A&W, Canada’s fastest-growing fast-food chain, prides itself on being the most progressive quick-serve restaurant (QSR) in Canada. They serve beef raised without the use of hormones or steroids, and provide reusable dishware, cutlery and compostable packaging to reduce Waste.

In early 2019, A&W continued to do the right thing for the planet by becoming the first QSR chain in North America to ban single-use plastic straws, replacing them with 100% compostable, biodegradable and marine-degradable paper straws across all 950+ A&W locations. To announce the big change, A&W collaborated with TYGH Studio to repurpose the very last 140,000 plastic straws from A&W’s inventory into a 35-foot-long sculpture that conveyed the phrase, “Change is Good.” In January, the larger-than-life installation was revealed in front of Toronto’s Union Station, one of the busiest transportation hubs in the country. The installation kicked off by inviting key Canadian influencers with a passion around the environment and sustainable resourcing to a pre-launch event to ask questions of Susan Senecal, CEO at A&W Food Services of Canada, and to help spread the word to the eco-community which would share the love organically.

The sculpture remained in front of Union Station for one week, tapping into the zeitgeist of people kick-starting their New Year’s resolutions. The goal was to show that small changes can make a big impact, and to motivate millennials (and other brands) to commit to doing good throughout 2019. The vibrant orange sculpture (representing the A&W brand colour) took six months to plan and one month to build. Each letter of the Change is Good sculpture was cut with a CNC machine to specifically match A&W’s brand typography. Then, 140,000 plastic straws were hand-glued on both sides of the letters and reinforced to stand up against the harsh Canadian climate. To enhance the design of the letters, the team made the straws interactive, inviting people to push the straws in and partially pull them out, creating a textured dimension to the overall look.

To show that A&W was behind the installation, and to communicate what the installation represented, a free-standing plaque was built beside the sculpture. The plaque helped give context to the large impact that such a small act of banning plastic straws means in terms of sustainability efforts, stating that A&W’s switch to paper straws will keep about 82 million single-use plastic straws from landfills each year, and protect ocean and freshwater life in Canada and beyond. The sculpture was built as a permanent design exhibit so it can continue to inspire the general public after its appearance at Union Station. A&W is currently negotiating where the sculpture’s next Canadian appearance will be, to continue spreading the word about reducing the brand’s environmental footprint.

The installation resonated with locals and was shared across all social media platforms. News of the stunt also spread nationally and internationally across various channels, making headlines in publications like the Financial Post, Ottawa Citizen, Forbes and other shared media. A&W also used key influencers like A&W long-term advocate Jillian Harris to help spread the message outside of the event. After launch, the installation helped A&W become the most trusted QSR in Canada (Gustavson Brand Trust Index 2019). They also saw a +6% spike in brand love, the highest increase by any Canadian QSR (SYNQRINUS Study - Bigfoot Tracking 2019). The installation has also been recognized internationally in Communication Arts.