Your restaurant is your pride and joy. It’s where people come to relax and feel good. Make them feel even better by letting them know they’re frequenting an eco-friendly environment.

Bright Idea: Announce the ways you reduce, recycle, and reuse, and give guests opportunities to participate with you, by not requesting water, not using straws, receiving emailed receipts, and if self-serve, disposing of their recyclables in clearly marked bins.

Food costs a lot… to grow, harvest, process, and ship. Today’s massive-scale crop production and international shipping methods all have huge impacts on the environment.

Bright Idea: Source as many fresh foods as possible from local farms or farmer’s markets. Besides reducing your carbon footprint, you’ll find new inspiration for creative, seasonal menu items, and support your local community.

Restaurants are notorious for generating food waste. It is estimated that 30% of New York City’s trash is food waste, and of that, 70% comes from restaurants.1

Bright idea: Composting is making a comeback, especially in dense urban centers. Restaurants can add a small composting unit on site, or use composting services, making acceptable food scraps another category of recyclable. One successful Washington, D.C. restaurant grows much of its fresh produce in a private garden, and in turn uses scraps for composting and greening up that garden.2

Whether fast food or white cloth and candles, all restaurants generate significant amounts of waste. Some trash, such as Styrofoam containers, creates a major eco-problem. It does not biodegrade and occupies up to 30% of the trash total in landfills.1 Restaurants generate additional paper trash from business cards to napkins, menus, display cards, or brochures.

Bright Idea: Recycle from start to finish. Source only recycled paper products and consider cloth napkins sent out to an eco-conscious laundry service. Place recycle trash bins where customers—and employees—can deposit their empty cans and plastics.

Restaurants are the largest consumers of energy in retail—not surprising as most restaurants are in large, open spaces requiring full-time air conditioning and ventilation. Besides public areas, food prep areas need high heat for cooking, combined with air and cold storage.

Bright Idea: Remind staff to turn off energy guzzlers when not in use, and upgrade appliances to more energy-efficient ovens and refrigeration units. In the long run, you’ll enjoy cost savings on your energy bill.3

Water is an especially sensitive issue in the western U.S., where record-breaking drought continues. Water consumption in restaurants can quickly get out of control. Besides drinking, it is needed for cooking and cleaning.

Bright Idea: Reduce water consumption by installing low-flow faucets, toilets, and urinals. In drought areas, many cafés and restaurants instruct servers not to bring water unless guests request it.

Skip the ads and mailers by using social media to post menu updates and recipe ideas on Facebook, or tweet schedule news, like live entertainment.

Bright Idea: Email coupons, inviting guests to redeem them through their smartphones, saving paper and printing costs.

Also, upgrade HVAC, taking advantage of electronic controls to balance ventilation and air, saving even more.

While you’re evaluating your own operation for eco-friendliness, take a look at the vendors you use, like uniform rental services. Do you own uniforms and send them out for laundering? How “green” is each vendor in this chain?

Bright Idea: Make an impact by selecting the most environmentally conscious uniform rental company, like Prudential Overall Supply. Compare their responsible use of resources like water and low-impact cleaning agents.

Since 1932, Prudential Overall

Supply has supplied top quality

uniforms for sale and rental in all

kinds of settings.

Prudential’s laundry and rental

process exceeds industry standards

for carbon footprint reduction, and

we are Clean Green Certified

through TRSA.

For more information, visit

www.prudentialuniforms.com or

call 1-800-767-5536 for more

information.