McDonald’s Malaysia Managing Director and Operating Partner, Azmir Jaafar, said: “As a company and brand with an extensive global footprint, we have a responsibility to improve people’s lives and the environment. We want to use our Scale for Good strategy to achieve this objective and we will keep raising the bar on what it means to be a responsible company committed to people and the planet.”
“As a testament of our commitment, I’m pleased to note that the McDonald’s Setia Alam drive-thru restaurant has thus far successfully reduced overall power consumption by 25 per cent which is equivalent to a reduction of 12,699 kg CO2 emission per month,” added Azmir at the grand opening of the Setia Alam restaurant in Shah Alam.
Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Seri Ir. Dr. Zaini bin Ujang, Secretary General to the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology & Water, who graced the event on behalf of the Minister, acknowledged McDonald’s commitment to environmental sustainability and the various initiatives that are undertaken.
“McDonald’s Malaysia’s commitment to environmental sustainability should be applauded. While this is a global initiative, I’m pleased to see that McDonald’s Malaysia has taken a proactive stance by investing in green technology solutions and embracing innovative ideas that not only helps minimise the restaurant’s carbon footprint in the country but also contribute towards a more efficiently operated business that others should emulate,” said Dato’ Seri Zaini.
The Setia Alam restaurant is one of McDonald’s latest restaurants that is fitted with green technology solutions such as solar photovoltaic roofing, indoor LED lights, thermal solar water heater, rain water harvesting system, smart thermostat and hybrid air-conditioning system.
McDonald’s Malaysia has also taken a major step forward in fuel consumption with the use of biodiesel as an alternative fuel in the fleet of dispatch trucks operated by its appointed logistics services provider, Martin Brower. For this, Smart Tanks have been installed at its restaurants for collection of used cooking oil which will be processed into biodiesel by FatHopes Energy.
McDonald’s Malaysia is also committed to other sustainability efforts as part of the company’s global Scale for Good strategy. This includes waste management, water supplies and consumption management, packaging and recycling initiatives, as well as responsible sourcing.
For instance, under packaging and recycling initiatives, McDonald’s Malaysia has successfully eliminated the use of foam packaging in all restaurants three years ago. All restaurants have also significantly reduced usage of plastics bags and plastic lids by approximately 43 million pieces per annum, which translates to about 50,000 kg of plastic material. Furthermore, all current customer paper packaging used in McDonald’s restaurants are made with 100 per cent recyclable fibre material.
In the area of responsible sourcing, McDonald’s Malaysia is committed to use only RSPO-certified palm oil. Other food supplies such as coffee beans are also sourced responsibly following strict guidelines and principles that are similar to the RSPO criteria. Additionally, the fish that are used in McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish burgers come from a source that is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Azmir said all the ongoing initiatives in Malaysia are in line with McDonald’s global vision of creating a positive impact on the communities, societies and the planet by using the Scale for Good strategy, which is McDonald’s global approach to sustainability.
“Globally, McDonald’s is pushing the use of Scale for Good in a big way, leveraging on the scale and size of McDonald’s business around the world, and collaborating with millions of customers, employees, franchisees, suppliers and other partners for impact. In this way, we believe we can drive change, so they become tomorrow’s standard,” he added.
McDonald’s Setia Alam Drive-Thru: Key Green Sustainability Initiatives & Features
1. Roofing System Integrated with Solar Photovoltaic
The Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) roofing works by converting sun light to electricity. As such, the Solar PV that is installed at Setia Alam DT’s rooftop has a capacity to generate about 14 kWp. The generated power is used for the restaurant’s own consumption, hence reducing direct energy consumption from the utility. In addition to that, the generation of electricity from Solar PV also contributes to the reduction of carbon footprint of about 1,153.75kgCo2e per month.
Estimated savings: 19,710 kW/annum (approximate savings of RM10,032 per annum in electricity bill and reduction of 14,723.37 kgCO2e per annum)
2. Thermal Solar Water Heater
The thermal solar water heater absorbs heat from the sun to increase the water temperature. Since it is using the heat from the sun, this reduces the use of electricity. The heated water is used for sanitation purposes by the restaurant. The installed equipment is able to generate savings of about 6kW/h/day. The use of the thermal solar water heater also contributes to a reduction of carbon footprint of about 50.7 kgCo2e per month.
Estimated savings: 6 kW/h/day (approximate reduction of 1,075.6kgCO2e per month)
3. Rain Water Harvesting System
All McDonald’s DT restaurants are installed with a rain water harvesting tank. This tank collects rain water and uses it for irrigation purposes.
Estimated savings: 300 litres of water/month
4. Water Faucets
Traditional water faucets release more water. Since the faucets do not disperse water to an open radius, it contributes to water wastage. The Setia Alam DT restaurant uses a spray-type faucet. This allows limited water disposal and therefore reduces water wastage by about 32 per cent. In addition to that, it also contributes to faster drying time since the water spray faucet distributes water evenly.
Estimated savings: 3 litres of water per minute
5. LED Lighting
LED lighting has brighter lumens and consumes less electricity. The usage of LED lighting diminishes inductive elements and therefore dissipates less heat. LED lighting usage is also environmentally friendly because it reduces global warming.
Estimated savings: 40% reduction in electricity bills
6. Capture Jet + Restaurant Air Balancing
Capture jet technology is used at fryers to eliminate effluent heat, smoke and greasy vapours during the frying and grilling process. As it does this, it captures the heat from the fryer. This ensures the exhaust system is optimized and contributes towards a reduction in air conditioning utilization.
Estimated savings: 15% reduction in usage of HVAC system & 20% reduction in utilisation of exhaust system
7. HVAC System
R410A gas is known to be environmentally friendly gas. McDonald’s air-cond refrigerants are using R410A gas. This gas is also known as ‘0’ ozone depletion refrigerant. Hence, our HVAC system reduces global warming and at the same time offers better cooling to the rooms. We also utilize smart thermostats which are time-based temperature set-points that helps conserve energy. It basically measures the temperature in a room and adjusts the temperature accordingly to prevent over-cooling.
Estimated savings: 200 kw/month (approximately 15 per cent reduction in electricity bill)
8. Hybrid Air-conditioning System
This system harvests power from both electricity and waste heat generated from the condensing unit itself. The heat from the condensing unit helps to increase the refrigerant’s pressure and temperature. Thus, it reduces the work of compressor which results in reduction of energy usage. The hybrid air-conditioning system also uses R410A gas which is environmentally friendly.
Estimated savings: 25% – 30% energy savings compared against traditional air-conditioning system (approximate reduction of 7,359.62 kgCo2e per month)
9. Used Cooking Oil to Bio-diesel
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel made from virgin vegetable oil or used vegetable oil. Even animal fats like beef tallow and fish oil can be used to make biodiesel fuel.
McDonald’s restaurants have has installed Smart Tanks which are used for collection of used cooking oil. This used cooking oil is converted into bio-diesel by FatHopes Energy and used by the dispatch trucks owned by logistics services provider, Martin Brower, which delivers supplies to McDonald’s restaurants.
Estimated savings: Reduction in 17% GHGe/km for truck which uses B15 Biodiesel produced from McDonald’s used cooking oil.
