The Wendy's Co. has announced targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 47% across its system, including company operations, franchisees and top suppliers, by 2030 through new science-based targets.
The Dublin, Ohio-based burger brand announced near-term targets to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and said the goals were recently approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Wendy's estimated that achieving the goal would avoid about 7.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent compared to business as usual, which is equal to removing more than 1.5 million gas-powered vehicles from the road in a single year.
“We recognize our role in using resources and energy, and we continue to prioritize delivering more to our customers with a smaller environmental footprint,” said Liliana Esposito, chief corporate affairs and sustainability office, in a statement.
“With our newly validated science-based targets,” Esposito said, “we have completed our climate roadmap nearly a year ahead of schedule, accelerating our journey to mitigate our climate impact.”
Wendy's Scope 1 and 2 science-based target aims to reduce emissions within company operations at a pace consistent with keeping warming below 1.5 degrees centigrade, which the company said aligns to the latest science, based on findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Luiz Amaral, CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative, commented: "We now need more corporate actors to set ambitious targets like Wendy's."
In setting its Scope 3 science-based targets, Wendy's identified two areas of focus for emissions reductions: purchased goods and franchised restaurants.
Purchased goods, such as food and packaging, represent nearly 85% of the system's Scope 3 emissions, while Wendy's more than 6,500 franchised restaurants contribute approximately 10% of Scope 3 emissions.
Wendy's has identified areas of focus to reduce emissions that include:
- Identifying projects that enable a renewable energy transition, soil health restoration and manure management.
- Collaborating with suppliers to identify ways to reduce emissions or sequester carbon in their operations.
- Developing a renewable electricity procurement strategy across the Wendy's system. The company is participating in Duke Energy Florida's Clean Energy Connection pilot program, which supplies select company restaurants with solar energy.
- Increasing unit efficiency and energy savings by Partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative to benchmark utility data for company restaurants and franchisees.
- Improving energy efficiency through equipment retrofits and upgrades in company-operated restaurants and at Wendy's Restaurant Support Center.
- Leveraging Wendy's Global Next Gen design standard for new restaurant builds, which is about 10% more energy efficient than Wendy's most common existing restaurant format.
- Transitioning company-operated restaurants and Wendy's Restaurant Support Center to use refrigerants with a lower global warming potential, while sharing best practices for franchisee adoption.
Wendy’s in 2021 plotted its climate roadmap with the goal of establishing a science-based target and interim milestones for completion by the end of 2023. Milestones included benchmarking, tracking and reducing Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 GHG emissions and reporting to the CDP (originally known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) Climate Change Disclosure, a not-for-profit charity that runs a global system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.
The climate actions contribute to the footprint pillar of the company's broader corporate responsibility platform, “Good Done Right.”
Wendy's, founded in 1969, has about 7,000 restaurants worldwide.
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