BOSTON, Massachusetts, September 27, 2018 (ENS) – The Green Restaurant Association today announced the winners of the first Green Restaurant Awards, given to establishments across the United States for a spectrum of accomplishments that include: serving certified organic, locally sourced, and humanely raised foods, using renewable energy and high-efficiency appliances, recycling containers and composting food waste.
“The restaurant industry has such an enormous environmental impact, and all of the Certified Green Restaurants® are truly going the extra mile to preserve this earth for generations to come,” the Green Restaurant Association said in its awards announcement.
The award for Greenest Restaurant goes to California’s MUSE Kitchen.
MUSE Kitchen is a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® in Calabasas, California which has implemented 49 environmental steps and earned 561.19 GreenPoints™, the most GreenPoints of any Certified Green Restaurant®. Located within MUSE School, MUSE Kitchen serves 100 percent vegan food and has on-site solar panels that offset 80 percent of their annual energy usage. Aside from those extraordinary steps, they are also near-zero waste, purchase organic food products and use reusable and recycled products.
“MUSE School’s Kitchen has just pushed the edge of sustainability even further from vision to reality,” said Michael Oshman, CEO and founder of the Green Restaurant Association. “I applaud MUSE’s leadership in providing a successful foodservice operation that is in concert with the oft-used word Sustainability.”
Most Innovative Restaurant: A Certified Green Restaurant that has one or more environmental steps that are unique, noteworthy, and exciting.
Ancolie, a New York City 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant, is one of the first restaurants in the nation to use exclusively reusable glass take-out containers instead of disposables containers. You can bring back the glass containers for $1 off your next meal. This is a great step towards reducing waste in the restaurant industry.
Green Leader: An individual in the restaurant industry who is a champion of sustainability at their Certified Green Restaurant® and in the restaurant community.
Stephen Moir is a culinary instructor at New Jersey’s MCVTS Perth Amboy Technical School. Their culinary kitchen is a 3 Star Certified Green Restaurant. He included his high school students in the certification process, administers quizzes on restaurant sustainability, and teaches them to cook with local and sustainable ingredients. By incorporating his students into the certification process and beyond, he is educating the next generation about important environmental issues in their future career.
Moir says food waste is the environmental issue that concerns him the most. He wants, “A streamlined way for restaurant to limit waste by donating or composting. Too many people live without proper nutrition,” he observes, “while restaurants have edible waste on a daily basis.”
Greenest Caterer: Certified Green Caterer™ that received the most GreenPoints
Big Delicious Planet is a 4 Star Certified Green Caterer™ located in Chicago. They’ve implemented 104 environmental steps and earned 393.35 GreenPoints. They have an urban farm with 50 raised beds, use onsite renewable energy, Energy Star equipment, and recycled and compostable disposables, among many other impressive steps.
Greenest Airport Foodservice: Airport with the most Certified Green Restaurants
John F. Kennedy Airport Terminal 4 has 32 concessions that are certified as Certified Green Restaurants. They implemented a comprehensive recycling and composting program, LED lighting, and 90 percent of locations have vegan or vegetarian options.
Greenest University Restaurant: Certified Green Restaurant located at a university that received the most GreenPoints
Lair Marketplace at Loyola Marymount University is a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant. It was the first and only higher education cafeteria to reach over 400 GreenPoints. They’ve implemented 128 environmental steps including a comprehensive recycling and composting program, 100 percent of their lights are LEDs, 70 percent of their coffee and tea offerings are USDA Certified Organic, and much more.
Greenest Corporate Cafeteria: Certified Green Restaurant located in a corporate office that received the most GreenPoints
Hertz Corporate Headquarters Café is located at Hertz HQ in Estero, Florida. They’ve taken over 80 environmental steps and earned 312.47 GreenPoints to become a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant. Some of their impressive steps include: on-site renewable energy, Energy Star appliances, Certified Organic and Humanely raised food products, high-efficiency lighting, greywater reuse for plumbing, and much more.
Greenest Zoo Restaurant: Certified Green Restaurant located at a zoo that received the most GreenPoints
Base Camp Café at the Cincinnati Zoo is a 4 Star SustainaBuild Certified Green Restaurant. They’ve earned 435.27 GreenPoints and have implemented 123 environmental steps. They have recycled bathroom partitions, cabinetry, carpet, ceiling panels, doors, drywall, flooring, insulation, roofing, and more! They also have on-site renewable energy, local and organic food, rainwater catchment and reuse, and more.
Greenest Independent Restaurant: Independent Certified Green Restaurant that received the most GreenPoints
Kitchen Sync is a 4 Star SustainaBuild Certified Green Restaurant located in Greenville, South Carolina. They have earned 437.30 GreenPoints and have implemented 72 environmental steps. They have on-site renewable energy, on-site food production, use reused/salvaged materials, do not offer any bottled water and serve straws only upon request.
Greenest School Cafeteria: Certified Green Restaurant located in a K-12 school that received the most GreenPoints
MUSE Kitchen is a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant in Calabasas, California which has implemented 49 environmental steps and earned 561.19 GreenPoints, the most GreenPoints™ of any Certified Green Restaurant. Located within MUSE School, MUSE Kitchen serves 100 percent vegan food and has on-site solar panels that offset 80 percent of their annual energy usage. Aside from those extraordinary steps, they are also near-zero waste, purchase organic food products and use reusable and recycled products.
Greenest Restaurant in NYC: New York City-based Certified Green Restaurant with the most GreenPoints
Pisticci is a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant located in New York City. They’ve earned 378.73 GreenPoints and implemented 100 environmental steps. They offer no bottled water, 92 percent of their lighting are LEDs, they make deliveries by bicycle, use local produce from their own farm, and much more.
Reusables & Green Disposables Award: Received the most GreenPoints in the Disposables Category
Ancolie earned 52.42 GreenPoints in the Disposables & Reusables category. They earned these GreenPoints by using recycled and compostable disposables, reusable dishes, glasses, and utensils for dine-in customers, reusable take-out containers, and more.
Energy Conservation & Renewable Energy Award: Received the most GreenPoints in the Energy Category
MUSE Kitchen earned 297.29 GreenPoints in the Energy category. They earned the majority of their points by having solar panels that offset 80 percent of their energy usage. They also have LED lighting, Energy Star equipment, occupancy sensors, and more.
Furnishing & Building Award: Received the most GreenPoints in the Furnishing & Building Category
Tuskers at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina earned 70.70 GreenPoints in the Furnishing & Building category. They earned these GreenPoints by using recycled ceiling panels, recycled insulation, reused concrete, doors, drywall, lumber, roofing, steel framing, storefront, and wall panels.
Sustainable Food Award: Received the most GreenPoints in the Food Category
MUSE Kitchen earned 128.20 GreenPoints in the Sustainable Food category. They earned these GreenPoints™ by being 100 percent vegan, purchasing Certified Organic food, and having on-site food production.
Chemical & Pollution Reduction Award: Received the most GreenPointsin the Chemicals Category
Cafe57 at Hearst earned 54.91 GreenPoints in the Chemicals & Pollution Reduction category. They earned these GreenPoints by using a pest control program, low VOC sealants and paints and less toxic dish detergent.
Near-Zero Waste Award: Received the most GreenPoints in the Waste Category
Mammoth Hotel Dining Room & Founding Farmers Reston both earned 74.50 GreenPoints in the Waste category. Mammoth Hotel Dining Room in Yellowstone National Park earned their points by a comprehensive recycling of paper, plastics, cardboard, glass, aluminum, paints, chemicals, grease, fluorescent lamps, electronics, and batteries, and composting program, not using paper towels in restrooms and offering straws upon request.
Founding Farmers Reston earned their points by having a comprehensive recycling and composting program, offering no bottled water, reusables for staff meals, a reusable mug program, and more.
Water Conservation: Received the most GreenPoints in the Water Category
Kitchen Sync earned 33.25 GreenPoints in the Water category. They earned these points by using a high efficiency pre-rinse sprayer, low flow faucet aerators, high efficiency toilets and urinals, serving water upon request and low-water landscaping.
Green Marketing Award: Certified Green Restaurant which markets their certification in the most effective & creative way.
Café de Boston has decals on almost all of their windows, multiple posters outlining their energy, water, and waste savings and the Certified Green Restaurant logo on their uniforms.
Greenest Distributor: A Green Restaurant Distributor that carries the most and/or varied products and has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability outside of the products they carry.
Ace Natural carries a large variety of local and organic food products. They also have solar panels on-site, purchase RECs, and use biodiesel trucks.
Greenest Product: Certified Green Product that helps restaurants earn the most GreenPoints
WGL Energy Custom Solar Solutions can earn a restaurant up to 333 GreenPoints
Most Innovative Product: Certified Green Product that is especially unique and innovative
PlateScrape is an innovative Certified Green Product that uses 93 percent less water than the tradition 1.28 GPM pre-rinse spray valve, saving restaurants money, energy, and water.
People’s Choice: Voted on by the public
Farmers Restaurant Group has seven 3 Star Certified Green Restaurants located in the metro DC area and Pennsylvania. The restaurants have collectively earned over 1,500 GreenPoints and have taken hundreds of steps toward eco-friendly sustainability.
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