Burgers, fries and CSR….this sounds more like a happy meal

When you think of sustainable business models with an emphasis on recycling, low environmental impact and an overall healthy approach one of the last businesses that might cross your mind would be a fast food restaurant. We’re not going to pretend that it will ever be the healthiest way to eat but on many counts the Burgerville chain in the Pacific Northwest scores high, certainly higher than many of the fast food chains in my neighbourhood. Oregon and Washington have long been the regional leader in the US for eco-friendly lifestyles so it comes as no surprise that Burgerville has its origins in Vancouver, Washington.

The burger house shows that any business can be extremely green in its practices if the commitment is made. For example every restaurant in the 39 location chain is entirely supplied with energy via wind power, as are the company headquarters. The chain uses nothing other than trans fat-free canola oil and then converts more than 7,000 gallons per month into biodiesel fuel. They also now compost food waste which has reduced their waste by over 85% and saved a substantial amount of money. This is a chain that even renovated each drive-through window at every location to accommodate cyclists!

In addition to better business practices they offer a high ratio of locally grown produce and healthier natural choices than your average hamburger provider. You can’t zip into McDonalds and get locally grown salad with smoked salmon and Oregon walnuts. That sounds far more like a happy meal to me. Regionally focused milkshakes with local fruits are another seasonal favourite with flavours that represent the local pumpkins, hazelnuts, blackberries and raspberries.  The landscape of Oregon and Washington has been a great match for Burgerville with excellent agricultural resources at hand and a demographic that work and play outdoors and support green business in ever growing numbers.  I don’t have room to list the entire menu but encourage you to look and see that fast food can be good food, roasted portobello focaccia sandwiches for example belie the fact that this is fast food. Better still more than 70% of their food is locally sourced and sustainable.

Being a burger place they do of course have to offer hamburgers, but the beef is provided by Country Natural Beef  who raise, manage, and distribute beef using humane practices and sustainable land management. In addition the animals consume a 100% vegetarian diet, including native grasses and seeded pastures, and are grown without hormones or antibiotics. Apart from the food the biggest difference a fast food chain could make might be their packaging, well how about a compostable soda cup and lid? They are even trying that out.

“We’re giddy with excitement here at Burgerville today with the official launch of our new, commercially compostable soda cups – especially since we’re the first restaurant chain of our type in the nation to launch them company-wide! The launch of Burgerville’s new, compostable ecotainer® soft drink cups and lids, in cooperation with our sustainability colleagues at International Paper and Coca-Cola, represents the last major component of our packaging waste stream to go compostable.  The program isn’t perfect yet, and we still have a few non-recyclable or compostable challenges ahead of us, like plastic and foil ketchup and dressing packs, but the soda cups were the last big component to divert out of the landfill”

Hopefully they’ll grow and grow as the idea is right and just writing this has made me hungry.