DUBLIN, Ohio, Oct. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ: WEN) announced that it received two environmental awards for its efforts to dramatically reduce energy usage at its restaurants. The awards recognize Wendy's for:

• Highest Percentage Energy Savings in a Retrofit of a Parking Lot
• Largest Absolute Number of Facility Upgrades

These awards are presented by the 2016 Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) campaign, which is supported by the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA), International Facility Management Organization (IFMA), International Parking Institute (IPI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in conjunction with the Department of Energy Better Buildings Alliance. These organizations collaborate annually to recognize real estate owners who have achieved exceptional performance in parking facility energy reduction through high-efficiency lighting and controls. 

"At Wendy's, we're setting bold goals that are brought to life in the way we plan, design, engineer, construct and operate our restaurants. These awards recognize this long-term commitment to energy conservation and sustainability," said Abigail Pringle, Chief Development Officer for The Wendy's Company. "Not only are we focused on bettering our own corporate-level energy efficiency, we're doing so in a way that will affect thousands more in our franchisee-operated restaurants."

More than six years ago, the company built two LEED certified restaurants to gain learnings and explore the possibility of incorporating energy conservation efforts in new and existing restaurants. Additionally, Wendy's has accelerated progress in reducing energy use by implementing more than 1,100 individual energy upgrade projects at more than 550 restaurants. These actions have saved millions of kilowatt hours which, for comparison, translates into the amount of electricity to power nearly 1,200 average U.S. homes for a year.

The LEEP campaign is an annual award and guidance program that encourages the use of high-efficiency lighting technology in parking facilities in order to save money and energy resources. The 2016 LEEP awards winners were acknowledged at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Los Angeles.

"The Wendy's Company's project represents one of the best-in-class retrofit parking lot facility lighting projects in the United States," said Paul Wessel, director, USGBC. "By implementing high-performance energy-efficient lighting systems, companies like Wendy's are not only cutting energy use and maintenance costs, but helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global electricity consumption."

Since its launch in 2012, the LEEP campaign has added more than 550 million square feet of parking structure or lot space, which correlates to annual energy savings of 137 kilowatts or $14 million, enough to power 12,000 homes in the United States annually. There are more than 125 owner, managers and operators across North America participating in high-efficiency parking lighting solutions for new construction projects and retrofits through the LEEP campaign.

About The Wendy's Company
The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ: WEN) is the world's third largest quick-service hamburger restaurant chain. The Wendy's system includes more than 6,500 restaurants in 29 countries and U.S. territories. For more information, visit www.aboutwendys.com.

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SOURCE The Wendy's Company