|
Environmental or “green” issues are big news right now. Whether we’re talking about conserving energy and protecting the environment - from voicing our opinions on politicians flying on private jets to buying hybrid vehicles to feeding our families only organic foods - these conversations have gone beyond the kitchen table and water cooler to the boardrooms of some of the largest computer, hotel and banking corporations. And within the restaurant industry, with sales in 2007 projected to top $537 billion according to the National Restaurant Association, there are many groups and individual owners working to make this particular industry more ecologically sustainable.
One such group, the Newport Harbor Corp. in Newport, Rhode Island, has formed what they call the “Green Committee.” This is an internal group that “looks at our carbon footprint, our usage from every standpoint and tries to subsidize that and be more sustainable,” explained Cassandra Lukeris, marketing coordinator. “All of our properties look out on a beautiful natural setting, and we want to try to preserve that.” That means creating less air pollution, using alternative energy sources and recycling as much as possible.
This year, the electrical energy used by all of their companies is 100% offset by renewable energy credits (RECs) in the form of wind power. But this does not save them any money. Purchased from Sterling Planet (a middleman to National Grid), the RECs for wind power cost the company an additional 2.3% on top of their usual electric rate. They are essentially supporting wind power companies with the hope that as more and more companies and homes use this energy, it will become more affordable than conventional energy sources. Newport Harbor Corp. is the first and only private company in Rhode Island to do this and be certified by EPA. “It comes down to doing what’s good and using our influence in the region and industry to set precedents for other companies to follow,” Lukeris added.
One of the company’s core values is to do the right thing, and they haven’t just embraced wind power, but are adamant about other “green” philosophies. Conventional light bulbs have been switched out for energy saving light bulbs that cost less and use less energy, and all of their restaurants recycle. This involves educating their employees - including management, chefs, servers and dishwashers - to turn off lights when they leave a room and properly dispose of items. Their restaurants donate used cooking oils to Newport Biodiesel, which produces high quality biodiesel from the waste oils. Food waste from catered events of one of their businesses, Blackstone Caterers, is collected by a local farmer and fed to pigs.
In Cambridge, UpStairs on the Square plans to be officially “green” by the end of this year. Co-owner Mary-Catherine Deibel is working with the Green Restaurant Association, a non-profit that assists the restaurant industry in becoming “more environmentally sustainable in ways that are convenient and cost-effective.” Each year, restaurants choose four steps that will make them greener and are deemed certified organic green restaurants if they complete those steps. The following year, four more steps are chosen to further help the environment. So far, Deibel has switched light bulbs for more efficient ones and replaced equipment with new units that conserve energy. “We’re not saying it’s easy, but we’ve completed two steps already and are working to complete the last two by the end of the year,” she explained.
Another goal that’s proving more difficult is to compost all waste - a challenge in a four-star restaurant. Cardboard can be easily separated out, but food and waste products must be stored in separate bins. Deibel explained that when chefs are cooking, they can’t work over a garbage can, so they need to collect their organic waste and keep it separate from the other garbage. This proves to be an education process with the chefs, staff and dishwashers. Eventually as composting services become more popular, the costs may come down, she predicted. “Many restaurants grouped close together already share dumpsters, so when one goes green, it forces the others to follow suit,” she added.
At Bambara, there’s a demand for green practices. “With a lot of our staff being students at local universities, they really expect us to do this,” says Frank Kawecki, general manager. The Cambridge-based restaurant recycles their grease into biodiesel fuels and uses only eco-friendly kitchen and cleaning supplies. Styrofoam is not used at the restaurant, other than the large cooler-like pieces used for deliveries of large fish. However, the fish company will take back the Styrofoam the following day and reuse it, essentially saving them money. The to-go containers used at Bambara are made from reed plasma. “If you buried it, in about a week it would be gone,” noted Kawecki. “It works well to get the customer’s food home, but it won’t last forever.”
The restaurant is working on two initiatives for the future: eliminating bottled water and using only cage-free eggs. Management is discussing making their own purified sparkling and still water, even though they sell so much bottled water, this would actually hurt their revenue. “The thought is, we’re using organic ingredients, the chef is cooking with food from local farms, but we’re importing bottled water from Italy,” he explained. He feels that customers in Cambridge are sensitive to these issues and would actually appreciate the restaurant bottling its own purified water. Customers would still receive a high quality water and not be charged for it, and may spend the money they’re saving on an appetizer, more expensive wine or desserts. Switching to cage-free eggs will cost twice as much. “The hope is that we’ll be ahead of the times, and people will value that,” Kawecki stated. The restaurant produces about 60 breakfast covers, mainly eggs, and services 100-200 people at banquets at the hotel upstairs, plus the eggs are used in recipes. While these plans are still in the works, the restaurant makes note that all fish for the menu is wild and line caught and the restaurant adheres to the Seafood Watch standards when choosing seafood.
Downtown, the Hyatt Regency Boston is a green hotel, a position that trickles down to the in-house restaurant Avenue One. Flowers from weddings held there are used in other parts of the hotel and restaurant, making them last as long as possible. The flowers are then combined with food waste and taken offsite for composting and used to grow organic food. All bottles and cans are also recycled, 95% of the lights are energy efficient, and ice machine and kitchen refrigeration units are air cooled, which saves energy. According to Caitlin Marshall, marketing coordinator and systems administrator, “This probably doesn’t save us much money, if any. It might cost money to take all of these necessary steps, but being a green hotel, we want to do our part to help the environment and not add to the pollution.” Though new and current employees must be trained in recycling and being energy efficient, the company doesn’t feel it’s a challenge, but rather just another step to inform and educate.
Waste reduction at the Cambridge Brewing Company goes beyond glass, metal, plastic, cardboard and paper recycling to include providing spent brewing grains to local farmers for chicken feed. Phil Bannatyne, owner, said: “We also try to purchase from local purveyors whenever possible to shorten the supply chain and the carbon impact of transportation.” They are also attempting to organize all restaurants at One Kendall Square to participate in the city organized food composting program. And to further save on energy sources, the restaurant utilizes heat from the brewing process to help warm the facility.
There’s a lot of talk now about what we should do to help conserve energy and protect the environment. These restaurants have made a commitment to go green in different ways, whether it be swapping out old light bulbs, replacing equipment with energy efficient ones, eliminating bottled water or purchasing locally grown foods. Some of these may save money, and some may cost more to implement. When asked about the financial impact of these changes, Kristin Fahey, HR manager at Newport Harbor Corp. said, “Sometimes there are initial costs to get long term savings. We’re approaching this from a long term perspective. We realize that we may not recognize a return on investment immediately, but we’re committed to minimizing the long term ramifications on our footprint on the world. There’s a value to that; it’s not transferable with cash. And it’s a philosophy that’s very important to us."
"Sometimes there are initial costs to get long term savings. We're approaching this from a long term perspective."
|
Going Green 
