QSR July 2023

One SMALL STEP for SAVING ENERGY

ENVIRONMENT

raised our hand early to be part of this,” says Liliana Esposito, Wen dy’s chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer. By the end of last year, when just seven res taurants were working with Duke, Wendy’s was sourcing 1,274 kilo watts ( k w ) of clean energy from the program; by 2025 it expects that to increase to 6,363 kW. Wendy’s deliberately signed with Duke Energy in an area that had a lot of company-owned res taurants. “We see the company’s footprint as an important part of our business model,” Esposito explains. “It keeps us grounded and makes sure we’re operating restaurants in the way the fran chisees are operating restaurants.” This program has the potential to expand to franchisees, she adds. Moving toward renewable energy “has been a multi-year pro gram,” Esposito says. This started in 2015 when Wendy’s joined the Department of Energy’s Bet ter Buildings Challenge, which encourages businesses to commit to improving building energy effi ciency by 20 percent or more over 10 years and to share their strate gies and results. “We were looking at opportu nities to be more energy efficient, which saves costs and is really impactful to the restaurants’ oper ating expenses ... and it has a real tangible benefit,” says Esposito. Being part of the Better Build

compared to its former most energy-efficient model. Restaurants built with this prototype will use more efficient building elements (i.e. lighting and HVAC) to decrease energy usage and costs. They’re also cheaper to build and operate. So far Wendy’s hasn’t seen any savings from switching to Duke Energy in the 10 Florida restaurants “but we see that as a longer-term potential,” Esposito says, adding that she expects to see that more after a full year of use. “Ulti mately we anticipate there will be a savings but it will also be a more resilient source of energy and has a far more favorable environmental footprint compared to conventional electricity.” WALKING THE WALK Hannah’s Bretzel is a fast-casual sandwich con cept with three locations in Chicago. Along with using 100 percent biodegradable or recyclable packaging, two electric Mini Coopers for deliv eries, and in-store composting, the stores are powered by energy from wind and solar compa nies. Because the stores are all within high-rise buildings, there’s nowhere to place solar panels and this is the next best option, says CEO Flo rian Pfahler. He partners with an energy provider to ensure the money he spends on electricity goes to the companies producing wind and energy, except for a small portion that goes to the energy com pany in the area. Pfahler has been doing this for 15 years and he pays a premium for it. “We finance their oper ations and in return we enable them to produce more energy and get an even larger share of the grid,” he says. “Money is not the only driver. I also want to lead by example,” the CEO adds. “There are a lot of customers who want to see businesses oper ate this way. I want to support that industry and see solar and wind grow.”

Using renewable energy to power a restaurant is a positive thing, but Michael Oshman, founder of the Green Restaurant Association, says there are other things operators can do to keep energy usage down. • Perform frequent maintenance on equipment to ensure equipment runs as efficiently as possible. A dirty filter, for example, forces a piece of equipment to work harder and use more energy. • Place things in the right places, such as the right faucet aerators. “If you want to fill up a pot, you want the water to run as fast as possible, but when you wash your hands you want less,” Oshman says. • Modify behaviors. Don’t thaw frozen foods under running hot water, for example. • Switch to LED lighting. • Incorporate energy management systems. They monitor how a restaurant uses energy. “They can tell you if your door is open on your freezer or you consumed a lot of energy on Tuesday but you don’t normally do that,” Oshman says. “It gives you eyes on what you’re doing.” • Rent your equipment instead of buying it. This way the company you lease from will provide the most efficient equipment, and you’ll both not pay a huge upfront cost of it, and spend less on your energy bill. The leasing company also maintains the equipment and will do a good job of it, Oshman says, “because they want this equipment to last as long as possible.” • Buy the most efficient equipment you can. “Such a huge cost comes from the energy consumed that it’s generally advised to get the most energy-efficient piece of equipment and maintain it,” Oshman advises. “Don’t just get Energy Star, go for the highest level of Energy Star.”

ings Challenge, Wendy’s was able to compare its restaurants. “There shouldn’t be wide variations in their energy use, so we can collect data and identify efficiencies,” she explains.

The premium price is worth it, he says, to know he’s doing the right thing and to let cus tomers see that. It not only appeals to guests; it helps attract team members, too. Pfahler lets consumers know about what he’s doing through prominent signage on the walls and through the company website and social media. “We make it fairly well known,” he points out. “It does influence some people’s decisions about where they eat.” At the end of the day, it’s a decision that keeps Pfahler feeling better about his operations. “This is a no-brainer. I need to set this business up to contribute positively to the community.”

Because of what it’s learned, Wendy’s has installed energy management systems and more efficient equipment in many locations, like automated ware washing machines that reduce water used per dishwashing cycle by 47 percent. It has also added LED lighting in restaurants and parking lots. “It’s about keeping good track of what you’re using. If you look at your electricity bill and compare with other households in the neigh borhood, you might see there’s something you could be doing better,” Esposito says. This fall Wendy’s will open its first Global Next Gen res taurant. This design has about 10 percent energy savings

Amanda Baltazar is a regular contributor to QSR and is based in Washington.

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JULY 2023 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com