Case Study: Chipotle Mexican Grill

Project Goals
Since the very beginning, Chipotle Mexican Grill has practiced "accidental sustainability" by often re-using existing buildings for their restaurants rather than building from scratch. Also, they tend to open small stores in urban settings near public transportation with easy access from residential, business, and university areas. In general, Chipotle uses building materials that are local, readily available, and affordable. Typical in-store finishes such as stainless steel, galvanized steel, and corrugated metal are high in recycled content, durable, easy to maintain, and easily recycled. "Chipotle always practiced common sense sustainability measures because we understood the long-term economic benefits to the restaurants, especially in terms of lowering the life-cycle costs of store operations," says Scott Shipley, Chipotle's in-house store designer. When Chipotle expanded into the Austin market, Shipley approached the Green Building Program for assistance in formally greening their restaurants. "We learned about the Green Building Program through our due diligence process," says Shipley. "Once we knew that we could tap this resource and expertise for free, the decision to move forward was easy."

Chipotle has been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for about three years and Shipley joined the Retail Committee last year. Chipotle currently has one project in the LEED for Retail Pilot Program with a goal of eventually moving into the Portfolio Program.

Project Name/Location	Rating	Completion Date	Cost/ft2 (excludes land)
Chipotle Mexican Grill 801 Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701	4-Star Green Building Rating, and LEED® Certified	May 2004	not available

Project Description

This case study focuses on the 4-star rating of the Congress Avenue location as that Chipotle's highest rating to date. However, before rating the Congress Avenue restaurant, Chipotle's Sunset Valley location earned a 3-Star rating from the Green Building Program mostly by implementing energy efficiency improvements. For example, they installed a tankless water heater; used LED technology in exterior signage and reduced the interior light fixture count by 50% with no loss of light levels. Along with reducing the size of the hood exhaust fans, which improved burner/pilot efficiency and allowed the use of a smaller condensing unit, Chipotle installed an energy efficient HVAC system.

After rating the Sunset Valley location, Chipotle used the knowledge and experience gained during that project to raise the bar for the Congress Avenue location. They followed their established pattern of re-using an existing building, this time a corner space in a vacant historic building in downtown Austin. The Congress Avenue location implemented Chipotle's first-ever construction waste management plan, a move which diverted over 100 cubic yards of material from the landfill. The original tile floor was restored instead of replaced, keeping another 30 cubic yards of deconstruction waste out of the landfill while avoiding the use of new materials and retaining some of the building's original charm. The Congress Avenue store improved on Chipotle's previous energy efficiency measures by using lighting motion sensors in the restrooms and the walk-in cooler. Their high efficiency HVAC and water heating equipment exceeded energy code requirements by 15% and 20%, respectively. With the completion of the Congress Avenue store, Chipotle became the only restaurant in Austin with a 4-Star rating from the Green Building Program.

Project Highlights

Site:

• Re-use of existing urban commercial location.

Water:

• Installed a recirculation system with a tankless water heater, which reduces the amount of time that it takes to heat the water from about 2 minutes to 10 seconds.

Energy & Atmosphere:

• Tankless water heating system exceeds energy code by 20%.
• HVAC system exceeds energy code by 15%.
• Installed the highest efficiency equipment available from their manufacturer.
• Enrolled in Austin Energy's GreenChoice Program.
• Original building awnings provide shade.

Materials & Resources:

• Extensive waste minimization strategies, including separating salvageable materials during deconstruction. Exterior windows, storefront and doors were all re-used.
• A recycling program implemented during construction diverted an estimated 100 cubic yards from the landfill.
• The original tile floor was restored instead of replaced, which further reduced the amount of material send to the landfill by 30 cubic yards.
• Low maintenance finishes including stainless steel, galvanized steel and corrugated metal, which are durable, have recycled content, and a long lifecycle.
• Dedicated in-store recycling area.

Indoor Environmental Quality:

• All cleaning supplies are non-toxic.
• Insulated air conditioning unit reduces noise pollution.
• Positive pressure indoors at 200 CFM to reduce infiltration.
• Water-based sealant used to reduce VOC's.
• All finishes (except wall paint) are done off site so that VOC levels are lower and less airborne when the materials are installed in the store.

Innovations or Other:

• Cleaning supplies are automatically mixed and dispensed so no human error is possible.

Testing/General Results:

• Not Available

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