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MCDONALD'S CUTS RIBBON ON ITS FIRST NET-ZERO RESTAURANT

By Bea Tridimas

December 15, 2021

The curb stones at McDonald’s first Net Zero Carbon restaurant in the U.K. are
each made from 182 recycled plastic bottles.

The United Kingdom's first net zero McDonald's restaurant has opened today in
Market Drayton, Shropshire, England, with the fast food giant boasting that the
site has been designed to deliver net zero emissions from both construction and
operation.

The restaurant — set to act as a blueprint for other McDonald's new builds from
2022 — is powered by on-site solar panels and two wind turbines, expected to
produce 60,000 kilowatt-hours of power a year. The site also uses cladding and
insulation made from recycled materials, including sheep's wool and washing
machines that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

"At McDonald's we believe that our food needs to be served in restaurants that
are sustainable for the future," said Beth Hart, vice president of supply chain
and brand trust at McDonald's. "Market Drayton is a big step towards making that
a reality, enabling us to test and put into practice what a net zero emissions
building, both in build and use, really looks like. We've already started to
roll out some of these innovations to other restaurants, but what is exciting
about Market Drayton is the fact it will act as a blueprint for our future new
builds."

In addition to on-site renewables and recycled cladding, the site features a
Drive-Thru lane made from recycled tires, curb stones made from recycled plastic
bottles and a biodiversity garden and nature trail. Customers also have access
to an array of on-site EV charging points.

All furniture in the branch is made from 100 percent recyclable materials in
line with McDonald's pledge to ensure all furniture in its new and refurbished
restaurants will be recyclable and made from recycled or certified materials by
2023.



> The restaurant chain also plans to introduce a scorecard for assessing the
> ethics and sustainability of suppliers.

The new opening was welcomed by Simon McWhirter, UK Green Building Council's
director of communications, policy and  places, who hailed the project as a
template for others to learn from. "The challenge of decarbonizing the
construction industry is a complex one, but McDonald's commitment to building
the first restaurant in the U.K. in line with UKGBC's net zero carbon buildings
framework is a critical first step," he said. "We welcome the ambition to
achieve net zero emissions for all McDonald's restaurants and offices by 2030."

However, the project received a less than warm welcome from Greenpeace, which
again called on the company to step up efforts to curb emissions from its
sprawling agricultural supply chain. "If meat and dairy are still the main
course on McDonald's menu, then this new restaurant initiative can only be
labeled as it is: McGreenwash," said Anna Jones, head of food and forests at
Greenpeace UK. "Climate-critical forests across Brazil and South America are
being decimated by meat and dairy production and Brits eat twice as much meat as
the global average. If McDonald's genuinely wants to cut its global carbon
footprint, it needs to think beyond emissions from specific U.K. sites and start
to urgently shift it's entire business model to meat-free alternatives."

As part of McDonald's Plan for Change sustainability strategy unveiled earlier
in the year, the company pledged to feature more plant-based options on its menu
and switch to deforestation free soy in its ingredients and animal feed over the
next five years. The restaurant chain also plans to introduce a scorecard for
assessing the ethics and sustainability of suppliers.

McDonald's Plan for Change strategy also aims to help the business achieve net
zero emissions for all of its 1,400 restaurants and offices in the U.K. and
Ireland by 2030 and across its value chain by 2040.



This story first appeared on:

BusinessGreen
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 * Retail
 * Net Zero


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Journalist

@Bea_Trid


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