QSR July 2022

EDITOR’S LETTER

Climate on the Menu It’s not a topic

A s we were planning our 2022 cal endar, the notion of a climate issue gave me some pause, I have to admit. Not that I’m not a believer in the topic, but I just wasn’t sure where to go with it. In some ways, it reminded me of diversity and a conversation my colleague Ben Coley and I had with Dr. James Pogue a few months back. James is the president and CEO of JP Enterprises, a company that helps coach inclusivity at the leader ship and team level. One of their banner phrases is, “The Right Kind of Uncom fortable.” We talked about that frame work and the role of media in all of it. How it often can feel forced or fake, and in turn, sail the intended impact. So, in the end, you’re left trying to fur ther a message and yet do it for the right reasons. It’s a complex line. My initial response to a magazine dedicated to climate and the industry’s role in it was, “what can we at QSR bring to the table that hasn’t been talked about already?” My boss’ answer was simple: We need to stir the conversation. You can’t expect or promote change without giving a voice to it. And that’s really where I began. Who were the thought leaders and innovators in this space, from the back ( page 36 ) to the front ( page 28 ) of it. I asked Just Salad chief sustainability officer Sandra Noonan what mattered to her. And what was going to matter next year ( page 20 ). Throughout our conversation, from the circular economy to food waste, the notion of leading from an uncomfortable position kept surfacing. Namely, I floated a pretty common theme in her direc tion—“are customers asking for this?” Noonan’s answer wasn’t what I expected and she quickly dispelled it. While the

answer has hints of “yes” in it, and you can read stats to back that up all over Google, the larger implication and directive is that it doesn’t matter. Whether or not surveys and random polls return that point, Just Salad was going to invest, and invest heavy, in sus tainability and climate-centric initiatives. On the topic of reusables, for instance, Noonan put it this way: “It’s a matter of operators’ ability and willingness to par ticipate; it’s a matter of policy; and it’s a matter of shifting public opinion. When those three reach a critical level, we will hit a tipping point.” But Just Salad isn’t waiting around. Noonan admitted an inflection wasn’t quite in sight, which is why the company incentivizes climate-friendly behavior like some brands might a visit. Use a reusable bowl, get a free topping. On the brand’s app there’s a carbon label filter that recently allowed Just Salad to discount pricing for an Earth Day deal. The idea of rewards and loyalty evolving into sustainability programs is something Noonan says the brand is headed toward, and she thinks others should, too. “To be clear, we don’t come in every day and say the customer wants more sustainability from us,” Noonan said. “We come in every day and we say we’re doing sustainability. And brands need to lead.” Dressed down, it’s the message I was given to make this issue happen. While we might not all be eager or ready to take sustainability steps or have debates, the answer isn’t to shelve it for further review.

every restaurant is comfortable talking about, but that might just be the point.

DANNY@QSRMAGAZINE.COM QSR MAGAZINE

Danny Klein, Editorial Director

ROSIE ROSENBROCK

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JULY 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com