WASHINGTON, DC — Green Seal's certification standard for restaurants and foodservice operations has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), making the guidelines the first of their kind to be nationally recognized, Green Seal said today.
The GS-46 Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Foodservices, released in May, is also the first Green Seal specification to be approved as an American National Standard.
Green Seal, a third-party certifier whose ecolabel can be found on goods and facilities ranging from green cleaning products to lodgings, was accredited as a standards developer by the institute in September 2008.
The standard for restaurants and foodservice establishments provides a framework for the facilities to reduce their environmental impacts.
The standard addresses food purchasing and waste reduction, which present the greatest opportunities for restaurateurs and foodservice operators to shrink their facilities' environmental footprint. Resource efficiency and water and energy management are among the other key issues covered.
Three certification levels -- bronze, silver and gold -- are available under the standard, which applies to full-service, limited service, non-commercial and catering operations .
GS-46 was developed with input from more than 100 trade groups, operators in the industry, suppliers, educators and environmental and health organizations.
Image by jzlomek.