Fast-food chain McDonald's has opened what it claims is the UK's first net-zero carbon restaurant building.
Built using natural or recycled materials and powered by a combination of wind turbines and solar panels, the restaurant, in Market Drayton, Shropshire, was designed to meet net-zero standards in both its construction and everyday operation.
However, McDonald's confirmed to Dezeen that consumption-based emissions associated with its beef-heavy menu have not been taken into account ? meaning that the restaurant overall is not net-zero in the strictest sense.
McDonald's said it intends to use the project as a "blueprint" for future restaurants
For a building to be net-zero it must remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it emits throughout its lifespan, both in the form of embodied carbon and operational carbon associated with construction, occupation and eventual demolition. McDonald's said the Market Drayton eatery is the first in the country which fits into the UK Green Building Council's (UKGBC) net-zero carbon buildings framework.
It plans to use the design as a "blueprint" for McDonald's new builds around the UK from 2022, with some of the sustainable measures already being implemented at other outlets.

Read: Dezeen's top 10 low-carbon buildings of 2021

The building was designed by Hertfordshire studio Scurr Architects, while Manchester-based AEW Architects handled site design.
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