May 25, 2010
Green Seal Certification Helps Restaurants Reduce Environmental Impact by 75%
Restaurants can reduce their environmental impact and tell their ‘green’ story to consumers by participating in the Green Seal certification program for green restaurants, according to the Rainforest Alliance and the 312 Chicago Restaurant at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show.
According to Green Seal, a non-profit in environmental certification, more than 95 percent of the environmental impact of U.S. restaurants is food. By following the Green Seal guidelines, a restaurant can reduce its overall environmental impact by an average of 75 percent.
The American National Standards Institute approved the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Food Services (Gs-46) last September.
“Our life-cycle analysis showed that agricultural production as well as distribution, storage, preparation, and disposal of food represent the vast majority of the impact of an operation. To truly make a difference you have to reduce these impacts,” said Cheryl Baldwin of Green Seal.
Kim Schwenke, Pastry Chef of 312 Restaurant in Chicago, said the restaurant is pursuing Green Seal certification because of the re-assurance it will provide to their customers who are increasingly concerned about sustainability.
More than half of the “Top 20 Trends for 2010″ identified in the NRA’s annual chef survey relate to sustainability, said Sabrina Vigilante of the Rainforest Alliance. The organization’s certification of responsibly produced food is one of seven recognized in the Green Seal standard.
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Reader Comments
A 75% reduction in environmental footprint is a big deal. How would a restaurant go about achieving a reduction of this magnitude? Please provide the top most impactful actions that would significantly contribute to this reduction.
Ian Lipton | May 25th, 2010
One place to begin is to look at the ENERGY STAR Web site. While this program is not directly affiliated with Green Seal, it has many resources for restaurateurs and purchasers looking to reduce their footprint, from case studies and guides of best practices to lists of energy efficient products. This information can be accessed at http://www.energystar.gov/cfs.
Katy | May 25th, 2010
Energy is certainly a big factor, but when you look at the footprint of the restaurant from beginning to end, the biggest culprit is the food served. Links on this page give guidance on how to reduce that and other impacts. http://www.greenseal.org/certification/standards/gs46_restaurantfoodsvcs.cfm
Linda Chipperfield | June 4th, 2010