Innovation

Ten years ago, CFA came up with an innovation for their employees that had nothing to do with chicken. Instead, the innovation focused on the environment and keeping employees comfortable at work. The idea that David Rissier, CFA’s Service Innovation Manager, prides himself on is the uniforms that CFA employees wear. They are not regular uniforms; they are uniforms made from recycled plastics. Rissier stated, “we want restaurant Team Members to feel good about what they put on every day.” The innovation emerged when Rissier and the service design team at CFA wanted more than just fashion out of their employees’ uniforms. The team wanted to make a statement about being environmentally friendly on top of being fashionable. After contemplating many products to make their uniforms eco-friendly, they realized they wanted their uniforms to be made entirely out of recycled materials sourced in the United States. The innovation is still in the works, as only 90 CFA restaurants are using recycled polos. The goal is to make the project chainwide by 2020. CFA’s purpose is “to glorify God by being faithful stewards to all that are entrusted to us and have a positive influence on all that come to CFA.” The uniform innovation has a positive impact on its team members while minimizing environmental impact. Simply stated by management, CFA believes “it is the right thing to do”.

Inspiration

CFA wanted to design a uniform that would stand out from other uniforms in the food serving industry. Rissier enlisted the help of the U.S. Military to sit on a council with seasoned designers, as well as restaurant operators and team members. The goal was to make a fashionable, eco-friendly uniform that would make team members “feel self-confident, not self-conscious.” In a survey taken by employees regarding their uniforms, 87% said that it was the most important aspect for their job satisfaction. Rissier went above and beyond to make sure CFA employees were comfortable and satisfied with their work attire. Climate differences were also taken into consideration: employees working in warmer climates are provided with shorts and moisture absorbing shirts, while employees working in colder climates are given insulated parkas to stay comfortable. Rissier said, “we want to ensure that a Team Member in Texas has the right apparel to stay cool during the summer, while a Team Member in Michigan has the right jacket to keep warm through frigid winters.”

Overall impact

CFA provides uniforms for more than 120,000 employees. Each Team Member’s polo uniform shirt contains 19 or 9 recycled plastic bottles; red polos contain 19 and blue-striped polos contain 9. The innovation has kept 2.6 million-2.9 million plastic bottles out of landfills annually. The recycling of plastic bottles was only the beginning of CFA’s environmental responsibility initiative. It has evolved into a large-scale recycling program. CFA formed an Enterprise Social Responsibility Team to focus on waste reduction in three areas: food waste, packaging waste, and energy & water waste. Packaging used at CFA locations are either made with recycled materials, commercially recyclable or commercially compostable. However, its biggest recycling focus is the recycling of their foam cups. Although it was once thought that EPS foam was environmentally unfriendly, scientific studies now show “replacing plastic packaging with alternative materials would result in 4.5 times more packaging weight based on figures from 2010, as well as an 80% increase in energy use and 130% more global warming potential.” CFA has in-house recycling bins for the disposal of the foam cups. A lengthy process then begins to recycle the cups, but the result is the transformation into products such as park benches, picture frames, and pens. The Styrofoam equivalency to these items are 1925 cups, 55 cups, and 1 cup, respectively. David Bolland, president of Plymouth Foam Co., was quoted saying, “we support the image and acknowledge CFA to be a proponent of the recycling industry.”

Business benefit

CFA’s innovation and recycling programs have benefitted CFA’s business in several ways. Profit and loss costs net a minimum savings of $7,300 per year per restaurant by keeping foam cups and adding recycling instead of changing cups. In 2012, reducing waste by packaging salad packs in the correct size container saved CFA $1.2 million. Revenue generated by cutting costs in uniforms is invested in other components of the company. CFA Team Members are also affected by what this recycling “journey” began with, the transforming of plastic bottles into uniform polo shirts. Team Members maintain a professional look yet remain comfortable throughout their shift. David Rissier said, “we hope to instill a sense of pride in Team Members when they put on their uniform, because we truly believe that you are what you wear.”

Social and environmental benefit

The benefits of CFA’s recycling extend beyond CFA savings and Team Members. It has helped reinforce CFA’s image of having a positive influence on communities. In a pole of people ages 18-34, fifty-three percent said CFA has a positive impact on their community compared to ten percent that said it had a negative impact. One event CFA is promoting to bring awareness to recycling is Family Recycling Night. Family Recycling Night is a “fun and educational event for families to share the positive aspects of recycling.” CFA is creating a foundation for green innovations within the restaurant industry, along with the corporate business world.

https://thechickenwire.chick-fil-a.com/inside-chick-fil-a/video-sustainable-style

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