Dive Brief:
- McDonald’s and the five member companies comprising the chain’s North American Logistics Council will buy renewable electricity from Enel North America’s Blue Jay solar project, according to a press release published Wednesday.
- McDonald’s logistics partners will purchase an estimated 470,000 megawatt hours of solar power per year once the Blue Jay Solar project, located in Grimes County, Texas, is completed in 2023.
- The deal would mean McDonald’s logistical supply chain, including all warehouses and distribution centers, would be powered by renewable energy, Bloomberg reports.
Dive Insight:
The companies say the amount of power McDonald’s supply chain partners will buy from Enel North America would be enough to power over 900 McDonald’s restaurants and could save 170,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
“This deal is a unique example of how McDonald's and its logistics partners are combining efforts to leverage their reach and scale to tackle supply chain emissions together,” Bob Stewart, McDonald’s SVP and chief supply chain officer, North America, said in a statement.
The chain’s North American Logistics Council, which includes Armada, Earp Distribution, Martin Brower, Mile Hi Foods and The Anderson-DuBose Company, said collaboration between firms along the supply chain was the only way to meaningfully reduce emissions at many businesses.
In 2021, McDonald’s announced it planned to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Earlier this year, the chain agreed to buy enough solar power from EDF Renewables North America to power about 1,200 restaurants.
