“Green” is becoming mainstream – and that is a great thing! However, the green focus presented in the media would lead you to believe that in order to participate in the green economy you need to be an engineer, be in the construction business or in science. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are many avenues to a green career as all businesses and industries can become “green“. The restaurant industry is a great example. The Green Restaurant Association (GRA) has been in existence since 1990 when it wasn’t necessarily “cool” to be “green“. They are a national non-profit organization which provides resources to restaruants, manufacturers, distributors and consumers to become more environmentally responsible, including a certification program for restaurants.
The GRA helps restaurants with the following suite of services:
- Environmental Assessment
- Environmental Consulting
- Certification
- Green Public Relations and Marketing
There are many potential benefits of greening your restaurant or catering business . The restaurant industry suffers some of the highest employee turnover ratios of all industries. Becoming green is an excellent way to involve staff in the business, increasing morale can only increase the customer experience while also decreasing turnover. Cost reductions and marketing opportunities are other benefits to greening your restaurant.
The Green Restaurant Association also provides an endorsement program for the best environnmental products in the restaurant industry. It endorses products that exemplify environmental leadership in their category. A product must meet the GRA Product Endorsement Standards. GRA’s environmental consultants work hand in hand with manufacturers to assess their products and give them GRA’s endorsement stamp of approval.
The GRA also works with distributors to help them carry the best environmental products, green their own operations and educate their sales staff as to the most important environmental issues of the day.
As you can see, you can have a “green” career in the restaruant industry!
