Operations
Sweetgreen on mission toward sustainability
April 18, 2023
Sweetgreen reported Tuesday that it purchased over 5 million pounds of organic greens, with 65% of its produce suppliers using organic, integrated pest management or transitional growing practices. That was just one of the company's initiatives outlined in its 2022 Impact Report, which also said it was dedicated to promoting animal welfare — 95% of its primary chicken sources are Global Animal Partnership Step 2 certified, and it has met five out of six elements of the Better Chicken Commitment.
"Since day one, we have recognized the connection between our mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food, and creating sustainable solutions to deliver better products for our customers that are responsibly made," Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO, said in a company press release. "This first Impact Report is the culmination of our teams' efforts, and I'm proud of the progress we have made together in creating a positive impact in the lives of our customers and communities."
Other milestones in the report included:
- Calculating the emissions of its menu items and publishing the data and methodology on its website.
- The introduction of carbon-friendly items: The Hummus Crunch Salad at 0.3 kg CO2e is the lowest carbon meal on the menu.
- Reducing emissions intensity by 12% from its 2019 baseline while maintaining company growth.
- Investing in clean energy: 100% of operations are powered by clean electricity purchased from solar farms in North Carolina certified by Watershed, reducing its Scope 2 emissions to zero.
- Mitigating environmental impacts: 79% of waste was composted or recycled based on restaurants where their partner, Rubicon, manages landfill, compost and recycling streams.
- Analyzing workforce representation with Syndio, a workplace equity platform, and set goals to achieve balanced representation across levels within three years.
- Donating over 120,000 fresh meals to local communities during new restaurant openings, with restaurant teams contributing over 350 hours of community service.
Sweetgreen's 2022 Impact Report was prepared following the Global Reporting Initiative Standards Core option and relevant Sustainability Accountability Standards Board standards for the restaurant industry.
The chain has over 195 restaurants.
