What you must know about how going 'green' can impact QSRs
There are several factors that QSRs must consider in becoming eco-friendly.
To help reduce the negative impact of buildings in the environment, many are now developing a conscious approach towards more environmentally sustainable designs, buildings, and processes.
KFC Australia for example, recently unveiled their first ever ‘green’ store at East Maitland, New South Wales.
QSR Media spoke with Wayne Billings, Director of Shape Shopfitters, to know more about this up and coming trend in the QSR industry.
QSR Media: What key characteristics should an environmentally sustainable building possess?
Billings: Some areas that need to be considered during the design phase is the impact on the environment of finishes and fixtures.
Thermal mass and insulating qualities of floors, external walls and roof linings along with the amount of glazing and potentially double glazing is probably the most obvious area to look but there are also significant environmental sustainability gains to be achieved when we consider where the actual raw materials are coming from.
QSR Media: What kind of extra cost are incurred and what kind of payback can you achieve?
Billings: If we consider insulating properties of external linings as an example, The initial outlay is often more than the less efficient option, but in the medium to longer term the dollar value savings are made in the efficiencies of heating and cooling.
The environment is the big winner though as there is less natural resource being burned. If we can achieve this on a global scale the sustainability of our natural resources is significantly increased.
QSR Media: What are its benefits and disadvantages, and how big of an impact can this make for QSRs?
Billings: QSR’s have many options to consider in regard to environmental sustainability even though, more often than not, the actual building shell will be out of their control.
For example, when looking at cooking equipment and assessing not only the functional performance required to the operation but also considering how energy efficient they are, and what impact that has to the environment can make a big difference.
Especially when we look at a QSR that’s a big national or international operation. Recycled materials are also a huge winner for environmental sustainability.
Let's look at timber wall, floor or furniture finishes.
The difference between selecting a new ‘off the shelf’ hardwood or a recycled/reclaimed hardwood has benefits that most of us would not be aware of.
Firstly the new timber finish starts as a tree. Its cut down and then transported to Mill burning a lot of natural resource and causing carbon emissions (diesel etc).
Once at the mill it needs to be machined stacked and air dried, then eventually it is put into a gas or steam fired kiln, again, using a huge amount of fuel and taxing the environment.
It is then machined again loaded and transported to the timber yard for sale (more power diesel and carbon emissions).
The recycled option has already been through this process some years before. It has generally served its purpose and is now part of a demolition project and destined for land fill.
Again this is not the best for our environment. Instead of ending up as landfill the timbers are extracted from the demolition materials and reclaimed to be used again.
At Shape we have turned many demolished and unwanted materials into beautiful recycled servery counters or communal tables. The benefits to our environment in choosing recycled and pretty clear to see.
QSR Media: What are the challenges that QSRs might face when developing ‘green’ projects?
Billings: Sourcing the materials can sometimes be difficult and often when the supply and demand ratios are out the price gets driven up. So they are not really a cheaper option.
In many cases QSRs need to look at cost saving measures wherever they can but in my opinion, the use of recycled material and paying a small premium to look after our environment is one well worth pursuing.
