McDonald’s takes a Bold Step Towards a Sustainable Future

by Prashant Kapadia/NHN

Undertakes industry-leading initiative of converting Used Cooking Oil to Biodiesel for its supply logistics fleet in Mumbai

Mumbai, July 23, 2018: Did you ever think that by eating French fries at McDonald’s, you could lend a hand in saving the environment? Well, you do! McDonald’s is the first company in the food industry in India that is recycling its used cooking oil into biodiesel for powering the company’s refrigerated supply delivery trucks.

Biodiesel made from used cooking oil is a cleaner fuel with 75% lower carbon emissions than diesel over its entire life cycle. It is an eco-friendly fuel that helps limit global warming. Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd,(HRPL) the master franchisee for McDonald’s in west and south India is now powering all its delivery trucks in Mumbai with biodiesel made from its own used cooking oil. Even the refrigeration equipment aboard these trucks is powered by the biodiesel.

The Company started this as a pilot last year and has successfully scaled it up to cover all 85 restaurants in Mumbai. Today, the company is converting more than 35,000 litres of used cooking oil every month into biodiesel. Imagine – that’s a saving over 420,000 litres of crude oil annually!

Here’s how it works:

The process of conversion begins at the restaurant where the team from the distribution center collects used cooking oil. The collected oil is then taken to the converting facility in tankers. Here, the oil is converted into bio-diesel and sent back to the distribution centre. It is then used in dedicated refrigerated trucks for McDonald’s supply logistics in Mumbai.

Speaking on the initiative, Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Development Ltd. said, “We strongly believe in protecting our environment and that makes sustainability and conservation an important part of our operations in India. Today, we are happy to announce this industry-leading initiative towards sustainability by converting our used oil into biodiesel for distribution of supplies at our restaurants. This is just the beginning and we will continue to champion the cause of environment protection in the years to come. We are grateful to our suppliers who have closely worked with us to improve the economic, ethical, and environmental impact of our supply chain.”

Over the next 4 years, HRPL is looking at expanding its restaurant footprint to 450-500. What this essentially means is using about 15 lakh litres of used oil to make biodiesel for running its refrigerated delivery trucks. That’s a reduction of over 4,000 MT of carbon emissions equal to planting about 2 lakh trees.

Speaking on the initiative President of the Biodiesel Association Of India, Sandeep Chaturvedi, said “We are delighted to know that that Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd (HRPL) has become the first restaurant chain in the country to implement sustainable Biodiesel by successfully recycling its Used Cooking Oil. HRPL & Unicon Biofuels has been working for the past one year to convert Used Cooking Oil to Biodiesel as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The Biodiesel Association of India (BDAI) encourages all food companies to learn from this initiative and apply it in their own business model.”

The Company got the opportunity to present its Biodiesel initiative to the industry regulator-the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI), officials from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, State Biofuel Development Boards of various states, oil PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings), major food companies and industry bodies and associations like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), All India Food Processors’ Association (AIFPA) and  NASVI (the National Street Vendors Association of India). The effort has been very well received and acknowledged by the regulator as a step that should be emulated by others.

With this initiative, HRPL once again reinforces its commitment to the community in which it operates. With such bold actions the company embraces its leadership responsibility and will continue to keep ahead of the curve do deliver what is best of its customers, the community and the environment.