Restaurants devote energy to helping environment

Nation's Restaurant News,  Dec 17, 2007  

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It might not be easy going, or being, green, but it is getting more and more common in the restaurant industry. The following are some of the most innovative environmentally conscious steps taken by operators in the past year.

BON APPETIT MANAGEMENT CO. rolled out a national campaign in April to lower its own greenhouse gas emissions. The initiative focused on sourcing from North America all meats, poultry and produce used at its 150 accounts nationwide as a way of reducing the transportation of the food. Also, the company elected to reduce its use of beef by 25 percent and serve only domestic bottled water. In addition, the company issued a plan to reduce food waste by 25 percent over a three-year period.

MCDONALD'S CORP. not only lowered its carbon footprint, but also saw costs dip 3.7 percent after reducing its paper consumption by 1.65 million pounds at U.S. stores and switching to more efficient lighting at all 30,000 restaurants. Company officials indicated that McDonald's eliminated 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as a result of its efforts.

SUBWAY said it would make its restaurants more eco-friendly by using energy-efficient equipment, reducing water consumption, designing new stores with more recycled materials from sustainable resources, and implementing a packaging initiative using 100-percent recycled materials. The company opened its first green-certified store in Kissimmee, Fla., on Nov. 5.

COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF in May completed its green certification with the Green Restaurant Association. The 200-unit gourmet-coffee chain began its green conversion process in 2004 with a pilot program of 10 test sites. The company said it expects to save $750,000 over the next five years thanks to energy and water conservation at all of its units.

ARAMARK CORP.'s Parks & Resorts division, in celebration of Earth Day 2007, initiated a program to offset 100 percent of its traditional energy consumption with alternative-energy solutions. Aramark implemented its alternative-energy program by purchasing enough Green Tags, or renewable-energy certificates, to offset 24.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, or 100 percent of the company's traditional electrical consumption.

SNAPPY SALADS, a Dallas-based quick-service concept, offers healthful fare served in an eco-friendly atmosphere featuring tables made from reclaimed wood, rubber floors and walls covered with milk paint, a protein-based paint composed from less volatile organic chemicals than those found in regular paint, in addition, Snappy Salads uses biodegradable utensils made from potato starch, and all of the employees' uniforms are made from hemp. Owner Chris Dahlender said the concept's latest initiative is to recycle the frying oil in the restaurant's grease traps into biodiesel fuel.

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