Sustainability Advocate Pär Larshans: Honoring Core Values Catapults Burger Chain

Pär Larshans is the former Chief Sustainability Officer of MAX Burgers, Sweden’s number one burger chain and home of the “world’s first climate-positive burger.” Among Max Burger’s sustainability initiatives, the company installs energy-efficient grass roofs in new restaurants, uses only wind power, and is the first restaurant chain to publish the carbon footprint of its menu items. Margareta Barchan, founder of The Brave Leaders Project, talked to Larshans in Stockholm.

Every MAX Burger restaurant features a picture on the wall, showing how many CO2 emissions were produced in order to make a hamburger. Tell us how this came about.

The owner of MAX asked me a question: “Pär, you live on a farm — you know a lot about the environment. Can you come up with ideas of what we can do about the climate and take responsibility for it?” I spent seven months trying to understand what we should do and investigating the possibilities. By 2007, I discovered that the beef accounts for 80% of our emissions, and the burger is 90% of what we sell. I understood that this would be a big problem for us in the future.

Currently, MAX is responsible for the emission of 29,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) each year. That’s how I came up with the idea of a carbon label. I saw the importance of being transparent, and reducing our emissions. I could see that it would be beneficial even from an economical perspective if we could reduce our fossil fuels, because I knew that cost would increase and become unsustainable in the future.

I realized that if I could combine societal challenges with solutions that help society, I could create a win-win situation. And if I also could create a positive thing for consumers at the same time, it would be a triple win.

Carbon labeling is really what scientists are looking for – actions that are creating a motion, that are creating a change. It takes courage to stand in front of 3,500 scientists and say, “Okay, you see a problem, but I see a solution.” That’s what’s really needed. We are not perfect, but we are ready. We have one thing that, in the long term, will make a change.

What was the reaction from competitors and your customers?

In 2008, nobody knew about carbon emissions and our director of marketing launched a campaign to educate the market. Our burgers were labeled by price, by dietary information, and also by carbon labeling – and nobody know what that was. After three months, the director came back and said he wouldn’t spend another penny because “there’s not a chance in the world that our customers will understand what we are doing.” And, he needed the money to do other things.

MAX customers have now started eating more non-beef burgers, causing sales of the low-carbon alternatives to jump by 16%. Such sustainability campaigns illustrate how taking responsibility and being transparent about environmental impacts increases customer support and ultimately profits. There was a 27% customer increase between 2007 and 2009.

Today, MAX is one of the most profitable fast food companies in the world. We know that we have filled a gap in the market. We have achieved this through a winning combination: Do good, serve great products, and do something different. The big difference here is the responsibility issue. We have been able to get mid-level restaurant managers to take initiative, become stewards of good business, and help society.

Can you share an example?

Yes. When you implement new policies, I think it’s important to take into consideration the core values of the company. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, so you need to address the culture before you enforce changes. MAX is owned by Curt Bergfors, the majority shareholder. He has been hospitalized in a wheelchair for more than 27 years. Nevertheless, he has been able to lead the company as working chairman. Therefore, when I launched the concept of hiring people with disabilities in the early 2000s, it was well received. But I was also told that this hiring policy had to be cost neutral. That meant we had to find people with potential that other companies didn’t see.

The result has been pretty amazing. In the majority of the restaurants, we see better customer service and lower employee turnover. As a result, MAX Hamburger’s reputation has improved significantly as a responsible employer. We’ve also been recognized both by the European parliament and the UN for our actions of hiring people with disabilities, as well as refugees.

Although you didn’t have to fight the owner to get support for your ideas, I can imagine you may have been worried they wouldn’t succeed.

I think that success is more easily attained if your company’s values are aligned with your personal values. I believe that more people make their purchase based on values, so when your ideas are aligned with what the company cares about, you will have more leeway and a better chance of succeeding.

My success has really been driven by an ability to see possibilities where others see just problems, and then focus to create results. Also, if you’re going to do things, you need to be prepared and have good timing.

What if people don’t believe in your ideas?

I think many leaders make the mistake of striving to have everybody on board. But you can’t have everybody on board. If you want to make change happen, you need to focus on the top 10% or 15%. Then they will create a movement that the others will eventually follow.

What would you say is really the signpost of being a brave leader?

Someone who is open to sharing with others and learning from their expertise. Only then can you truly be a brave leader. But a brave leader is also someone who is pragmatic and knows that there are no shortcuts. I don’t think you can have good results with shortcuts. This is why core values are important. Your mindset usually starts in the family setting. The values you are brought up with will influence your future decisions.

This post was written by Jessica Newfield and Margareta Barchan. Read more inspiring stories like this one in our book, Brave Leaders: Finding The Guts To Make Meaningful & Lasting Change.

Images courtesy of Pär Larshans.