The fact that the system only dispenses one napkin at a time helps minimise over-consumption and waste.

“We try to generate as little waste as possible in all areas,” says Richard Bergfors, CEO of Max. “With our old dispensers it was easy for customers to take too many napkins, whether they wanted them or not.”

Max claims to have reduced waste to less than two per cent across the board at its 70 outlets nationwide. This figure compares favourably with the average household, where an estimated 25 per cent of food is thrown away.

One practice that has helped the company reduce food waste is its policy of cooking hamburgers to order.

“Our competitors prepare hamburgers beforehand, then keep them warm,” says Richard. “The ones that are not sold are later thrown away. We serve all the burgers we prepare and aim never to let our ingredients pass their expiry date.”

Max claims to be unique within the industry by compensating for carbon dioxide emissions generated by its own operations and those of its suppliers.

Beef is said to be a large contributor to the greenhouse effect, and hamburgers are estimated to account for 70 per cent of Max’s carbon dioxide emissions. All items on the chain’s menu are therefore labelled to show customers how much carbon dioxide they have generated.  Customers can then make an informed choice between beef, fish, chicken and vegetarian options.

Meanwhile the company is offsetting carbon dioxide emissions by arranging for around 89,000 trees to be planted in Africa per year. “The goal is to become totally climate neutral, but this will take a long time,” says Richard.

The next step is to co-operate with Swedish farmers, LRF and svenska sigill to find farming solutions with a lower environmental impact.

All Max restaurants operate on wind power; company cars are environmentally friendly and all purchasing decisions are made with the environment in mind.
According to customer research, Max is Sweden’s highest-rated hamburger restaurant in terms of customer satisfaction.