Chipotle Plans Major Solar Power Initiative
20 Octubre 2009 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) (NYSE: CMG.B) announced today
it is partnering with Houston-based Standard Renewable Energy (SRE)
to install solar panels on approximately 75 Chipotle restaurants
over the next year. In all, Chipotle has committed to panels that
will produce 500 kilowatt hours of electricity, making Chipotle the
largest direct producer of solar energy in the restaurant
industry.
“Our effort to change the way people think about and eat fast
food began with our commitment to serving food made with
ingredients from more sustainable sources, and that same kind of
thinking now influences all areas of our business,” said Steve
Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “Today, we’re
following a similar path in the way we design and build
restaurants, looking for more environmentally friendly building
materials and systems that make our restaurants more
efficient.”
Solar panel installations are already underway in select cities
including Denver, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio. Markets and
restaurants where solar may be used is based on a formula that
includes a restaurant’s electricity consumption, local utility
solar rebates, and its access to direct sunlight.
The intent of Chipotle’s solar initiative is to reduce the
restaurants’ traditional energy consumption during peak hours for
energy use (from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), when pressure on the energy
grid is greatest. The amount of power produced through the solar
program will eliminate more than 41 million pounds of CO2
emissions.
”Chipotle has recognized an eco-friendly method of reducing its
operating costs while reducing its carbon footprint,” said Standard
Renewable Energy CEO John Berger. “By applying solar, each
individual restaurant will be decreasing its reliance on the local
grid and fossil fuels and supplementing it with clean, renewable
energy. This is just another way Chipotle is leading the restaurant
industry in sustainability.”
In addition to this new solar panel initiative, Chipotle was the
first restaurant ever to receive Platinum level LEED® certification
– the highest level – by the U.S. Green Building Council for its
Gurnee, Ill., restaurant that features an on-site wind turbine and
an underground cistern to harvest rainwater for irrigation.
Chipotle also has a LEED certified restaurant in Long Island, N.Y.,
and a third restaurant that is pending certification in
Minneapolis. All of Chipotle’s new restaurants include some
environmentally friendly materials or systems, including low VOC
paints and sealants, recycled drywall and stainless steel,
photocell light controls that regulate electric lighting based on
availability of natural lighting, or low-E window glass that helps
reduce heating and cooling needs.
Chipotle’s pursuit of more sustainable building options is an
extension of a philosophy it calls “Food with Integrity” that has
the company pursuing ingredients from more sustainable sources.
This commitment has led Chipotle to serve more naturally raised
meat (from animals raised in a humane way, never given antibiotics
or added hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet) than any other
restaurant company. It also maintains significant commitments to
serving organic and locally grown produce, and cheese and sour
cream made with milk from cows that are never given the synthetic
hormone rBGH.
About Chipotle
Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with
the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast
food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu
of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla)
and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared
using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive
atmosphere. Through our vision of Food with Integrity, Chipotle is
seeking better food not only from using fresh ingredients, but
ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with
respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the
food. Chipotle opened its first restaurant in 1993 and currently
operates nearly 900 restaurants. For more information, visit
Chipotle.com.
About Standard Renewable Energy
Founded in 2006, Standard Renewable Energy (SRE) is the nation’s
largest Distributed Energy Services Company (DESCO) and leading
provider of energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy
solutions for homes, businesses and government entities. Products
and services include solar and wind energy systems, energy
monitoring services, energy audits, high-efficiency heating and
cooling products, high efficiency insulation and lighting, solar
window film, and more. For further information visit their website
at www.sre3.com.
Chipotle Mexican Grill CL B (NYSE:CMG.B)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De May 2024 a Jun 2024
Chipotle Mexican Grill CL B (NYSE:CMG.B)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Jun 2023 a Jun 2024