Burger King Begins the Greening Process – Don’t Worry the Food Won’t Be Affected

That’s right. Burger King recently opened its first wind and solar powered restaurant in Germany. Unfortunately, they’re still lacking on veggies, and to truly be green they’d probably have to change names to cut back on the burgers, but one step at a time.

Designed with Wirsol Solar AG, the establishment boasts 720 solar panels on the roof and a wind turbine, from which the restaurant will pull about 45 percent of it’s energy. Capable producing 56,000 kiloWatt hours a year, the arrangement may not be entirely carbon neutral but it’s a step in the right direction. The restaurant was designed with several energy saving features that will both save money and test the effectiveness of such features for a building that consumes quite a bit of energy. With a heat recovery system, LED lights and water heated from waste, the new franchise marks the beginning of a greening initiative by Burger King’s BK Positive Steps.

The restaurant also adopted BK’s 20/20 design program, which makes the interior design of new and existing Burger King establishments sleeker in an attempt to give the fast food giant a touch of class, and a point of differentiation from similar competitors. Already implemented in over 60 locations worldwide, Burger King representations announced in October that they planned to implement the design in another 75 locations by the end of 2010. {Greener Buildings}