The average diner might have to look really hard to notice efforts to make more than 100 restaurants and dining services in the Washington area more environmentally friendly.
The biggest changes, according to the head of the Green Restaurant Association, happen behind the scenes.
“If we’ve done our job well, you will notice nothing,” Michael Oshman said.
Restaurants and dining services at the American Museum of Natural History, the Kennedy Center and the U.S. House of Representatives are among the 111 that are working with Oshman’s organization to make changes mostly in “the back of the house.” They include using more efficient cookware and lighting — both to save energy — as well as recycling more.
Restaurant Associates is the food service contractor for all 111 participants, which are working with GRA to earn Certified Green Restaurant seals by 2011.
A spokeswoman for Restaurant Associates said the program was just in its initial stages.
Behind-the-scenes greening can begin with getting food items to restaurants, Oshman said. On average, each piece of food you eat in a restaurant has had to travel 1,500 miles to get there.
The GRA works with a restaurant’s landlord to develop a plan for greening a particular restaurant.
“We don’t just tell people to figure it out, we do the footwork and develop a very actionable strategy,” Oshman said.
In terms of cost-effectiveness, Oshman said, every business is going to be different.
“There’s so much opportunity for water conservation, waste reduction, recycling — you have the potential to save a little or a lot,” he said. “Some restaurants save $400 a month in waste bills, which ends up being $5,000 a year.”
