DUBLIN, Ohio — The Wendy’s Co. announced it has joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Better Buildings Challenge with a commitment to reduce energy consumption in U.S. company-owned restaurants by 20 percent per transaction by 2025.

The Better Buildings Challenge aims to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade. This would result in saving hundreds of billions of dollars on energy bills as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating jobs.

“Our restaurant development team has worked for several years to help our restaurants use energy more efficiently, and to share our best practices with our franchise community,” said Abigail Pringle, chief development officer for The Wendy’s Co. “We are excited to make this public commitment with the Better Buildings Challenge and look forward to showcasing our progress in the future. Energy conservation makes good business sense, and it is a reflection of the responsibility we feel to be a good neighbor and steward of our environment.”

Wendy’s noted that it is a strong advocate of energy conservation and sustainability. Beginning more than six years ago, the restaurant company built two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certified restaurants, one in Bridgeton, Missouri, and the other in Atlanta, to gain critical knowledge and explore the possibility of incorporating energy conservation efforts in new and existing restaurants. Further, the Thomas Building and Conference Center, constructed in 2012 and located on the campus of the Wendy’s Restaurant Support Center in Dublin, Ohio, was awarded LEED Silver certification in spring 2013 for designing and constructing a building to sustainable standards including energy efficient lighting, HVAC, and converting the parking lighting to LED. At more than 75,000 square feet in size, the building houses a 6,500-square-foot conference space, offices, and the company’s state-of-the-art fitness center.

Over the past three years, Wendy’s has made significant progress in reducing energy use by implementing more than 1,100 individual energy upgrade projects at more than 550 restaurants. These projects include upgrading HVAC systems, installing more efficient motors in walk-in coolers, and the installation of LED lights for the interior and exterior. These actions have saved more than 13 million kilowatt hours (kWh), which, for comparison, translates into the amount of electricity to power nearly 1,200 average U.S. homes for a year.

For more information about the Better Buildings program, visit http://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov.

Publication date: 2/11/2016

Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!