Chipotle's Green Restaurants to Halve Carbon by 2030
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
Chipotle Mexican Grill revealed a novel restaurant design that operates entirely on electricity. The objective is to aid the company in achieving its target of reducing its carbon footprint by 50% before 2030.
Over 100 new branches of the burrito chain will incorporate all-electric equipment and other components of the fresh design starting next year. Chipotle has already introduced outlets equipped with these features in Gloucester, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida. The company plans to open a third restaurant with the new design in Castle Rock, Colorado, during the summer.
In addition to substituting gas with electricity, the fresh design incorporates seats made of cactus leather, art created from recycled corn husks, eco-friendly packaging for food and beverages, compact cook lines, enhanced exhaust hoods, and heat-pump water heaters. Some branches will also feature rooftop solar panels and charging facilities for electric cars when possible.
Chipotle stated that it will refine the new design as it gains more knowledge during the implementation process.
Other restaurant chains, such as salad chain Sweetgreen, have also started to concentrate on reducing their carbon footprints.
Sweetgreen began featuring menu options with lower greenhouse gas emissions last year.
In 2021, McDonald's inaugurated a restaurant at Disney World that produces sufficient renewable energy to power the location.
A year prior, Burger King, the arch-nemesis of Restaurant Brands International, presented a new restaurant design with solar panels.
Chipotle's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Laurie Schalow, stated in a declaration that "with our ambitious expansion plan in North America, we are responsible for reducing the environmental impact of our restaurants."
Chipotle aims to open 7,000 eateries across North America in the long run. It currently has over 3,200 establishments globally, with the majority situated in the United States.
To reach its goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the company is using its 2019 baseline of 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent across its supply chain and restaurants.
Chipotle's other sustainability initiatives include devising plans for more vegan and vegetarian menu options, increasing its acquisition of locally grown produce to 36.4 million pounds this year, and investing in programmes that encourage emission reductions in beef and dairy production.
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Source: CNBC
