February 24, 2010
Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Launch ‘Green’ Restaurant Design Initiative
Darden Restaurants is rolling out a sustainable restaurant design initiative across its entire portfolio for both new restaurants and remodels. Aimed at reducing the environmental impact of its restaurants while increasing the operational efficiency, Darden is designing eight restaurants at its three largest brands — Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse –to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
This latest announcement marks a big change in Darden’s environmental strategy. In 2008, Darden along with four other restaurant chains scored one or zero points for their climate performance.
The Olive Garden in Jonesboro, Ark., which opened for business last month, is the first of eight restaurants targeted for LEED certification. One more Olive Garden and two Red Lobsters are scheduled to open in 2010, and one Olive Garden, two Red Lobsters and one LongHorn Steakhouse will follow in 2011.
The Olive Garden in Jonesboro features several energy-saving features including the increased use of natural light, Energy-Star rated equipment, LED light bulbs that use seven watts of energy and last up to 50,000 hours, and reclaimed heating from condensing units of the HVAC system and freezer/cooler system to heat hot water.
Other sustainable features include low-flow water nozzles in the kitchen and automatic faucets to save water and the use of recycled building materials such as sheetrock, doors, windows and carpet squares.
Darden’s newly opened corporate headquarters facility in Orlando also is on track to earn LEED Gold certification. The company claims it is the largest LEED Gold new construction project in Florida.
The new headquarters also incorporates several energy- and water-saving features including a high-efficiency heating and air conditioning system, automatic lighting system, increased natural light, a highly reflective roof system, and restrooms and irrigation systems that use reclaimed water that save nearly 2 million gallons of water annually.
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Reader Comments
Great to see the restaurant industry going green, because this will give business travelers and tourists a better sense of where to dine to reduce environmental impact.
Erik Folgate | February 24th, 2010
If they are “going green” as a restaurant corporation, they should seriously consider some sort of incentive for those who bring in their own tupperware for take-out, and other sorts of creative green ideas. Just a thought.
- Maurizio Maranghi-
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Maurizio Maranghi | February 24th, 2010
Red Lobster could make a huge splash by committing to serving sustainable seafood from the Monterey Bay Acquarium List of secure fisheries. Overharvested spiney lobster likely wouldn’t make that list. Transforming their marketing from all-you can eat to moderation would be an astounding feat as well for dietary and species health.
Allen Doyle | March 5th, 2010
I agree with Maurizio, but I don’t believe that will ever happen. Those types of fisheries couldn’t keep up with the demand and stay sustainable at the same time. I do think the individual units could grow relationships with local growers and use their fresh goods for the restaurants’ other needs. I respect Darden’s green campaign but I think they need to focus on reducing their global impact at their core, the food.
Darin Heisler | March 9th, 2010