News

March 20, 2009

Carl's Jr. Opens 'Lab' to Test Possible Green Solutions

The Carl’s Jr. burger chain is shifting its green efforts to the store level by opening a prototype restaurant where conservation initiatives can be tested for possible systemwide adoption.

The new unit, located about two miles from the chain’s Carpinteria, Calif., headquarters, features such energy-saving measures as roofing that reflects sunlight and heat to lighten the load on air conditioners. A computerized energy-management system constantly monitors and adjusts the temperatures of various zones. Lights also are controlled by the automated technology, ensuring lamps are turned on and off according to need and even the parking lot lights are LEDs, which use far less electricity than conventional lamps.

The unit’s kitchen equipment is all Energy Star-rated, according to the chain’s parent, CKE Restaurants, which also is based in Carpinteria.

Water-conservation initiatives include a rainwater-capture system coupled with an irrigation setup that monitors ground moisture to determine when more water is actually warranted.

Other advances include a high-tech emissions-control system that converts particulate matter from the unit’s charbroiler into carbon dioxide and water. CKE says the system reduces the output of smoke and odors.

CKE CEO Andrew Puzder says the green features of the new store will not yield enough savings to pay for the unit’s higher construction costs, but adds that the chain’s first fully green store “will help us view our eco-friendly options in action.”

The unit was converted from a closed family restaurant, which cut the construction cost, Puzder noted. He also mentioned that a perch was built into the new building to provide a rest stop for a hawk that lives in the area.

CKE noted that some of the new restaurant’s green systems and features are already in place at some of Carl’s Jr.’s 1,185 units and some of the 1,912 outlets of its sister chain, Hardee’s. For instance, Energy Star equipment is used in all company stores and new units elsewhere are also outfitted with heat-reflecting roofs.

CKE has been striving to conserve on a corporate level through such measures as buying food packages and cups made in part from recycled paper. It is currently rolling out paper bags made exclusively from recycled paper to both its chains.

Paper use is being cut by a switch to more electronic documents for communications with shareholders and employees, while oil from the burger concepts’ fryers is being turned into biodiesel, says CKE. The company did not quantify how much energy or water it anticipates saving at the new green prototype.