McDonald’s Expands Collaboration with UBQ

Arcos Dorados has become the first UBQ partner to implement building components ‘Made with UBQ ^™’. The new electrical conduits, connection boxes, and modular wood boards will be showcased in Arcos Dorados’ São Paulo-based restaurant conceptualized to showcase sustainability initiatives of the company.

Arcos Dorados invited the public into the São Paulo McDonald’s restaurant beginning August 30, 2023, allowing visitors to explore the various sustainable solutions implemented throughout the branch. In addition to UBQ^™-based components, Arcos Dorados has also integrated initiatives already implemented in several restaurants, such as condensation-based water recovery and renewable energy source for the restaurant, with other innovations including the wooden structure and recycling materials on the walls and floors.

Arcos Dorados has also developed educational and informative materials, displayed around the restaurant, encouraging more environmentally conscious lifestyle choices and educating customers on optimal waste management practices.

Arcos Dorados has been working with UBQ Materials since 2019, making the company a centerpiece of its sustainable materials strategy. Through strategic partnerships with Brazilian manufacturers, UBQ and Arcos Dorados have successfully integrated UBQ into serving trays in McDonald’s restaurants across Brazil and the Caribbean. With a keen emphasis on circular economy, Arcos Dorados is replacing resource-intensive materials and lowering carbon emissions towards fulfilling its global sustainability goals, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 36 % in restaurants and offices and by 31 % throughout the supply chain by 2030.

"When Arcos Dorados began the cooperation with UBQ Materials, we challenged the team to find applications to use UBQ throughout our McDonald’s branches and supply chain. Our collaboration has been an important part of our approach to building sustainable operations and is setting a new standard for environmental responsibility in the restaurant sector,” said Marie Tarrisse, Head of Social Impact and Sustainability at the Brazil Division of Arcos Dorados.

To create the new reduced-emissions electrical conduits and connection boxes, Tigre, the largest pipe manufacturer in Latin America, collaborated with UBQ Materials to develop an eco-conscious solution utilizing UBQ that maintained all the functional performance required for the electrical system.

Similarly, UBQ Materials worked with Brazilian manufacturer Madeplast to incorporate UBQ into modular wood boards in the bench structures of the restaurant – the first time UBQ has been incorporated into wooden building components. Project partners are demonstrating the functional integration of UBQ with existing composites to create eco-friendly alternatives to everyday materials and products.

Accroding to UBQ Materials, every kilogram of UBQ replaces 1 kg of oil-based plastic, diverts 1.3 kg of waste from landfills and incinerators, and prevents up to 11.7 kg of CO₂eq emissions measured over a 20-year time horizon.

"Collaborations like these are driving meaningful change, showing that sustainability does not have to come at the cost of performance or companies’ bottom lines”, said Albert Douer Co-CEO and Chairman of UBQ Materials. “It takes leaders and pioneers to set the tone for others to follow. Arcos Dorados and McDonald’s are taking on this responsibility within their industry”.

The latest collaboration builds on the initial partnership between the companies that introduced sustainable McTrays Made with UBQ in January 2021. Deployed across McDonald's restaurants all over Brazil, these trays have achieved climate positivity for the estimated climate impact of the trays’ materials over a 20-year time horizon. Building on this achievement, Arcos Dorados expanded the use of Made with UBQ serving trays across McDonald’s restaurants in Brazil and the Caribbean. AT

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