Today restaurants can become more environmentally friendly by doing a number of different things. Restaurants and food service providers can choose a third party organization to point them in the right direction in terms of how they should "green" their businesses.
By Ashley Cefalo
12/10/10
Going green has infiltrated every aspect of American daily life, from light bulbs to bagging groceries. But it is also making headway in how businesses operate and the food industry is one that is working on reforming its wasteful ways.
Today, businesses and restaurants specifically can decide to go green as well. And for restaurants that choose to consult with green experts, they have a choice. To encourage green ways, several associations have developed certificate programs. Here is some brief information about the most widely used green certification programs today
Green Restaurant League
This green certification group from Bannockburn, Ill has been "greening" restaurants since 2005. Restaurants seeking a green certification from GRL are given an assessment by a trained green consultant who makes a checklist of all the things the restaurant has in place, and the changes it needs to make in order to reach its certification.
Michael Richmond, director of the Green Restaurant League said the first level of certification process begins with a trained GRL consultant who offers a variety of suggestions to start the green process.
"We want to keep the restaurants moving forward," Richmond said.
The GRL helps its restaurants stay on track by requiring mandatory annual audits. Richmond said the actual certification itself is free but the restaurants are charged for the GRL's green consultant who conducts the assessment and the audits.
Richmond said the GRL does not allow restaurants to just buy a green certification online to place in their storefront. Since the inception of the green movement, Richmond said the league has seen a lot of deceptive practices and "green-washing".
Green washing is defined by dictionary.com as "a superficial or insincere display of concern for the environment that is shown by an organization."
Richmond and his business are dedicated to seeing that a new set of environmental standards are implemented that involves a monitored annual audit.
Green Restaurant Association
"The changes made effect employee morale, public relations and the bottom line," Fleck said.
Since its inception, the Green Restaurant Association has certified more than 750 green restaurants and food operations in the US and Canada. The association has reviewed not only restaurants but food service operators, and quick service, fine dining and corporate cafeterias such as the Microsoft corporate headquarters in Redmond, Wash., the Harvard Business School and Boloco at Northeastern University.
Like many of the other certification programs, the process starts out with an assessment by a GRA consultant. After the assessment of the restaurant is completed, a consultant is assigned to work closely with the restaurant to make suggestions and find solutions.
When it comes to certifications, the GRA offers options for existing restaurants, new buildings and even single events. There are three levels of certification for restaurants: two-star, three-star and four-star Certified Green Restaurants. Two-Star Certified Green Restaurants have acquired a minimum of 100 points. Three-Star Certified Green Restaurants have a minimum of 175 points and Four-Star Certified Green Restaurants have tallied at least 300 points. All the points are based on a scale, which allocated points to meeting certain GRA requirements and suggestions such as water efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable food.
Fleck said the association can and is determined to certify any restaurant and generally the process of becoming certified at the lowest level can take up to six months.
Green Business Bureau
The GBB takes a rather different approach to green certification. Ramon Khan, of the company's Member Relations area, said that this is what sets the GBB apart from the other certification programs. The GBB is a group of diverse business professionals is committed to environmentally-friendly business practices.
Khan said the GBB certification process is designed to be quick and efficient "We provide an online assessment and then make suggestions," Khan said.
Khan said the company requires that each restaurant pay an annual membership fee which is based on the number of employees a restaurant has and also on the certification level. The larger number of employees and the higher the certification standards, the more expensive the annual fee is.
Khan said the online platform also helps to cut costs for obtaining the certification and provides not only suggestions and solutions for restaurants but also includes a comprehensive marketing package for restaurant owners.
Green Seal
The difference between Green Seal and other certification groups is that Green Seal adheres to strict standards outlined by the American National Standards Institution for restaurants. Green Seal has already made its mark in the hospitality industry and has been greening hotels since 1989, said the company's Technical Coordinator, Andrew Beauchamp.
The GS-46 standard is something Green Seal adheres to in terms of its certification process for restaurants. The standard establishes requirements for restaurants and food service operations that have been operating for at least three months.
Beauchamp said the standard is based on life-cycle research and focuses on environmental improvement in areas such as food, waste and energy.
Beauchamp said that based on this research and the GS-46 standard, the requirements have to do with what makes the most impact, which in this case happens to be the food.
"It really comes down to if a restaurant is buying local food that is humanely raised and organic and then how that food is discarded," Beauchamp said.
Beauchamp added that restaurants can have a large environmental impact by adding vegetarian and vegan dishes on their menu due to the high cost of meat distribution.
"We are the first and only life-cycle assessment certification that is based off of the main impacts that the standard outlines, whereas other certifications have more minor impacts," Beauchamp said.
Beauchamp said the Green Seal program starts with an in-depth data gathering process where the restaurant seeking a certification would be required to compile at least six months worth of bills pertaining to aspects such as utilities and waste.
From there, restaurants can either be placed in a bronze, silver or gold certification program based on the project manager's assessment and how determined the restaurant is to "greening" their practices.
In an effort to keep restaurants on track, the program mandates annual audits where a project manager assigned to the restaurant would make sure the business has continued to meet its certification's requirements.
Green Seal also offers a "continuous improvement" clause in its certification, which outlines that restaurants that have achieved bronze status then have three years to reach silver status.
"It's a way to keep the businesses motivated and continuing to utilize green practices in their daily routine," Beauchamp said.
Beauchamp said the process generally takes about six months.
Green Seal's restaurant and food service certification program is relatively new. The standard was established at the end of 2009 and Beauchamp said the company is hoping to expand this area based on its strong presence in the hospitality industry.
Your website has to be the elecrotnic Swiss army knife for this topic.