Look at the photo above. What do you notice about? Yes, it states that “Change is good.” That’s a good thing of course. But, notice what the entire sculpture is made out of – plastic straws! These are the last of A&W Canada’s stock of plastic straws. The Canadian chain has been moving to paper straws over the last few months, and to celebrate the transition, it used its last 140,000 plastic straws to make the 35-foot sculpture.
Last summer, A&W Food Services of Canada promised to reduce landfill by eliminating the plastic straws. It was the first quick-service restaurant chain in North America to make such a bold promise to improve the environment. The company estimates that the change will keep 82 million plastic straws from littering the oceans and land.
The ban on the plastic straws is one part of the company’s environmental initiatives which include food sources, packaging, energy, water usage, and waste.
Indeed, change IS good.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the impact of environmental concerns on companies.
- What are companies doing about these concerns?
- View A&W Canada’s Web site values section: https://web.aw.ca/en/our-values
- What does this move do for the company’s brand?
- Divide students into teams. Have each team research the environmental values of a competing fast-food restaurants (e.g., McDonalds’, Wendy’s, etc.)
- How does A&W’s commitment impact its positioning in the marketplace?
Source: Griner, D. (11 January, 2019). A&W Canada used the last of its plastic straws to make a sculpture announcing the change. AdWeek.
