SIDEBARS: The Era of Sustainability
-- Restaurants & Institutions, October 15, 2008
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At the Border Grill in Las Vegas, Chef Mike Minor has made a commitment to purchasing only sustainable seafood. To help keep his staff current on the subject, he posts information on a message board in the back of the house and trains sous chefs to stay up-to-date on the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch list. He has also told his purveyors to only offer him sustainable seafood. “You have to build a team around you,” says Minor. |
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Northeastern University in Boston worked with Chartwells Dining Services to implement a composting program using a third party. In dining areas, students scrape food into compost bins and recycle cans and plastic. From last fall to this spring, 281 tons of waste were diverted to compost. Combined with the university’s recycling efforts, Resident District Manager Tim Cooney estimates that 63.5% of all campus waste is either composted or recycled. |
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During peak season, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (an Aramark account) uses 1,500 gallons of vegetable oil for frying. Each week, a bio-diesel company picks up the oil for free. About 80% of it becomes bio-diesel fuel. In addition, the ballpark purchased 20 million kilowatt-hours in renewable energy. The same amount of conventional energy equals approximately the carbon dioxide emissions for more than 1.7 million gallons of gasoline, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. |
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Along with “eco-friendly” and “green,” “sustainability” is a powerful, if sometimes confusing, buzzword. Chris Koetke, dean of the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Chicago says he thinks the United Nations defines it best: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” Says Koetke, “The crux of it is we are stewards of the earth.” Here, other foodservice professionals share with us what the term “sustainability” means to them. “We think of it more in terms of supporting the land and trying to be green in that sense by dealing directly with the farmers.” –Allie Levitt, chef-owner, Mado, Chicago “As it relates to sports and entertainment, [it signifies] efforts in terms of organic, local and seasonal, and reducing, when possible, the carbon footprint.” –C.T. Nice, vice president of food and beverage, Aramark Sports and Entertainment, Philadelphia “It’s using renewable energy and trying to be as full-circle in recycling efforts as possible. On a larger front, it’s about integrity of the food we use.” –Anne Weaver, owner, Elephants Delicatessen, Portland, Ore. “It’s about what sustains you. Food is one thing, but it’s also culture, air, water, and what sustains you economically.” –Rick MacDonald, Assistant Director, UHS Support Services, Durham, N.H. “You have to put it into the context. [Harvard] is a huge environment, with 600-plus buildings, [and] it’s growing; it’s building more buildings. The first [step] is cutting the carbon emissions.” –Ted Mayer, Executive Director, Harvard University Dining Services “Sustainability for foodservice operators includes several parallel tracks that sometimes interrelate and sometimes don’t, although ultimately the goal of all sustainable practices is to sustain the environment. This is particularly important to foodservice since all the raw materials for foodservice are harvested from the environment.” –Richard Young, senior engineer and director of education, Food Service Technology Center, San Ramon, Calif. |
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Menus at the eight locations of Chicago-based Big Bowl Fresh Chinese and Thai include “Big Bowl’s Road to Sustainability,” a one-page summary of the chain’s green initiatives. The company’s Web site also lists its eco-conscious programs as well as information on public transportation and parking options for bikes. Using a Web site to explain green actions may help win over consumers who are generally skeptical of green marketing messages. According to an April survey conducted by Burst Media, a Burlington, Mass., online media and technology company, 65.3% of respondents say they sometimes believe green advertising claims. Yet 41.6% say they research claims made in green advertisements to be sure they are factual. When companies provide insightful—and honest—information on green initiatives, they can also educate their audience. An undergraduate survey by Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) found that many students at the Cambridge, Mass., campus weren’t as familiar with the issue of sustainability as the dining services team had expected. In addition to student outreach programs, HUDS posted its first sustainability report detailing its efforts on its Web site. The report “was a place to consolidate all that we were doing,” says Executive Director Ted Mayer. “We wanted to capture everything that was being done so that we could have a more complete picture.” |
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