Earth Day is fast approaching. This coming Monday, April 22nd, volunteer groups and organizations around the world will come together to help do their part in keeping our environment clean and spreading the word about environmental awareness. But you don’t have to be a charity organization to take part in the day’s observances. There are plenty of ways for restaurants and other small businesses to get involved in reducing their carbon footprint. Here are a few suggestions.
Install Energy-Efficient Equipment
Although it won’t be realistic for any restaurants to completely overhaul their kitchen by the start of next week, working energy-efficient equipment into your budgeting for future purchases is a great way to reduce your establishment’s energy consumption. As equipment grows old, consider upgrading to ENERGY STAR approved models. A kitchen outfitted with ENERGY STAR approved equipment will save money and energy, and will catch the attention of environmentally conscious customers.
Establish a Recycling Routine
Waste is inevitable in any restaurant, but finding ways to minimize that waste is an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint. Establish a plan for recycling in your restaurant, and look for ways to reuse or even donate unused food and disposables before tossing them in the trash. Consult our previous post on waste reduction for more tips on how to increase your recycling efficiency.
Buy Local
Purchasing food from local suppliers is another way to keep your menu environmentally friendly. Shipping food in from remote locations requires more fuel and packaging, and produces more overall emissions than getting food from local sources. Locally grown food is also fresher by nature, and purchasing from nearby farmers and food suppliers ultimately helps to stimulate the local economy. Not all regions will feature a local agriculture varied enough to fully provide for the needs of every kind of menu, but most areas will house enough local producers to at least cut down on a portion of your outsourced food supply.
Sponsor a Local “Act of Green”
Organizing and/or sponsoring a local tree planting, trash clean up, or other “green event” is a great way to take part in Earth Day without having to make significant changes to your overall business model. Establishing a “sponsorship schedule” of different environmentally-centered events throughout the year will help keep awareness up year round.
Make a Donation
If your restaurant or business is strapped for time this year and won’t have a chance to organize an event any time soon, you can always make a donation to an environmental organization. Support is always needed, and making a tax-deductible donation to the Earth Day Network (or other organization of your choice) is a helpful method of showing your dedication to the planet on Earth Day.
These are just a few suggestions for ways in which your company can participate during this year’s Earth Day. For more ideas about how to help reduce your waste and emissions or how to help promote the ongoing effort to reduce our impact on the environment, visit the Earth Day Network at www.earthday.org to discover new ways to support green business practices all year long.
