McDonald’s Corp. and its suppliers signed a deal to buy enough solar energy to power all the warehouses, distribution centres and other elements of the logistical supply chain that serves its U.S. restaurants.
The Chicago-based fast-food chain and five logistics partners signed agreements to buy about 190 megawatts of power from the Blue Jay Solar farm that the Italian power giant Enel SPA is building about 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Houston, Enel and McDonald’s told Bloomberg News. That’s enough to run about 38,000 Texas homes.
Enel, based in Rome, has been making a big push building renewables and battery storage in Texas and last month became a power retailer in Texas for the first time.
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The deal represents a relatively small step in McDonald’s push to cut greenhouse emissions by 36% by 2030 and become net zero by 2050, according to the company.
The majority of McDonald’s massive supply chain emissions are from purchasing goods and services, such as beef, cheese and pork. The operation of restaurant franchisees represents less than 15% of supply chain emissions.
To go after the bigger emissions, the fast-food giant has been experimenting with selling more plant-based items, including a burger made by Beyond Meat Inc., to serve more climate-friendly food and appeal to younger consumers. But results have been mixed.
In the US, the chain began testing the meat alternative late last year in certain restaurants but has yet to roll it out to all of its more than 13,000 US locations.
