QSRs learn lessons from building green

QSRs learn lessons from building green
Tags: Burger/Steak/BBQ, Coffee/Bakery/Donut, Going Green, Sandwich, Sustainability
January 5, 2009 - Christa Hoyland

*Interior, Subway Eco-Store, Kissimmee, Fla.

Quick-service operators are more often looking to implement environmentally friendly practices. Some are even taking on green construction efforts, despite the complexity and higher cost. At least three QSR brands have approached the challenge as a learning experience for their companies.

Subway and Dunkin' Donuts, for example, both have individual stores that recently received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). And McDonald's has built a store that is under application for certification through USGBC's soon-to-be-released LEED for Retail rating system.

Tips for building green

McDonald's, Subway and Dunkin' Brands offer this advice for operators considering LEED-certified construction:

Educate yourself thoroughly before diving in, and consider taking a course in LEED through the USGBC that focuses on your particular certification path.
Consider third-party certification like the USGBC LEED certification only if it brings you value, such as tax credits or the ability to secure a specific location.

— Elizabeth Stewart, marketing director, Subway

Learn what building green means. There are many resources available, but the best advice will come from someone who has already been there. I have found that most people are willing to share their experiences and what they've learned.
Remember that being green is not an all or nothing strategy. There are always green parts and pieces that you can find that will make sense for your project.

— Dan Lavender, construction manager, Dunkin' Brands

Formulate a simple strategy to execute.
Be realistic and take small steps. You really need to understand the process before building more than one.

— John Rockwell, sustainability manager for U.S. restaurant design, McDonald's

LEED certification provides third-party verification that building criteria for green construction has been met.

All three brands have developed a company sustainability program and are using the stores as testing grounds for further green building efforts.

McDonald's approached its green building project as an educational experience — for the company and for USBGC.

The Chicago-area store looks like the typical McDonald's prototype but has green features, such as a storm water management system and a vegetative green roof. Before the company replicates those green attributes throughout the system, executives will study the return on investment for those features as well as the overall energy savings for the entire store.

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McDonald's corporate policy has required installation of Energy Star-rated kitchen equipment for years. So the green store focused on increasing energy efficiency further, adding high efficiency hot water boilers and an energy management system that will help the company study and extrapolate the store's energy usage and savings.

"All of that obviously has a reduced impact on the environment, which is a great thing," said John Rockwell, sustainability manager for U.S. restaurant design for McDonald's. "So I think there are several benefits to educating ourselves about this and understanding it for our future business."

Seeing the difference green makes

Subway also wanted to learn the benefits of building green. The company's first LEED-certified store, known as an Eco-Store, opened in Kissimmee, Fla., in November 2007, and received its certification in October. The chain has four other Eco-Stores, three of which are pending LEED certification.

Elizabeth Stewart, Subway marketing director who is involved in the brand's sustainability efforts, said the company has already begun incorporating some of the Eco-Stores' proven features into new store design specifications.

The Kissimmee store features solar tubes that replace indoor lighting with sunlight on sunny days as well as high efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Subway franchisee Peter DiPasqua Jr., CEO of DiPasqua Enterprises, which owns the Kissimmee store, agreed to build one store to LEED standards and another to conventional standards so the company could compare results.

He said the biggest difference between the two stores was during construction, particularly with how the sites were kept and even smelled. The rules for site maintenance were more stringent at the green building site, and odors were reduced by using only low volatile organic compound paints and adhesives.

"There was no construction smell (in the LEED certified store)," DiPasqua said. "The differences were just huge."

Finding the ROI

All three brands recognize the environmental benefits of building green. Still, they are determining the projects' ROI before moving on to more LEED-certified stores.

The Dunkin' Donuts green store, in St. Petersburg, Fla., opened in October with LEED certification and includes such features as energy-efficient insulated concrete foam walls as well as an on-site earthworm casting facility to facilitate composting.

Dan Lavender, construction manager for Dunkin' Brands Inc., said that it's too early to determine the store's ROI, but he expects it to come in energy savings thanks to the insulating concrete foam walls.

"We do know, for example, that LEED-certified buildings (that) have energy-efficient insulated concrete foam walls do reduce heating and air conditioning usage by up to 40 percent," Lavender said.

DiPasqua said it cost 20 percent more to build his Subway Eco-Store to LEED standards than the traditional construction did. But he expects to achieve a return on investment of 15 percent annually, mostly in energy and water savings.

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He said his franchise system does plan to build more Eco-Stores, and he anticipates Subway will duplicate some of the features in stores throughout the chain. However, he's unsure if he will continue to seek LEED certification.

"Without a doubt, there's elements we will be duplicating in all our future stores. As far as LEED certification, we'll have to see," DiPasqua said. "It's quite expensive for a small restaurant like this to each time have to start over."

Customer response to the Subway Eco-Store has been strong.

"It was a bigger deal than I thought it would be to the customers," DiPasqua said. "They thought we were being responsible business people, they don't mind separating all their trash in the recycle bins, and they overall have given us a big thumbs-up."

DiPasqua was also surprised at the higher sales average at the Eco-Store, which is 34 percent higher than another Subway down the street. But he said he can't attribute the sales difference to the store's green qualities.

"We know the customers love it, and it's probably helping with frequency, but we're not sure what to make of the rest of it. I wouldn't want to overstate the sales part," he said.