More Restaurants Move To Green

“Going Green” is a very broad term and has become more of a fad than a reality. However, many restaurants and restaurateurs are taking the ”Going Green” concept to heart and for good reason. Did you know that:

• Nationwide the restaurant industry consumes 1/3rd of all retail electricity use.
• Restaurants use almost 5 times more energy per sq. ft. than any other type of commercial building.
• Nearly 80% of the $10 billion dollars that the commercial food service sector spends annually for its energy use is lost in inefficient food cooking, holding and storage.
• The average restaurant annually consumes roughly 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 20,000 therms of natural gas and 800,000 gallons of water. That amounts to nearly 490 tons of carbon dioxide produced per year per restaurant.
• A typical restaurant generates 100,000 pounds of garbage per location per year.

Not only does the average restaurant leave a huge carbon footprint, but they waste a lot of $$$ in the process. Restaurants can increase their bottom line by being more efficient when it comes to using less water, using less energy, reducing waste, using safer cleaners, buying local organic foods, and using green equipment.

Here are a few tips that can save your restaurant money and save the environment:

Tips for Using Less Water:

• Placing low-flow valves in the sprayers that pre-rinse dishes can save a restaurant 73,000 gallons of water a year, estimates the Pacific Gas & Electric’s Food Service Technology Center.
• Replacing a standard urinal with a waterless one can save 40,000 gallons of water per year, according to the EPA.
• Don’t thaw frozen food in running water. Wash produce in sinks of water, not under a faucet. Install low-flow faucets.
• Install a new dishwashing system: most new dishwashers use as little as a gallon of water or less per rack of dishes washed. Some have gas booster heaters to save energy. Some use chemical rinse instead of a hot water rinse. Although more expensive initially, energy efficient dishwashing systems will reduce energy bills over time and pay for themselves.
• Replace steam cookers –Connectionless steamers use considerably less water than boiler-based steamers. EPA tests show that certain energy efficient steam cookers are as much as 90% more water efficient than traditional models.

Tips for Using Less Energy:

• Turn off your lights. Make sure that no lights are left on in any room that is not currently in use.
• Reduce broiler, fryer and range pre-heating and idle time.
• Turn on electric cooking appliances sequentially rather than all at the same time. This will result in substantial savings on the demand charge the electric companies bill for.
• Keep everything clean. The more debris that collects in and on fryers and grill surfaces, the harder they have to work.
• Compare energy use on all new equipment purchases. Energy Star rated equipment can save over 40% in energy costs over comparable non-Energy Star models.
• Buy the right size equipment.
• Try new technologies. For example, convection ovens use far less energy than conventional gas ovens.

Tips for Reducing Waste:

• Donate unused food to food banks instead of throwing it away.
• Compost the organic leftovers instead of throwing them away.
• Waste cooking oils should not be poured down the drains. This puts a strain on your drainage system and sewage treatment plants. Collect waste oil for pick-up by an oil recovery scavenger.
• Get rid of polyethylene to-go containers. Go with paper or cardboard.
• Recycle!

Buy Local and Organic Foods:

• Demand for organic goods is growing at 25% per year.
• Organic vegetables are grown without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides which are energy-intensive to produce and pollute water supplies.
• Organic meats and dairy products are raised on organic feed without the use of antibiotics or artificial hormones.
• Meats and vegetables grown locally cost much less to transport that food grown in distant areas.
• Locally grown food is fresher – in many cases, delivered to you the day it is harvested. This means it tastes better and lasts longer.
• Local growers can custom-grow to chefs’ needs.
• Buying local encourages customers to appreciate “seasonally appropriate” foods.