When Amaranth Wilson took a job with Burgerville, she had more on her mind than a paycheck. She wanted to do something good for the world.
“It was my vision to create a position for myself, implementing recycling systems and other sustainable practices and working with people’s talents,” Wilson said.
She said the basic processes in Burgerville kitchens are similar to other fast-food chains. But there’s more focus on making customers feel like part of a community, and more room for innovation, green practices and employee development.
Wilson came to Burgerville through an externship with the Western Culinary Institute in Portland. She became an assistant manager in August 2005 and was promoted to sustainability coordinator in May 2007.
The new job came when she joined the company’s ad-hoc “Lean Green Team” with Jerri Donald, Rondell Sango, Gary Waltman and Matt Wright.
“We look at all of the aspects of the supply chain, at every source of energy in our restaurants and how we can harness that energy sustainably,” Wilson said.
The team has upped the ante on the company’s sustainable practices, often through simple changes in kitchen processes, and most notably through food waste composting.
The team helped extend Burgerville’s Walla Walla sweet onion ring season four weeks just by changing the way onions were handled in the kitchens. That brought in more than $300,000 in additional sales.
This fall the team took care of waste from ladle spills of pumpkin milkshake mix. They suggested using pumps to portion the mix more precisely and quickly, and it’s expected to save thousands of pumpkins per year.
The team also assessed underutilized kitchen equipment and had employees trade it at a swap meet. What was left went to the Clark County Skills Center to help with kitchen upgrades.
Wilson has been most involved with the company’s compost program, which piloted in 2006. Currently 15 Burgervilles are on board and there are plans for all 39 to participate later in 2008.
Wilson leads composting training and follows the progress of each restaurant’s employee-led compost team. She’s also looking at ways to use more biodegradable packaging that supports the compost program.
“You can move more toward sustainability and be profitable. The two are linked,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be a complicated thing. It’s about tapping into people’s passion.”
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
