The Green Restaurant Research Team: Building a Local Certification for Green Restaurants

July 23, 2012

The University of Chicago Green Restaurant Research Team (GRRT), established in the Winter of 2012, was comprised of a group of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a “practicum” style course developed and sponsored by the University’s Program on Global Environment.   The course came to life when Dan Rosenthal and Eloise Karlatiras of the Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition (GCRC) approached Mark Lycett, Director of the Program on Global Environment, to foster student engagement related to green restaurant practices. They wanted students to contribute to the development of a Chicago version of a green restaurant certification, which would align with local environmental priorities and polices and civic sustainability goals. In the Spring of 2012, Green Seal joined the team, and the students were tasked with evaluating their GS-46 (Restaurant and Food Service Operations) standard from a local perspective.

The course was designed and taught by Dr. Sabina Shaikh and assisted by Nancy Himmelfarb.  The course utilized an economics perspective but considered all aspects of improving environmental performance in the food service industry.  The GRRT students conducted their research by reviewing scholarly literature, by interviewing key stakeholders and experts (e.g., restaurant owners, public agency officials, and sustainability consultants), and by developing and analyzing results from two online surveys—one of Chicago restaurant owners and another of Chicago restaurant consumers.

The GRRT collaborated with the GCRC and Green Seal, as mentioned above, and also consulted extensively with an impressive group of Chicago area professional advisors from the restaurant industry and related specialties.  The students visited many leading institutions in the Chicago food service industry, including Uncommon Ground, Frontera Grill and Goose Island Brewery, and learned about sustainable food procurement through visits to Shedd Aquarium and Slagel Family Farm.  The students documented their ongoing progress using a blog and social media throughout the project.

As the final course deliverables, the GRRT developed a comprehensive written report, analytical tools, and certification templates that rank green restaurant practices according to environmental impact, ease of implementation, costs, returns, community engagement and social benefit.  For a complete view of the GRRT’s deliverables and related resources, please visit the University of Chicago web site at http://eaf.uchicago.edu/grrt and view the other links listed below.

GRRT’s Main Findings and Recommendations

  1. 1. Seasonal Constraints but Strong Support for Obtaining “Local” Foods in Chicago

Due to the extreme seasonality of Chicago’s climate, certain types of produce cannot be grown locally, while others have very short seasons.  Meat, on the other hand, can be sourced locally throughout the year. Chicago lies beside freshwater Lake Michigan, which provides a source of local seafood but without proximity to the coasts, no ocean fish would be considered local.

The GRRT faced two additional challenges in making recommendations for local food procurement for Chicago restaurants.  First, there is no consensus on the definition of “local”.  The research identified several existing definitions, as well as definitions drawn from both local restaurant owners and consumers, but no obvious answer.  Second, there is no consensus on the environmental impacts of scaling up local food production and distribution.

In spite of the short growing season and the ambiguities mentioned above, there is clear evidence of a growing trend in the demand for local food in Chicago, by both restaurant owners and consumers. In addition, the availability of local food, as well as the ability to grow food on-site or in nearby gardens continues to increase. As the market for local food continues to evolve, certification can help facilitate its adoption. However, before emphasizing local food as a green restaurant certification practice, significant further research is recommended – both to determine the appropriate standard for “local” and to ascertain the environmental impacts of increasing local food production and distribution.

Scholarly and policy-based research provided the GRRT with plenty of evidence that organic food and environmentally preferable food have a lower environmental impact than conventional food. In light of this, organic food should be encouraged; however, the emphasis on organic and sustainable food sourcing should be reconciled with certification recommendations for local food.  While local food can also be organic and sustainably produced, it is not always the case, and sourcing organic-certified local food in Chicago can be challenging. Many local farms, such as Slagel Family Farm, use sustainable practices and sell directly to restaurants but do not seek organic certification due to costs and limited return. These small, often family-run, farms employ environmentally sensitive techniques, but would not receive recognition for their sustainability efforts in the current GS-46 standard for organic foods. Recognizing that organic food is third-party certified and easier to verify, the GRRT recommends the development of a protocol for verification of local sustainably produced food, if it is to be further incorporated in the certification standards.

2. Chicago Consumers Support Local Foods and Recycling Efforts

The GRRT’s analysis of Chicago consumers shows that there is a small yet positive willingness to pay for many green restaurant practices. The positive willingness to pay is good news, but customers might not realize the benefits of dining at green restaurants and the long-term effects green restaurant practices can have upon the environment. In fact, Chicago follows nationwide trends, which show green practices are a relatively insignificant concern of consumers in making dining choices.  One area that stands out is the preference for locally-grown food and beverages. The GRRT consumer survey showed that Chicago consumers favored local food over organic food, showing some market response to local food despite the short growing season, as described above. In fact, the preference for local food was apparent even for less environmentally-minded consumers, perhaps demonstrating community or social benefits from local food sourcing. Consumers also preferred green practices that they could carry out by themselves, such as recycling, rather than “behind the scenes” practices such as green building materials, which could be due to familiarity or understanding. Thus, the GRRT recommends that the GCRC and Green Seal continue to provide education and information about the effects of green restaurant practices, particularly locally. For example, tying a water conservation practice to Great Lakes stewardship, or demonstrating the reduction in carbon emissions associated with an energy efficiency practice could help consumers understand the results of green restaurant practices.

3. Stormwater Management is Important in Chicago

Due to the climate in Chicago, proximity to Lake Michigan, combined storm and sewer system, and infrastructure, stormwater management is of particular importance in Chicago. There are numerous programs, such as the City’s Sustainable Backyards Program, designed to encourage private residents and businesses to adopt stormwater management practices.  While restaurants in the City have limited opportunity to manage landscapes, there are ways to manage stormwater using green roofs, rain barrels and native plant landscaping in urban settings as well as additional opportunities in suburban locations. While water conservation is important in the Great Lakes region, the standards might not need to be as stringent as in other places like Florida or Texas where prolonged droughts and water shortages are present. Therefore, the GRRT recommends continued focus on water conservation with provision for rewarding innovative stormwater management practices.

4. Increasing Renewable Energy Use can be Challenging but Energy Efficiency can be Increased

Renewable energy use can have a significant and positive environmental impact and generate large social benefits, but there is often little direct financial return to restaurants and installations can be challenging. Installation costs can be offset with rebates and grants that are generally available with federal or state funding, but restaurants still struggle with finding adequate space for the installations. A good alternative for restaurants is to purchase renewable energy credits, which are widely available.

The GRRT recommends that the energy focus for green restaurants be energy efficiency.  Restaurants can easily increase their energy efficiency, and additional requirements should be specified for energy efficiency appliances and practices.

5. Compostable Products Require Appropriate Waste Management

There is a growing use of compostable disposable products by restaurants due to increased awareness and greater availability. However, since Chicago does not currently have a residential composting program or significant composting infrastructure as found in Seattle and San Francisco, post-consumer compostable products will likely end up in traditional waste streams. While the use of compostable products still has benefits due to biodegradability, the full value of the products is not being realized.  Therefore, the GRRT recommends that certification of Chicago restaurants focus currently on recycled disposable products, while still offering some credit for compostable products in order to drive the demand for composting services. As composting infrastructure and availability continue to grow, the certification can be updated to better fit Chicago-specific waste management practices.

6. Local Policy and Infrastructure Needed for Greening Chicago Restaurants

While Chicago has many policies designed to facilitate environmental improvements, other policies and regulations related to food service and waste management can limit opportunities for greening Chicago restaurants.  For example, the lack of conservation-based water pricing and the lack of composting infrastructure do not create strong financial incentives for water management or waste diversion by Chicago restaurants. However, there is some notable progress being made in coordinating local policies with green restaurant operations, including energy efficiency grants and a new solid waste management program in Cook County.  New and innovative programs can be expected to emerge, as the City of Chicago continues to strive towards Mayor Emanuel’s goal of becoming the “Greenest City in America.” Therefore, the GRRT has two recommendations:  first, that the GCRC and Green Seal continue to work with the City to integrate green restaurant certification into the City’s developing sustainability and food plans and second, that a City-backed incentive program be developed to promote green restaurant certification (rather than promoting piecemeal individual green practices), similar to the existing green permit program for green buildings.

7. Information, Community Engagement and Incentives are Needed

Chicago is well known for food and restaurants, both locally and nationally. In this case, we believe that the restaurant community has a strong opportunity to lead by example in creating awareness about sustainability and food issues.  Restaurants in Chicago are engaged with the community and can affect citizen behavior through coordination of green practices with civic goals, community outreach and the provision of information on menus, web sites and in restaurants. Therefore, the GRRT recommends that a local certification standard take into account and award credit for restaurants’ local engagement and education programs.

Additional Certification Findings

In addition to the recommendations for tailoring a local certification, the GRRT came across challenges specific to the implementation of green certification.  Based on the survey of restaurant owners and individual interviews, the team found that many restaurant owners and operators found the certification process time consuming and burdensome, even if they were already invested in green practices.  Additionally, the financial cost of the certification itself was of concern at fees over $500.

More transparency and clarity in product definitions and green practices could also help facilitate certification.  Restaurant owners expressed concern with the uncertainty of whether practices complied with the certification rules.  From our research, it is clear that restaurant owners need to devote significant time to apply for certification. Simplifying the process could help offset some of the time costs, which might otherwise prove to be too burdensome for some restaurant owners.

Developing the Pilot Chicago Green Restaurant Standard

Green Seal developed the GS-46 Standard for Restaurants and Food Services based on life-cycle research Green Seal had conducted on restaurants that concluded that over 95% of the environmental impact from the day-to-day operations of a food service business comes from the food purchased and used[1].  With this information, the standard thus put strong emphasis on environmentally preferable food purchasing, along with requirements for other impact areas, such as waste, water, and energy usage.   Working with the GCRC, using the findings from the University of Chicago GRRT, Green Seal is applying the GS-46 framework to develop an environmental leadership standard for restaurants in the Chicago area.

Green Seal is currently researching and developing criteria that address the findings and recommendations of the GRRT final report.  This includes considering local food procurement, storm water management, and community engagement.  At the same time that new criteria are being developed, Green Seal is working with the GCRC–that has a team of University of Chicago interns working directly with Chicago foodservice operators–to determine the feasibility of these updated criteria.  The result of this project is to create a Pilot Chicago Green Restaurant Standard which will be used to certify and recognize Chicago restaurants that have demonstrated environmental leadership in their operations.

The University of Chicago Green Restaurant Research Team was sponsored by the Program on Global Environment.  The team was also supported by Public Policy Studies and Chicago Studies.

Complete List of Resources Related to GRRT:

http://sustainability.uchicago.edu/news/feb2012/studentsgreenchicagorestaurants.shtml

 

Contacts

Sabina L. Shaikh, Ph.D.

Lecturer, Program on Global Environment and Public Policy Studies

Director, Environment, Agriculture and Food Working Group

sabina@uchicago.edu

 

Nancy Himmelfarb

Sustainability Consultant

LEED Green Associate & Attorney

nancy@himmelfarb.com

 

Eloise Karlatiras

President & Chief Executive Officer

Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition

Eloise@buygreenchicago.org

 

Andrew Beauchamp

Project Coordinator

Green Seal

abeauchamp@greenseal.org

 

 


[1] Baldwin, et al. 2011. Restaurant and food service life cycle assessment and development of a sustainability standard. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 16(1), 40-49. http://www.springerlink.com/content/44057531lph5j32p/?MUD=MP