Carl’s Jr. today announced the opening of its new flagship restaurant in Carpinteria, California. Located two miles from the corporate headquarters of parent company CKE Restaurants Inc. the new Carl’s Jr. location is an environmentally friendly unit where sustainability, conservation, and energy efficiency will be measured and evaluated for potential company-wide implementation at both Carl’s Jr. restaurants and at sister-chain Hardee’s. Some of the conservation efforts are already in use at both brands.

To honor the greening of the company, CKE Restaurants’ CEO Andrew F. Puzder will be joined by local dignitaries at a ribbon-cutting celebration held at the new Carl’s Jr., located at 4610 Carpinteria Ave., today at 10:30 a.m. PST.

“CKE Restaurants is an innovator–from our menu, to our service, to our marketing and our restaurants,” says Puzder. “With our ongoing emphasis on corporate environmental initiatives, we are demonstrating that we can be both a good neighbor and a financially sound business. Our current company-wide environmental initiatives are either cost neutral or result in a cost savings benefit, providing for a better planet while also contributing to the bottom line. The launch of our first green Carl’s Jr. restaurant, while not cost-neutral, will help us view our eco-friendly options in action.”

Green features of the new Carl’s Jr. flagship restaurant include:

• Highly efficient ENERGY STAR rated equipment that has been tested and proven to use less energy than traditional or competitive brands
• Roofing material that is solar reflective and cuts heat absorption into the restaurant, thus reducing cooling needs
• A rainwater reuse system that collects for use during drier seasons
• A smart irrigation system that senses existing ground moisture and effectively determines how much to water landscaping
• An energy management system that is electronically controlled and allows for precise automated management of zone temperatures and lighting schedules; there are no light switches in the building, all systems are controlled electronically
• More efficient LED parking lot lights
• Construction with low-emitting material, including adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, floor systems, composite wood and laminate adhesives
• The installation of a catalyst which converts charbroiler particulate into carbon dioxide and water, reducing smoke, odors and emissions.

“For the restaurant in Carpinteria, we reused the existing shell of a former restaurant to reduce our construction footprint,” Puzder says.

The new Carl’s Jr. flagship restaurant employs 50 full- and part-time staff.

Company-wide environmental initiatives are guided by a corporate Green Team under the direction of Chip Seigel, senior vice president, general counsel at CKE. The Green Team ensures that both the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s brands, corporate offices and franchisees, are collaborating on environmental projects and sharing their successes along the path to sustainability.

“We have a long-term goal of zero waste in our corporate facilities and in our restaurants,” Seigel says. “We’ve worked hard to ensure our green initiatives were more than just a band-aid approach to efficiency and conservation, but rather a systematic review and implementation of these programs.”

Some of the CKE’s company-wide initiatives include:

• Electronic communications – Paperless delivery of documents for annual shareholder information, Board of Directors meetings; Web-based, paperless operations and training manuals; electronic document delivery for contracting, as well as all internal communications; electronic delivery of paystubs to corporate employees
• Recycling – Used cooking oil at all restaurants is recycled for alternative fuel and other uses; More than 4,000 tons of cardboard was recycled at Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. units; ongoing electronic waste recycling programs
• Packaging initiatives – Paper products and food packaging items range from 5 percent to 80 percent post-consumer fiber; 100% recycled fiber carry out bags from post-industrial content will roll out to all restaurants in 2009;
• Energy Conservation – ENERGY STAR equipment is used in all company-owned restaurants; CFL lighting replacement at all company restaurants; thermostats and occupancy sensors are being installed for ongoing energy savings; cool roof materials have been installed at corporate offices and new restaurants; GPS and route-efficiency software currently used on truck fleet to ensure the most fuel efficient delivery of products to restaurants.

A list of CKE Restaurants’ ongoing environmental initiatives, as well as a full overview of the Carpinteria flagship’s green features can be found at http://www.pitchfeed.com/ckerestaurantsinc/538.