By Dave Bean, FMW Associate Editor
Restaurant Brands International (RBI) is one of world’s largest fast-food companies and has been an active participant in global corporate sustainability for a number of years. Their initiatives include measures on climate change and packaging, as well as recycling and responsible sourcing. And now, that level of responsibility has led the corporate giant to transition nearly one-third of its Burger King field team in the United States from driving gasoline-powered vehicles to more environmentally conscious EVs.
Those impacted by the change work primarily across sixteen states and are part of a critical workforce that serves as the frontline between Burger King corporate offices and local restaurant franchisees. Individual field team members average 1500 miles driven per month, equating to tens-of-thousands of miles driven by the unit on a monthly basis. RBI says they anticipate reducing this team’s carbon footprint by 50% by 2030.
“Franchisee success is the end goal of everything our field team does, and restaurant visits are critical to this partnership,” said Jeromy Gwin, BK Corporate Franchise Business Partner. “I’m proud to work for a company that allows me to do my job in a more sustainable way.”
To accomplish the goal of electrifying much of its traveling workforce and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, RBI and Burger King reached out to Element Fleet Management, which has its own well-established track record of corporate sustainability across the globe.
“It was instantly clear Burger King is serious about following through with their commitments and finding solutions that have long-term payoff and positive impact on the environment,” said David Madrigal, Chief Commercial Officer at Element Fleet Management. “The brand’s enthusiasm for the goal, combined with the team’s responsiveness and active partnership enabled us to mobilize vehicle sourcing and charging infrastructure installations at record speed — making this our fastest program launch across the nation to date.”
To read the full Burger King press release click here.
To learn more about Element Fleet Management’s sustainability strategy click here.
