First off; full disclosure. I love Chipotle! Where else can you get fast food that’s healthy, delicious, fairly priced, locally sourced (in some locations), organic (~20% at the moment) and most importantly hormone/preservative/antibiotic-free? Not only is Chipotle’s food good, but the company itself is consistently making strides to make itself a greener operation.
In addition to its introduction of compostable cutlery, purchasing of wind power offsets and raising awareness about industrial farming with its sponsorship of free screenings of the eye-opening documentary Food Inc., Chipotle is now outfitting 75 stores with solar power to further its ever-expanding green goals. The stores, located in Denver, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, will be outfitted with solar PV systems that in total will produce 500 kWh of electricity per day; making the restaurant chain the largest single producer of solar electricity in the industry.
The intent of this initiative is to not only provide individual stores with a more sustainable and cleaner source of power, but to also reduce their energy consumption during peak hours when the electrical grid, and electricity prices, are at a maximum. The solar initiative will also prevent an estimated 41 million pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere every year. The project should be completed over the next year.
The Good: A significantly sized solar power initiative that’s going to reduce operating costs as well as tons of CO2 emissions.
The Bad: Only on 75 stores in the Southwest.
The Bottom-Line: An environmentally responsible company that continues to expand its eco-goals and sustainability objectives.
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