Sustainability the way to go

Fast food is not an industry usually associated with sustainability, but owner Rob Parry hopes initiatives at Rotorua McDonald's will lead the way.

As foundation members of the Rotorua Sustainable Business Charter, McDonald's has undergone an extensive sustainability assessment and brought in new practices that are already providing economic returns.

McDonald's scored well in corporate and social responsibility and Parry said he was excited by the recommendations in areas such as energy consumption and recycling.

"Some changes do not cost anything and some even save us money, which is the real benefit for business."

He and McDonald's Te Ngae restaurant manager Ethan Gordon have been able to reduce energy consumption by 10 per cent in just three months by matching the number of vats and other cooking appliances in use to the expected demand on each day of the week.

This logic was also applied to other areas such as turning off lights in the children's playground at night when there were no children in the restaurant or when natural daylight was sufficient.

Recycling of cardboard and some plastics in work areas has also proved a winner.

"We used to have three rubbish pick-ups a week here at Te Ngae. Now we are down to two - that will save me about $1000 a year."

Incorporating recycling into customer areas of the restaurants and reducing water consumption are areas he wants to look at in the future.

From next year, sustainability policies and initiatives will be included in all staff orientations so employees are immersed in the concept from day one.

"We will start seeing the real benefits in years two, three and four of our plans, once that culture becomes established.

"This is quite a paradigm shift in fast food," he said.

"If you talk to people about sustainability in business, McDonald's probably isn't at the top of their minds. Hopefully this will cause them to have a rethink."

Parry said demonstrating the savings made through sustainability initiatives in his Rotorua restaurants could see some of these pitched to the wider McDonald's group.