By Tracy Morin
When you think of adopting greener practices at the restaurant, what do you picture: a more responsible—or even an indispensable—way of doing business, or an unnecessary hassle that will cost you loads of money? You might be surprised at the realities of making environmentally friendly changes, but they’ll likely bring challenges as well as many benefits.
The green movement has come a long way in recent decades, from a niche concern to one that touches the majority of Americans. “When we started in 1990, demand was committed but small,” says Michael Oshman, CEO and founder of the Boston-based Green Restaurant Association. “Now, three-quarters of the population wants to do the right thing when they can: 79% will give preference to dining at green restaurants, and 78% of employees prefer working at them. And it’s not just 18- to 35-year-olds—more people care, from older generations to teens.”
Going Greener
At Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizza, with five restaurants and five nontraditional locations, making more sustainable choices has been a natural fit—after all, its headquarters sit in Seattle, where customers (and the city itself) champion environmental responsibility. “It’s embedded in our DNA, from our hiring to our mission statement to our day-to-day practices,” says Andrew Baumann, marketing manager. “We do food donations and repurposing, composting and recycling. We sweep the sidewalks versus using water. We use compostable packaging and eco-friendly toilets and light bulbs. And we went strawless a few years ago.”
![This photo shows a bartender making drinks in the spacious bar at Tutta Bella.](https://www.pmq.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TUTTA-BELLA-REN-LOBBY-BAR-copy-1024x686.jpg)
When the Green Restaurant Association certifies restaurants, it evaluates seven key categories to consider if you’re thinking of greening your own operation:
- Reusables and disposables
- Chemicals and pollution
- Building and furnishing
- Education and transparency
- Water
- Waste
- Energy
- Food
In terms of affordability, Oshman points out that many green options have far lower costs than they used to—think solar panels, LED lights and electric cars. “And by reducing water, energy and waste, restaurants can end up saving $1,000 to $5,000 per year,” Oshman adds. “Other things may cost more, like buying green cleaning products—so, in reality, it can all balance out.”
Meanwhile, at Infinitus Pie, with four locations and a food truck in Colorado, founders “Pizza” Pete Crouse and his daughter, Katie, focus on several eco-minded initiatives, including more responsible menu items. “A major factor in resource and fresh water consumption, and air and groundwater pollution, is the diet we eat—concentrating plant material into animal proteins has massive consequences,” Crouse explains. “Infinitus has a robust vegan menu to proactively address this paradigm. While we sell only about 5% vegan products, ultimately our communities would be well-served by an aggressive move toward plant-based diets. In Colorado, we see movement toward this direction, and we are agents of change to inspire the move by making delicious vegan pizza.”
In addition, to encourage greener transport to and from the pizzeria, Crouse built dedicated bike racks at his stores. “It’s better to burn calories than hydrocarbons,” he says. “To inspire people to ride and use our rack, we reward bikers with free fountain drinks or $1 off draft beers.”
Whatever methods you choose to implement, Oshman notes that all operators can start with simple steps, like setting up a recycling and/or composting program; finding greener cleaning options; investing in efficient spray valves and aerators; switching all lighting to the highest efficiency level; and adopting an “only upon request” policy for dine-in guests’ freebies, like water or bread.
For takeout and delivery orders, ask customers to opt in if they want extras like utensils, straws, condiments, etc. Serve pies in 100% post-consumer recycled pizza boxes—though Oshman hopes reusable containers, through a deposit-based system, will be the way of the future.
![](https://www.pmq.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/VEGETARIAN-PIZZA-1-1024x1021.jpeg)
Overcoming Challenges
As the song goes, it ain’t (always) easy being green. While Infinitus Pie’s goal has been “to make a difference while we make a living,” Crouse emphasizes that he purposely left the word “sustainability” out of his business’ mission. “We thought the word was diluted from overuse, and the last thing we wanted was to be greenwashing,” he says. “We like to measure success in People, Profit and Planet, the 3 Ps. True sustainability requires a willingness to sacrifice profit to achieve the goal of mitigating the environmental impact of running a restaurant.” Unfortunately, Crouse finds that sustainability is widely misunderstood, due to “a serious lack of education about the choices, sacrifice and follow-through required to foster sustainability—by both companies and customers.”
Operators who are trying to be more eco-responsible may also need to tweak as they go. For example, a voluntary solid waste program didn’t go as planned in Crouse’s locations. “Even with all of our efforts at education, customers continually contaminated the compost with non-compostable waste,” he says. “A-1 Organics, which was hauling all of the compostable material, finally pared down their acceptable material to food scraps and grass clippings. Because we were using compostable packaging in our operations, the switch ended our composting effort, because our food scraps were comparatively small. Now we only recycle, and the balance goes into the solid waste landfill.”
Infinitus Pie’s solid waste program also cost about $600 per month, or $7,200 annually, for compostable trash bags, carryout containers and the compostable hauling.
Ultimately, Crouse understands that sustainability is a give-and-take proposition, and he’s committed to the cause—and hopes it spreads further through the industry. “These things are hard and make it more difficult to make a profit,” he says. “I suspect most businesses would not want to make the sacrifice to achieve sustainability goals. But, in time, we want to be a transformational business model, hoping these principles drive our success and inspire other companies to copy our methods.”
![Eye-catching bike racks at Infinitus Pie promote fuel-free travel to and from the pizzeria. (Infinitus Pie)](https://www.pmq.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/sustainability-infinitusbikeracks.jpg)
Building Eco Warriors
Despite potential challenges, Baumann believes that customers and employees alike feel good about the environmental mindfulness at Tutta Bella, where sustainability-related choices are priced into the cost of operations. He recommends that other operators get started by recruiting eco-minded employees to spearhead efforts. “At one location, 20 years ago, an employee did composting at home and would take home food scraps, which made us research what we could do on a bigger scale,” Baumann says. “Find employees to manage a program in the restaurant, then [if you have multiple locations] take it to the company as a whole.”
You’ll also want to advertise your efforts to customers. Tutta Bella posted its first food donations on social media. Osherman cites one restaurant that sends its compost to a composter, which uses the compost to grow mushrooms that the restaurant then buys back to feed its guests. Telling this kind of compelling story on social media and in-store grabs customers’ attention.
Infinitus Pie is also “aggressive about communicating our efforts to our fans and community,” Crouse says. “It did create a strong emotional connection with a contingent of our fan base—for sure, different demographics were more supportive, and it gave us a small competitive advantage. These are proactive structures we created to make a measurable difference while we earn a living. It’s in our heart. We approach business from a humanist point of view. Our business is of people, by people and for people. Our staff turnover is pretty low, our cultures are strong, and staff appreciates work being more than the P&L.”
Baumann’s advice: Just start somewhere. “The snowball effect will lead to somewhere great,” he says. “Get ideas from your employees and network with local groups. Work with your suppliers on eco-friendly packaging. Identify areas where you’re wasting food to cut down and donate extras. You’ll feel good about yourself, and you’ll do good for the community and for the future. We’re all in this together.”
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.