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McDonald's saving 2.6M metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually

McDonald's will use wind and solar projects to prevent the emission of greenhouse gases in numerous states. (Photo: iStock)

December 8, 2020

McDonald's has completed three virtual power purchase agreements to help create a pair of wind farms and a series of solar projects in four states, according to an email from the brand. The Chicago-based QSR said its goal was to provide more renewable energy to the grid.

The solar projects in Illinois, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Ohio will combine with the wind farm to help McDonald's prevent about 2.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted per year. That's equivalent to taking 500,000 cars off the road for one year, the brand said.

Further, the agreements will build on two prior virtual power purchase agreement commitments made by McDonald's USA in 2019. Combined, the five wind and solar projects will have a total capacity of 1,130 megawatts, which is enough to power about 8,000 McDonald's restaurants.

The impact of the deals also represents a big step toward McDonald's global restaurants and offices climate action target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36% by 2030. Once online, the emissions reductions from all five deals will take the brand approximately halfway to its target, which builds on its past progress sourcing renewable energy in several European markets.