re approaching it in several different ways.
In 2022, Pizza Hut partnered with the Dairy Farmers of America to reduce emissions by helping its dairy suppliers increase their energy efficiency and reduce waste. In 2023, Taco Bell partnered with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and beef supplier Cargill to implement conservation and regenerative agriculture practices across cattle grazing lands. The project will not only aid wildlife but also is expected to sequester up to 44,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year in 2030.
Yum is also aiming to reduce waste. Taco Bell’s famous hot sauce packets have historically ended up in landfills, and with the restaurants using more that 8 billion a year in the U.S. alone, that’s a serious contribution. In 2022 Taco Bell partnered with TerraCycle to create a program to recycle these and reduce the waste they produce.
Yum has a whole host of developments across its brands to make all packaging more sustainably sourced and increase recyclability.
Energy efficiency is one of the most impactful ways QSRs and fast casual restaurants can reduce their carbon footprint and improve their sustainability. Plus, reducing energy usage is good for business: as it helps the planet, it also helps your bottom line. Energy reduction is also measurable, meaning you can give your customers and stakeholders concrete data on how you’re doing your part in the fight against climate change.
At Budderfly, we work with franchise locations at the brands mentioned above (and more across the QSR industry, health facilities, hotels, and more) to achieve this without the worry of upfront costs. We pay for and install new energy-efficient equipment and use our innovative energy-saving technology to help companies save. To learn more about Budderfly and how we can be a part of your sustainability journey, contact us today.