Green Dining Best Practices Help Companies Cut Costs, Waste and Pollution

Random House and the Hearst Corporation have found that serving up a menu based on green dining practices can save their companies thousands of dollars while cutting down on waste and pollution.

Company dining rooms at New York offices for the firms were the test sites for a comprehensive set of Green Dining Best Practices devised by the Environmental Defense Fund and food service firm Restaurant Associates. EDF and the food service firm released the guidelines yesterday.

The best practices cover everything from purchasing, packaging and transportation of food, to preparation, presentation, facility operations and cleaning of commercial kitchens and dining rooms.

By putting the ideas into practice, Random House and Hearst are on track to save $85,000 at each of two test sites, avoid 275 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and cut landfill waste by 60 tons a year, according to the EDF and the food service company.

Restaurant Associates plans to use the Green Dining Best Practices at its 110 U.S. facilities. The firm also has asked the Green Restaurant Association to audit those efforts with a goal of achieving certification by 2011.

The company has set a goal of reducing the carbon footprint of the meats and proteins it serves by 20 percent by July next year. It also has said it will provide clients with water dispensers, as an alternative to bottled water, and increase the amount of sustainable seafood on its menus.

The Green Dining Best Practices are available at www.edf.org/greendining.

Restaurant Associates is a premium food service, restaurtant and catering company whose clients include museums, performing arts centers, aquariums, corporate dining rooms and educational facilities.

_{Image courtesy of Environmental Defense Fund.}