Green On Green: Drive-thru Green
Northwest Fast Food Chain Leads Sustainability Cause
As with many industries, the charge toward green in the fast food trade is being led by the little guy. Burgerville, a 39-store chain in the Pacific Northwest, invests heavily in wind-powered energy, organic farming, and biodiesel.
Company Profile:
Home grown from its first restaurant in Vancouver, Washington which opened in by George Propstra in 1961, Burgerville now operates 39 company-owned stores throughout Oregon and Washington. The chain employs 1,560 restaurant staff and a corporate team of 40. It serves all-natural beef burgers with locally-famous Tillamook cheddar cheese, Walla Walla onion rings, North Pacific halibut filet sandwiches, and fries prepared in transfat-free oil.
Green Burgers:
Three years ago, Burgerville underwent a green overhaul. The company decided to buy all its 35,000 pounds per week of beef from the Country Natural Beef Co-op whose members raise cattle without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones.
The overhaul continued in 2005 when Burgerville signed agreements to purchase wind power for all its facilities.
Then the company instituted a program to convert cooking oil into biodiesel. Each month, Burgerville restaurants send a combined 7,500 gallons of cooking and frying oil to be converted to 6,400 gallons of clean-burning biodiesel.
Beefy Returns:
Since launching its greening initiatives, Burgerville has received the Green Business Award from The Sierra Club. Its wind power purchases have eliminated 17.4 million pounds of carbon emissions annually – the equivalent of taking 1,700 cars off the road. Company officials won’t discuss earnings, but do acknowledge that the company is growing and has its sights on the Seattle market.
Editor’s note:
Although I am on the life long quest for the best darn burger in the world, I have yet to try any Burgerville Burgers or visit any of their stores. If any of you have, let us know.
Monday, April 2, 2007
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