On September 20th, the first “zero-carbon restaurant” under McDonald’s China -- McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurant in Beijing Shougang Park officially opened. The McDonald’s Shougang Park restaurant is designed and constructed in line with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) net zero carbon and net zero energy certification standards. It is expected to be certified in 12 months, making it the first “zero-carbon restaurant” in China and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to obtain both certifications.

On the opening day, the reporter came to the McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurant. The entire roof was covered with rows of solar photovoltaic panels, which was quite spectacular from a distance. The restaurant’s more than 2,000 square meters of space are powered by solar photovoltaic systems, which can generate 330,000 kWh of electricity annually, meeting the restaurant’s power demand in daily operations and reducing carbon emissions by about 200 tons per year.

There are four “eco-friendly rechargeable bicycles” outside and inside the restaurant, and many people came try them out. Consumers can drive power generation by stepping on a bicycle. When the giant yellow “M” sign in front of them is lit up, a tray table in front of the bicycle can also charge phones wirelessly. The plastic part of the bicycle is made of recycled plastic, and the chairs made of recycled ocean plastic will meet customers at the Shougang Park restaurant.

In recent years, as a model for the transformation of old industrial areas in China, Beijing Shougang Park has been rated as the National Sustainable Development Experimental Zone, the National Smart City Pilot Zone and the Beijing Green Ecological Demonstration Zone, and won many honors such as the “2017 China Habitat Environment Award” by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

The development and construction of Shougang Park follows the concept of green ecology and smart cities, and adopts the LEED green building evaluation standard with the highest international recognition and the green building evaluation system issued by China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The two systems ensure that renovation projects are recognized by international organizations on the premise of meeting national standards.

The Park has continuously made new achievements in green building certification. The desulfurization workshop renovation project won LEED-CS pre-certification platinum certificate and WELL silver pre-certification certificate jointly issued by USGBC and IWBI. The reconstruction of joint pumping station in the Xishi Winter Olympics Plaza project has obtained LEED-CS pre-certification platinum certificate; the winter training center project of the General Administration of Sport of China was designed according to “Three-Star Green Building, LEED-NC Gold” certification standard. McDonald’s “Zero-Carbon Restaurant”, settled in Shougang Park, presents a deep integration of green development of cities, communities and enterprises. The two sides have cooperated to integrate the energy supply mode, balanced carbon emissions and operations, and fed the surplus electricity back to communities.