A hole lotta green

Why bother?” We ask Alden Castañeda, VP for corporate marketing of Mister Donut Philippines, when he announced that the donut chain is going environmental.

“Why not?” Castaneda fired back. “Mister Donut’s going green campaign is very relevant. We want to do our share in making Mother Earth as green as possible for our future generations.”

In a bid to demonstrate how a restaurant chain can save valuable resources and still provide quality food, Mister Donut tapped the services of architect Jose Joven Ignacio, one of the advocates of green architecture in the Philippines, to help them get started.

“Green architecture is more than just surrounding the store with plants and trees. It involves a design that is environmentally sensitive, energy-efficient and one that utilizes indigenous or recyclable materials for construction,” Ignacio explained.

And, going green doesn’t happen overnight. Mister Donut and the design team had to hurdle lots of challenges.  First, was to work on a budget. This meant that the design team had to find ways of cutting down on costs. Second, they had to educate the management and staff on environment-friendly principles and how these can be applied in the store. Third, was to look for responsible companies, suppliers and contractors that shared the same vision.

In less than two months, Mister Donut’s “green” prototype — the SM Megamall branch — was finally launched on Aug. 1.

Its interiors are built using a modular design system that allows for design components to be easily replicated and replaced, thus reducing waste.

“Some furniture pieces and installed components like wall cabinets were recycled and refurbished from existing pieces,” Ignacio noted.

The new store also boasts energy-efficient lighting without sacrificing customer comfort. Lighting tests were conducted prior to construction.

“Certain establishments like restaurants, schools and homes should have the correct illumination levels to save energy. 200 to 300 LUX (unit of light measurement) is the minimum level of light required for fast foods. Once we’ve established the place’ illumination level without the lights on, it’s time to choose a lighting fixture that will meet the deficiencies of natural lighting,” Ignacio explained.

Instead of using fluorescent bulbs in the display counter, Ignacio installed energy-efficient LED lights which save electricity by almost 80 percent.

Recycled or sustainable materials were used on the walls and surfaces of the new Mister Donut outlet. Tetra boards which are resistant to water, fire and termite damage were utilized in lieu of plywood.

“These are made from recycled tetra pack cartons which would otherwise be found clogging our waterways and drainage system,” Ignacio noted.

The Omniboard framework used for the kitchen counter is made of shredded composite that incorporates sustainable wood like bamboo.

Omniboard is asbestos-free and contains no chemical additives that emit toxic fumes.

“We also used low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints on the walls. VOCs have high vapor pressures which help reduce atmospheric pollution,” Ignacio added.

“To reduce the burden of your electrical system, don’t turn on all electrical equipment at the same time,” he added.

Well, going green is often misinterpreted to be expensive and impractical.

“The reason why the raw materials are expensive is because very few people patronize these environment-friendly products. We need to make these products stronger in terms of demand so the prices will really come down,” shared Ignacio.

 YUMMY SURPRISES

After its success in 2007 and a big head start this year, Mister Donut is gearing up for an even bigger second half with the launch of its “green” stores and its new Triple Choco Donut.

The Triple Choco Donut features the famous shell nut of Mister Donut with a super chocolatey twist: the chocolate dough is filled with various choco fillings and covered with sweet chocolate powder. It comes in three variants namely, choco fudge, chocolate cream, and Swiss mocha.

Mister Donut’s environmentally friendly store in SM Megamall has a wider menu selection with new delicious meals and affordable combos to choose from.

Best-seller is the three-sausage (cheese Krainer, Hungarian and chicken breakfast sausages) rice meal with scrambled eggs garnished with cucumber and tomatoes. Pasta lovers can feast on the meattie spaghetti, cheesy meattie spaghetti, the creamy carbonara.

Take a dip of Mister Donut’s My Fondue. For P35, kids can dip their favorite Smidget donuts, wafer sticks and marshmallows in a bowl of chocolate or strawberry-chocolate dips.

“Customers will certainly never run out of surprises at Mister Donut,” enthused Alden Castañeda.