Sustainable Restaurant

Why it’s important

Running the Restaurant

The restaurant industry consumes a surprisingly large portion of our resources. It accounts for 33 percent of the electricity used by retail outlets in the US, ranking behind only health care and food retailing. Every year, the average eatery uses 300,000 gallons of water and generates 150,000 pounds of garbage. And that’s just operational consumption—imagine the added cost of getting all that food to your plate!

A “sustainable” restaurant can mean many things: an establishment that serves local food, organic food, sustainable seafood, or a combination of these. Green goes beyond the type of food on the menu.  It includes the farms it comes from and even the plate it’s served on. That’s why some guides to sustainable eateries also look at operating practices like Styrofoam products and recycling procedures.

The Green Restaurant Association

The Green Restaurant Association is the only official certifier of Green Restaurants® in the country. The national non-profit organization was founded in 1990 to shift the restaurant industry toward ecological sustainability.

To earn the Certified Green Restaurant® distinction, restaurants must meet the requirements of the GRA’s points-based program:
• Accumulate a total of 100 Points
• Meet minimum points in 6 of the 7 environmental categories
• Have a full-scale recycling program
• Be Styrofoam free
• Complete the GRA’s yearly education requirement

The Green Restaurant Association requires all applications to achieve a minimum score of 100 points to receive a 2 Star Certification, 175 points to receive a 3 Star Certification, and 300 points to receive a 4 Star Certification. Each restaurant is judged in these areas: Energy, Water, Waste, Disposables, Chemical & Pollution Reduction and Food.

The Green Restaurant Association acknowledges 10 areas that make for green dining out, including the categories listed below.

Energy efficiency/conservation and green power

The restaurant industry accounts for 33 percent of the electricity used by retail outlets in the US, making them the largest electricity consumer in that sector.[6] Electricity generation creates more pollution than any other single industry in the US, from smog- and global warming-contributing air pollution to toxic waste byproducts.[7] According to ENERGY STAR’s restaurant fact sheet, restaurants can reduce energy bills and pollution emissions by 10 to 30 percent by replacing standard equipment with energy-efficient alternatives. When Tripp’s Bar and Grill in North Bend, Pennsylvania, replaced their old freezers with ENERGY STAR-certified appliances, they reduced their electricity usage by 31,700 kWh, thereby preventing more than 50,000 pounds of CO₂ emissions. And Reedville Café in Hillsboro, Oregon, is preventing almost 39,000 pounds of CO₂ from entering the environment by using ENERGY STAR-qualified gas fryers.[8]

In addition to using more energy-efficient equipment, energy-saving experts encourage smarter energy use, including turning equipment off when it’s not needed, keeping thermostats set to factory-recommended temperatures, replacing light bulbs with energy-efficient versions, and keeping up on maintenance of equipment, ventilation systems, and air conditioners.[9] More than 40 percent of the average restaurant’s energy consumption is spent on cooling.[10]

Restaurants can further lessen their energy impact by choosing green power from their electricity provider. The Austin Grill chain of Tex-Mex restaurants, for example, was the first restaurant company in the US to utilize 100 percent wind power.[11] Green power has even found its way into fast food chains. The Holland Inc. announced in 2005 that all of its Burgerville restaurants throughout Oregon and Washington would be powered exclusively by wind.[12] The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a list of Green Power Partners, including restaurants.

Water efficiency and conservation

The average restaurant uses 5,800 gallons of water every day, more than half of which is used in kitchen operations.[13] The Massachusetts Water Resource Authority’s studies have found that, depending on size and popularity, a single restaurant meal requires anywhere from 6 to 29 gallons of water, meaning most restaurants use anywhere from 1 million to 13 million gallons per year.[14]

Recycling and composting

Sixty-four percent of the waste created by quick service (fast food) restaurants is paper and plastic from the packaging.[15] Recycling paper and plastic from restaurants can have a large environmental impact. When Wilmington, North Carolina began requiring restaurants and bars to recycle garbage, the amount of recycling increased by 75 percent—from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds per day to 2,500 to 3,000 pounds per day—within the first month.[16] The recycling process produces less pollution and uses fewer resources than manufacturing products from virgin materials.[17] The Green Restaurant Association recommends that restaurants not only recycle their garbage, but also carry recycled paper goods, tree-free paper products, and biodegradable dishes and flatware for take-out.

Most of the waste generated by full-service, sit-down restaurants, on the other hand, is food waste (60 to 80 percent of their total trash).[15] Almost 30 percent of all waste that ends up in landfills is this food-related waste.[18] A 2006 survey by the American Restaurant Association found that only 20 percent of fine dining restaurants recycle food waste, and casual and family restaurants’ rates were even lower. As an alternative fate to landfills, some restaurants have begun to compost biodegradable and organic waste: Local organizations pick up the food waste and convert it to compost, which can then be sold for use in home gardens at home improvement stores in as little as eight days.[18]

Sustainable food

Restaurants that serve local produce and small-farm meat lessen their environmental impact by cutting out pollution-ridden and fossil-fuel intensive transportation from farm to table.[19] Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture researchers found that conventionally grown US produce travels up to 27 times the distance of its locally grown counterparts. The support to local, small farms also helps preserve rural open space and conserves the immense amounts of water, energy, and other resources used by factory farms.[20]

Serving organic produce and organic meat keeps dangerous pesticides, insecticides, and other chemicals out of the environment. To be certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food must be grown in soil free of toxic pesticides and fertilizers and cannot be genetically modified or irradiated.[21] Chemical pesticides and fertilizers are not only believed to be harmful to human and animal health, but they also pollute ecosystems and waterways.[22]

With overfishing and questionable fish farms abounding, it’s important to choose restaurants that serve sustainable seafood— that which has been harvested or grown in an eco-friendly manner—and fish that is low in environmental contaminants. Seventy-five percent of worldwide commercial fish stocks are already considered fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted from overfishing.[23] Fish-farming, also known as aquaculture, contributes to wild habitat and biodiversity loss, and algal bloom growth, among other problems.[23] You can check which fish are safe to order at Ocean’s Alive’s “Eco-best and eco-worst fish list” from Environmental Defense.[19]

Local vs. meatless

A study by Carnegie Mellon University scientists has concluded that eating less meat will reduce carbon emissions even more than purchasing food locally.[24] The study found that transporting food is responsible for only 4 percent of food-associated greenhouse gas emissions, while production contributes 83 percent;[25] researchers say that means that buying all local food is like driving 1,000 fewer miles in your car annually, which is what you get cutting dairy and meat one day a week. Go totally veggie and you’ll slash a whopping 8,000 miles in vehicle emissions.[26] In fact, researchers say that delivery to the consumer accounts for only 1 percent of total red meat-associated emissions.[25]

Why is meat-eating more problematic than driving a car or purchasing far-flung food? The production of meat and dairy products creates a high amount of nitrous oxide and methane emissions, from fertilizers, manure management, and animal digestion. Methane, which is much more potent than carbon dioxide, is produced both during digestion in cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels, as well as during the anaerobic decomposition of livestock manure.[27] Nitrous oxide results from the nitrification and denitrification of nitrogen in livestock (most commonly of cattle) manure and urine.[28] Stats like these have led to questions like: “Can going vegan do more to slow global climate change than shopping my local farmer’s market?”[29]

Pollution prevention

Restaurants that do not clean out their grease trap regularly or do not dispose of grease properly are leading contributors to stormwater pollution, which can kill plants and animals in nearby waterways. Waters clouded with oils and grease do not provide the light needed for plant survival and deplete water oxygen levels for fish.[30] Restaurants using deep-fat fryers are known to produce nine times more smoke than buses, contributing to smog and air pollution. In 1994, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which regulates air quality in four counties surrounding Los Angeles, estimated that restaurants emit 13.7 tons of particulate matter and 19 tons of volatile organic compounds every day—as much as an oil refinery.[31]

Chlorine-free paper products

Restaurants that opt for chlorine-free paper products help keep hundreds of chemicals out of the environment, including dioxin, a known carcinogen.[32] Manufacturers of paper products often use chemical chlorine or chlorine compounds to brighten wood fibers and guard against yellowing. Chlorine bleaching also uses large amounts of water.[33]

Nontoxic cleaning and chemical products

Cleanliness and sanitation are essential in a successful restaurant. But the cleaning products used often contain chlorine, amonia, caustic soda, and volatile organic compounds. The fumes from these products can cause respiratory problems—for workers and patrons alike—and the products can affect water quality when they are flushed down drains and enter the sewage system.[34]

Green building

From generating power from their own wind turbine to tabletops made of reclaimed wood to 100 percent recycled milk jug walls, restaurants can green their buildings in a variety of ways. US Green Building Council (USGBC), has begun a pilot program called “LEED for Retail” that will work to get restaurants certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program. LEED is a points-based rating system that takes into account six categories (Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation in Design).[35]

The Green Restaurant Association also takes green buildings into account, among other criteria, when certifying a restaurant as green.

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We are currently compiling a Sustainable Restaurant Guide.  If you have a favorite in your neighborhood, please send us the details and we will add it to the list….

Miya’s Sushi….

Bun is especially passionate about sustainable food practices. His restaurant is the first and only sustainable sushi restaurant in the North East (one of four in America) with the largest vegetarian sushi menu in the world.

more info

Back to Healthy Eating

Slow Food

Slow Food Recipes

Earth Markets

Vegetarian Restaurant Guide

Organic Restaurant Guide

1. Energy Information Administration – Food Service Buildings
2. Thimmakka – History
3. Environmental News Network – Maximum Impact Restaurant Greening
4. Hospitality Net – Hey Kermit, Being Green Is Getting Easier (part I)
5. Restaurant Industry Webguide – The Restaurant Industry
6. Environmental News Network – The Greening of Restaurants
7. Power Scorecard – Electricity and the Environment
8. ENERGY STAR – Energy Use and Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Restaurants
9. Energy Ideas – Restaurant Energy Saving Tips
10. San Diego Gas and Electric Company – Energy-Saving Solutions for Restaurants
11. US Environmental Protection Agency – Partner List
12. Bonneville Environmental Foundation – The Holland Inc. Standardizes on 100 Percent Renewable Wind Power
13. City of Tampa – Water Efficiency Checklist for Restaurants
14. Massachusetts Water Resources Authority – Water Efficiency and Management for Restaurants
15. What I Found In Las Vegas Hotel and Restaurant Waste
16. WWAY News Channel – Bar and restaurant recycling creates jobs
17. Full Circle Resources – Restaurant Waste Reduction Manual: A Step-by-Step Approach Page 8
18. Portland Business Journal – Restaurant trash-talking
19. Environmental Defense – An Eco-friendly Mother’s Day
20. Sustainable Table – The Issues: Fossil Fuel and Energy Use
21. Seattle Post-Intelligencer – Are organic fruit, veggies worth the extra cost?
22. Modern Brewery Age – Hops in beer often laced with pesticides, writer says
23. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2006 report
24. Discover News – Eating Green: Food Type Trumps Distance
25. Science News – It’s the meat, not the miles
26. Carnegie Mellon – Headlines: Researchers Report Dietary Choice Has Greater Impact on Climate Change Than Food Miles
27. US Environmental Protection Agency – Where does methane come from: Livestock enteric fermentation & Livestock manure management
28. US Environmental Protection Agency – Where does nitrous oxide come from: Livestock manure management
29. About.com – What does eating meat have to do with fossil fuels?
30. New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency – What causes stormwater pollution?
31. New York Times – Rule Is Sought on Air Pollution by Restaurants
32. Treecycle – Use Post-Consumer! It is the goal!
33. Chlorine Free Products Association – Confronting Chlorine
34. Green Restaurants – Use safer cleaners
35. US Green Building Council – LEED for Retail
36. Organic Consumers Association – Food Bytes: USDA Propaganda Event Will Accompany Release of the Controversial National Organic Food Standards
37. ProQuest CSA – Genetically Modfified Foods: Friend or Foe?

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