In developing a rating for fast food companies based on their overall environmental sustainability, has Greenopia stepped into a big pile of redundancy?



There are some industries that we don't cover very often, and fast food is definitely one of them. Although we have in the not-too-distant past talked about some of the big boys, like Carl's Jr., Kentucky Fried Chicken, and McDonald's, it is almost always in a context beyond their bread and butter, as it were: our Carl's Jr. story was about their green building prototype; KFC reimagined its packaging to cut waste and costs; and the Golden Arches announced a plan to cut energy use in its stores by 13 percent.



The reason for our neglect of the fast food biz is simple: much like fossil fuels (we also haven't covered ExxonMobil much, to my knowledge), fast food at its core is not an entirely sustainable industry. The fast food industry, with a few small-scale exceptions like Pizza Fusion or O'Naturals, is built around large-scale, low-cost, energy-, fuel- and industrial-agriculture-intensive inputs that have a significant impact on the environment and human health.



So color me just a shade skeptical when I read that Greenopia just announced its rankings of the greenest fast food options in the Los Angeles area.



The ranking takes 23 fast food chains in L.A. and rates them on five criteria: sustainability reporting, green building design, supply chain, recycling and takeback programs, and their purchase of green products. With those guidelines in mind, perhaps it's unsurprising how the rankings turned out:



In first and second place, the only two fast food joints to earn four green leafs from Greenopia, are Le Pain Quotidien and Pizza Fusion. From Greenopia's glowing review of Pizza Fusion:

This is how green is done. Pizza Fusion tackled an incredible amount of green projects for a food chain. All of its projects are LEED certified and/or have substantial elements of green building design incorporated in them. Their pizza is made with organic ingredients and delivered by hybrid delivery vehicles. Pizza Fusion even goes as far as to have their employees wear organic cotton uniforms. Finally, and our personal favorite, Pizza Fusion has a take back incentive for their used pizza boxes. If you return the pizza box, you get a discount on your order. What a great way to promote recycling and reuse.

Le Pain Quotidien is no slouch either; the Greenopia editors write: "... Le Pain Quotidien uses organic and local ingredients in its prepared foods and has incorporated numerous elements of green building design into its stores including reclaimed fixtures and efficient appliances. Le Pain Quotidien also composts its food waste and uses its spent food oil for biodiesel."



Rounding out the top five are Burgerville and Evos with 3 leaves each, and Mexican food chain Chipotle with 2 leaves. It should similarly come as no surprise which companies earned zero leaves: Arby's, Jack in the Box, Burger King, Domino's Pizza and seven other chains all scored the big zilch in the ranking.



Check out the full list on Greenopia.com; if you eat fast food, this is actually a very useful tool. In addition to the green rankings, each restaurant has a list of average cost, calorie range, and the number of vegetarian and vegan items on the menu.





For more on whether or not green fast food is an oxymoron, check out "Green Fast Food: Really Here or a Green Dream?" by Anne Moore Odell.