The Green Movement in Foodservice Involves More Than Energy-saving Initiatives

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In a world with an increasingly environmentally conscious consumer, it’s no longer a question of whether to create a sustainable restaurant, but how to create a sustainable restaurant. So, foodservice operators are becoming environmental stewards, creating sustainability plans that infiltrate the entire operation.

Michelle Bonner, VP and training manager for Climate Smart, a carbon footprint reduction certification organization in Vancouver, notes that more operators than ever are demonstrating their green commitment through certification. “But they’re also looking for opportunities to reduce costs. There’s often a bottom line benefit.” She notes that, on average, a business will experience two- to four-per-cent greenhouse gas emission reductions in the first year; those savings will likely be in the double digits within a year. “It takes time to gain momentum and to roll out bigger initiatives such as HVAC retrofits or fleet changes,” Bonner says.

There are easy fixes with instantaneous results, such as retrofitting lighting, installing low-flow faucets or investing in efficient appliances. Another large area of opportunity is organic waste. “Composting is a great step to take. If you think about what’s left on plates, it can be turned into compost rather than landfill where it breaks down and creates methane emissions,” says Bonner.

Operators are also moving beyond their four walls to re-examine their food sourcing and supply-chain performance. The key, Bonner says, is getting the accounting department excited about sustainability efforts by illustrating the savings.

When it comes to sustainability initiatives, Tim Hortons has written the book — literally. Its 2012 Sustainability and Responsibility Report, “Making a True Difference,” is an expansive framework, which includes commitments to initiatives such as waste reduction and carbon- footprint reduction.

The trick is maintaining a consistent sustainable plan at a chain where 99.7 per cent of the units are independently owned. “As a corporation, we can build the most energy-efficient LEED-certified building, yet the benefits won’t come back to the owner unless they operate it properly,” says Tim Faveri, director of Sustainability and Responsibility for Tim Hortons in Oakville, Ont. “So, there’s a lot of education that goes with that.”

The company’s website helps, offering a virtual green restaurant tour to illustrate how environmental stewardship can be achieved in building design. And, while not all of the company’s buildings are LEED-certified (30 restaurants are expected to be certified by 2016), similar building standards can be applied at other locations that are being retrofitted or renovated. “LEED allows us to determine design aspects that are of value, so we can replicate them into our standard designs,” Faveri explains. “Lots of things” can be taken into account in the design, from an efficient building envelope (such as glazed glass or local sourcing of bricks) and white roof technology (a special coating that reduces heat loads) to heat-recovery ventilators and energy-monitoring systems. Specifications include Energy Star appliances and LED lighting as well as air curtains in front of drive-thru windows to keep warm air in during the winter, and cold air in during the summer. Even suppliers are scored and selected based on their sustainability performance.

Disposal has become a major area of focus at Tim’s. The chain has put extensive research and development into closed-loop processes such as creating a recycling program for used coffee cups to be transformed into carry-out trays — an industry first, according to Faveri. The challenge, he says, is adhering to the different programs in different municipalities.

The challenges differ at Toqué Restaurant in Montreal, which opened in an existing LEED-certified facility. “We didn’t know a lot about LEED at the time, but it got us thinking. It was a very nice challenge,” says Christine Lamarche, co-owner, explaining how the designation influenced the restaurant’s design choices, in terms of hot water and ventilation systems, for example.

As an independent restaurant, the opportunities may not be as comprehensive as a nationwide chain, but the owners have focused on reducing the use of hot water, composting and using eco-friendly ventilation systems. They’ve also reduced the chemicals used in cleaning and opted for an in-house filtered water system, rather than bottled water; and their rooftop garden has produced 200 kilograms of vegetables.

For Daniel Frankel, president and CEO of Daniel Hospitality Group in Vancouver, the opportunity to ratchet up the sustainability quotient came with the opening of two Tap & Barrel restaurants, one at Olympic Village and the other at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Both restaurants were in LEED Platinum facilities, which set a precedent for designing systems. “The lighting systems, which are integrated with Crestron building automation controls, are incredibly energy-efficient,” Frankel says. “The Olympic Village site is 8,500 square feet and consumes less electricity than the average home.” The Convention Centre site is home to four high-end Pitco fryers, which cost $40,000 (compared to approximately $6,000 for a conventional system). “They’re the most energy-efficient and use 40-per-cent less [energy] than most,” Frankel says. And, with the built-in oil- filtration system there’s only five-per-cent oil loss a day. “It lasts longer, and there’s far less waste,” says the CEO.

On the downside, there are often high initial costs to consider when creating a sustainable restaurant. “You could be spending 30- to 40-per-cent premium on appliances easily. The fryers were 300 per cent more. But, when you think about the oil used, and the energy and labour savings — as well as the rebates from Fortis Energy — it’s not so bad,” Frankel says.

Appliances at the two Tap & Barrel restaurants are Energy Star rated where possible, including the Alto-Shaam combi-ovens and Nor-Lake walk-in coolers. “We always buy the Rolls Royce of refrigeration systems,” Frankel says. “There’s too much that can go wrong, so you’re better off having far better insulation.”

The bathrooms are green, too. All toilets and urinals use non-potable rainwater collected in outside basins. Taps also have electric sensors to conserve water.

But, one of Frankel’s biggest points of pride is the pioneering of “wine on tap.” By using
barrels of wine that can be pumped to taps at the bar, the restaurateur is spared from disposing the equivalent of 300 bottles per barrel.

But, overall it’s the employees that can make the real difference. “Our chefs, our managers, our staff — all of us care about how we operate day to day and how we impact our community,” Frankel says. “This type of commitment comes back in spades.”

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