Restaurant Brands International has revealed its roadmap to reaching new emissions goals approved by the Science Based Target Initiative.
The owner of Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% (compared to a 2019 baseline) by 2030, and hit net-zero emissions by or before 2050.
According to the company, 81.7% of its emissions are “scope 3” emissions (indirect emissions) from its food and service suppliers. The majority of that (58%) is from protein – beef, chickens, pork, eggs and so on – with 12% coming from dairy, 8% from oils and grains and 6% from packaging.
To that end, a big part of the company’s roadmap to achieving its goals is expanding its use of regenerative agriculture practices that return carbon from the atmosphere to the earth, as well as a grasslands restoration project. It is also exploring feed additives that can reduce methane emissions from cattle, as well as ways to make them more accessible.
“Scope 1” emissions are direct emissions from fuel and refrigerant usage by RBI-owned facilities and vehicles, while “scope 2” emissions are indirect emissions from electricity and steam usage by RBI’s owned facilities and vehicles – which, combined, represent 0.2% of total emissions. However, franchise emissions are categorized under “Scope 3” and represent 14.% of total emissions.
To that end, this year, RBI will also be testing new energy-efficient equipment, with pilots running in at least one location per brand before the end of the year. In 2022, it plans to implement them at new and remodelled locations, before incorporating them into its global design standards.
The company also plans to derive 100% of its electricity in corporate offices, corporate-owned restaurant locations, distribution centres and manufacturing facilities from renewable sources by next year, with 50% of electricity used by franchises coming from renewable sources by 2030.
To further reduce the emissions from fuel usage, RBI plans to transition the entirety of its corporate car fleet to electric by 2030, with over 70% of its delivery trucks moving to electric in the same timeframe.
Between its 27,000 restaurants globally, the company expects the plan to reduce its carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 25.4 million metric tons by 2030, compared to if it maintained business as usual. That’s the equivalent of taking 5.5 million passenger cars off the road for a year.
The company’s targets were approved by the Science Based Target Initiative. The initiative is a joint effort by the CDP, United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature to provide best practices for the corporate sector in reducing its environmental impact, as well as evaluate sustainability plans for effectiveness in helping to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.