How Arc can boost restaurant sustainability

Remember the days when every company seemingly became a tech company overnight? Well, the way we (and all scientists) see it today, climate is “eating the world” — in other words, every company needs to become a climate tech company overnight in order to reach our ambitious goals of halving carbon emissions by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement.

It’s not as hard of a pivot as it sounds considering we have the tools to do it today. And in fact, there are many money-saving opportunities that come along with it. But you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and companies from every industry need accurate energy data to understand and act on their impact.

In honor of #NationalFastFoodDay, we wanted to examine what this might look like in practice for chain restaurants. Let’s dive deeper into how a clearer understanding of their energy data could provide a recipe for net-zero.

Restaurants and energy management services

Modern agriculture currently generates about 19 to 29% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While this is part of the overall climate change concern, the problem isn’t just about what we’re eating and how we’re growing it; it’s also about how we are cooking it. (Hint: Your stove could be a savior.)

For instance, in looking at one fast-food company, we estimated that if all eligible locations across the country joined community solar projects through Arcadia to shift to a more renewable energy mix, they could not only save $3.8 million per year on power bills, but also slash roughly 253,024 tons of carbon dioxide from operations. Imagine the impact a shift like this could make if every fast food or restaurant chain in the US moved to clean energy. It would accelerate our path to a zero-carbon future and support climate goals worldwide.

There is also an opportunity for all restaurants and energy management services to unlock unprecedented access to comprehensive energy data using the Arc platform. This granular utility, tariff, and pricing data accessible with Arc platform’s ingestion and analysis tools can help national restaurant brands to manage or optimize their energy use efficiently and energy management companies empower the businesses they serve to do the same. Arcadia’s technology also automates the process of consolidating the data needed for scope 1 and 2 emissions reporting, calendarizing it, and converting it to carbon equivalents — all of which supports sustainability and ESG efforts.

Already today, energy management services companies trust Arcadia to provide them with the most up-to-date data so they can help their customers make intelligent, data-backed decisions to manage energy use and improve their bottom line. With the APIs the Arc Platform provides, energy management companies can get access to comprehensive tariff data that they can then use to optimize usage, model costs, and offer recommendations for their customers. Additionally, they can offer accurate site-specific calculations for the modeling and proposals required to make intelligent business decisions. And lastly, they can simplify the billing experience for their customers, making the payment process that much easier.

An opportunity for all

Nearly every company in every industry can benefit from cost savings and carbon reduction through access to accurate and real-time energy data. From auto manufacturers and charging companies to smart home and carbon accounting companies, opportunities abound to get your company racing towards a net-zero future faster.