News

July 30, 2009

Local, National Groups Foster Seeds of Change

Restaurants from coast to coast are finding a new conservation resource sprouting within their midst. State, county and local bodies, for reasons as varied as the groups themselves, are forming programs to help eateries operate in a greener fashion—and get credit for it from the public.

Typically the homegrown initiatives reward restaurants with some sort of designation—be it a government certificate or bragging rights as an environmental leader—for meeting certain ecological thresholds. Often the government or nonprofit group will work with the eateries to set the goals, for example, to cut water usage by 10 percent. Advice and other assistance in achieving those goals are offered, often for free.

Places that attain the objectives are rewarded with flags, decals or other indicators to the public that the establishment is green-minded. Additional publicity might include mentions in brochures, ads, Web sites, meeting and conference planner guides, travel directories, and press releases.

Third-party verification programs have been offered for almost two decades by a few national or regional groups, usually for a fee. The options are now growing exponentially as cities, counties, states and trade groups forge recognition efforts of their own. Proponents say they're putting green measures in reach of more restaurants by offering a free or low-cost route to adoption, with on-the-ground support available from local experts.

The county of Salt Lake Valley, Utah, launched its Green Business program in January 2009, using as its models the setups adopted by Salt Lake City, Boulder, Colo., and the San Francisco Bay Area. The AIR Green Team, an initiative of the Asheville, N.C.'s Independent Restaurant Association, held its first meeting on March 10, 2009. Annapolis, Md., announced its certification program in mid-February of this year.

Los Angeles is still drafting its certification program for restaurants, as is St. Louis Earth Day, a group funded by a $50,000 grant to develop a recognition program for hometown eateries. The New York State Restaurant Association recently unveiled its recognition initiative.

Maine was the first state to offer a certification program, launching its Environmental Leader initiative in April 2007, according to Peter Cooke, the program administrator. He notes that the hotel industry has been at the forefront of such efforts; 17 states offer green certification for lodging properties.

The restaurant programs differ in part from hotel programs because they were formed with different agendas, according to Cooke. For instance, Maine's objective is "to reduce the impact on the environment and to measure that effort," says Cooke, noting that 80 percent of visitors to the tourism-dependent state engage in outdoor activities. Environmental awareness and protection, he says, are goals unto themselves. The initiative is under the auspices of the Pollution Prevention Program, for which Cooke serves as manager.

The Environmental Leader program allows restaurants to earn a certificate through what amounts to a self-administered evaluation program. Participating restaurants download a workbook that gauges their environmental efforts to date. If they score at least 100 points in the self-review, they earn a certificate. If not, they can change their operations, turning to Cooke's program for assistance and even on-site visits.

The program under development in St. Louis will be mindful of the city's solid-waste issues, says Cassie Phillips, project director of St. Louis Earth Day. Although she stresses that the certification process is still being developed, recycling will definitely be required, as might the use of non-"plastifoam" takeout containers. Composting will be encouraged. Phillips says the program also might require the use to some degree of foodstuffs grown in a sustainable fashion, a stipulation seldom included by similar programs.

Phillips acknowledges that the national third-party verification programs were an inspiration to her group, but notes, "we wanted to make [certification] available to the small, locally owned restaurant that might not have the resources to be part of a national group." Being able to address green considerations of particular interest to the local area is also a driver, she says, citing the region's focus on solid waste.

Both local and national environmental groups are helping restaurants and hotels harvest not only greener operating methods, but public goodwill as well. For more information about these programs, check out state and local resources on conserve.restaurant.org.