Earth Day Tips to Help Your Restaurant Go Green

Happy Earth Day!

Did you know? As much as 40 percent of all food grown, processed and transported in the United States will go uneaten, according to the National Restaurant Association’s Conserve program. While most think of Earth Day as just one day to think about preserving the earth’s natural resources, it can be a springboard to changing the way you think about foodservice operations. Not only to be kinder to the earth, but to be kinder to your finances and build a more sustainable future for your business.

1. Think beyond paper straws

Sustainability is more than eliminating paper straws, now, is part of a lifestyle that extends beyond the kitchen. More and more, Americans are becoming personally invested in sustainability and expect the businesses they frequent to be as well.

Why limit sustainability to just a day? Using promotional ideas to engage customers on Earth Day is a great way to kick off any energy or waste - saving program for your restaurant, for the rest of the year.

Some promotions that will be a hit with your Earth-conscious customers:

1. If your establishment takes in a good amount of natural light during the day, turn FOH lights off during breakfast and lunch hours to cut down on electricity. Use flameless or LED candles at dusk to create a beautiful ambiance as well as save additional energy costs.
2. Reward your patrons who use eco-friendly ways to get to you. An incentive for customers who walk, ride their bike or use some method of public transportation to get to your establishment may get some percentage off their order for using a green mode of transportation.
3. Give a discount to customers who bring in reusable items like cups or glass Tupperware to dine in with, or you could provide free drinks to those who bring in reusable drinkware.
4. If extending your Earth Day promotion to a full week, you could also hold a recycling initiative where customers bring in a certain number of recyclable items for a percentage off their meal. Staff can help sort the recyclables to be sent to a local recycling company.

Providing sustainable incentives for your customers and including them in your recycling initiatives demonstrates your restaurants’ or business’ commitment to environmental protection. But it doesn’t have to stop there. Here are more ways to rethink what sustainability means for your restaurant operation.

2. Rethink food waste.

It is a well-known fact that throwing away food is throwing away money and Americans waste tons of perfectly good food every year. Building an organized food inventory system using a technology platform like Upserve.com to reduce food waste and spoilage can not only help cut food costs, it will make your operations a bit greener.

Donating leftover food to a local charity or organization is a great way to get involved with your community and give back while reducing waste. Additionally, building a composting partnership with local farmers who can pick up your compost may lead to a winning partnership and local food source.

Items that you can compost:

• Food Scraps
• Fruit and Vegetable waste
• Coffee grinds and filters
• Tea bags
• Compostable plates, cutlery and take-out containers
• Cardboard sleeves from hot beverage cups
• Paper towels and napkins

Items you cannot compost:

• Oil, fat and grease
• Toxic materials
• Coffee cups
• Coated or glossy packaging paper
• Sticker labels on fruits and vegetables

3. Rethink BOH and FOH operations

Conserve water where possible

Leaky sinks are costing you money. The NRA warns that sewer costs incurred for hot water dripping down the drain will increase your monthly bills. Fixing leaky sinks can save you anywhere between $5 to $415 a year.

Speaking of sinks, did you know that your pre-rinse spray valve could also be costing you more in water waste? These are the devices that rinse off food particles before dishes go through the dishwasher. According to the EPA, some of these valves carry a heavy water cost, spraying anywhere between 2.5 to 5 gallons of water per minute (GPM).

Replacing older valves with more efficient models can save hundred in water costs. Low-flow models are recommended with the average water usage being less than 1.6 GPM. ACityDiscount carries the BK Resources Imperial Series, which uses less than 1.25 GPM. Swapping these out could save your restaurant $100-300 per year.

Build a plan to make equipment usage efficient

Most times when chefs come in for prep, they turn on every piece of equipment (and even all the FOH lights) even though most items are not being used when they're preparing food. This is like turning on your car and leaving in to run for hours before you drive it – only to waste money in gas costs.

Many still may not be aware that if one piece of equipment is turned off for at least 30 minutes per day, it can save approximately $100 a year. Additionally, the industry standard start-up time for equipment is usually 20 minutes for moderate cooking, and up to an hour for heavier cooking.

Having a start-up/shut-down schedule is a great way to keep track of kitchen equipment energy usage. It is basically informing team members when individual pieces of equipment should be turned on/off in on a work day to lower energy costs while getting food out in a timely manner.

If kitchen operators get into the habit of following the schedule, though training and incentivizing, it could save your restaurant thousands of dollars a year. The National Restaurant Association provides a free, online start-up/shut-down toolkit that can help you start your own schedule. View it here.

Investing in automation tools could also help you transform your energy-saving initiatives. Using energy management systems like SiteSage to track energy usage at the equipment level can save you on time and can take the guesswork out of finding which pieces of equipment are costing you the most.

More ways to save energy

• Use LED Lighbulbs
• Install occupancy sensors (will automatically turn lights off)
• Clean refrigeration coils on your reach-in cooler or freezer, walk-in cooler and ice machine
• Purchase energy-saving fryers
• Maintain, filter and recycle your fryer oil

What could really save your BOH energy costs is swapping out older, outdated equipment for high-efficiency equipment using Energy Star rebates. Georgia Power’s Commercial Energy Efficiency Program grants rebates for select commercial food equipment—learn more here. You could also give us a call at 404-752-6715 (ext. 2 for sales) or stop by our showroom in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross at 6286 Dawson Blvd, NE to speak with one of our experts on how you can make a more energy-efficient purchase.