Max Hamburgers from Sweden Revolutionize Fast Food Industry: New Case Study Released

The Natural Step, an internally recognized non-profit organization specializing in sustainability is proud to publish our case study on Max, Sweden’s oldest and most popular hamburger chain. Max President and owner Richard Bergfors and the Director of Sustainability Pär Larshans are now on a North American tour to view over 70 fast food restaurants.

In 2007, Pär Larshans, then Director of Human Resources at Max Hamburger Restaurants, was asked to investigate what other fast food chains were doing about climate change. He discovered that there wasn’t much to discover and Max saw an opportunity to break ahead of the pack. Sustainable leadership could clearly distinguish Max from its formidable competitors such as McDonalds and Burger King and allow them to use their business to make a positive impact on the planet.

Partnering with The Natural Step, Max looked deeper into the sustainability challenges of their business. This was the beginning of an exciting and ongoing journey exploring the possibility of sustainable fast food. Today, Mr. Larshans’ title is Sustainability Director, all Max’s restaurants are wind powered, their menu is carbon labeled, Max basks in worldwide media exposure and continues to make significant strides towards sustainability.

In response, they decided to become part of the solution.  As a result, in 2008 Max became the first restaurant chain in the world to analyze their food’s climate impact all the way from the farmers land to the guest’s hand. They also carbon labeled their menus so that customers could choose climate smart alternatives. Not satisfied with merely implementing energy efficiency programs in all its buildings and fully transferring over to wind powered energy, Max has made voluntary carbon offsets throughout its supply chain, from farmer to customer, supporting reforestation projects in Uganda and Mozambique. Max supports offsetting projects that strengthen local agro-forestry, entrepreneurship and ecosystem services. This work is internationally recognized and globally progressive. At the same time, Max is more profitable than ever. A Swedish independent survey reported an increase in customer loyalty by 27 % for Max between 2007 and 2009 mostly due to their sustainability efforts. This was the highest increase of 20 of the most well-known Swedish brands.

To learn more, please read the case study by clicking here.