I’m Lovin’ It

By Rachel Tanis

Recently in Chicago, McDonald’s unveiled their newest restaurant design, aimed at countering all of the nasty attacks it has faced for not being green enough. McDonald’s has been the target of scrutiny for the litany of litter found scattered among highways and roadsides across America. It seems that popular sentiment finds it necessary to tag the nation’s largest fast food restaurant as the sole antagonist in the fight against roadway litter.

Never mind the fact that there are countless fast food restaurants, and even more businesses, which use similar bags and wrappers to enclose their goods. And never mind the fact that it is the patrons of the restaurant, and not the restaurant itself, that scatters the trash. All of this seems to be irrelevant when the media slams the fast food giant for its so-called environmental atrocities.

Lucky for the rest of us, the company chose to respond to these allegations, not with improved product packaging (since most of it is already made with recycled materials), but with an all-new store design that features environmentally-friendly features.

The store has green qualities like a heating source that runs off of the steam and heat captured in the kitchen. Water run-off from rain in the parking lot drains through the newly designed permeable pavement to an underground well that feeds the sprinkler system instead of relying on processed, filtered city water. The entire store is filled with equipment designed to maximize efficiency. Skylights adorn the ceiling of the dining room, while water-saving toilets can be found in the public restrooms. A green “vegetable” roof covers the top of the building. Special parking spots have been designated for hybrid and electric cars.

The Chicago store is the newest in a fleet of green restaurants that McDonald’s began constructing way back in 2000. The first environmentally focused building opened in Sweden that year. In 2009, the company plans to open green stores in Brazil, Canada and France. Each time they build a green restaurant the company stretches to reach new environmental initiatives, adding challenges to its previous designs to continue to improve upon its own designs. The company hopes to continue the green expansion around the globe and encourages its current stores to take steps to go green. Now that’s a plan that you can really sink your teeth into!