We have always been a green restaurant. We recycle food waste through Mint Creek Farms. They return us the compost and we use it for our rooftop garden. We use green to-go containers and garbage bags. We also have low water usage faucets and used green paints in the construction of the restaurant.

Noodlecat is currently in the process of becoming the second restaurant in Ohio certified by the Green Restaurant Association.

The Greenhouse Tavern is actually the first restaurant in Ohio certified by the Green Restaurant Association. It's one of our core principals at GHT and we compost, recycle and reduce our impact on the environment on a daily basis. Our restaurants are furnished with salvaged and repurposed materials, our light fixtures are made from old bicycle wheels, and our floors are carpeted with sample squares that were headed for the junk yard.

We're always looking for ways to lower our ecological footprint. Two years ago we submitted to the Green Restaurant Association for certification, which we achieved, and this year we were awarded three stars from them for our efforts. The biggest problem we face aside from the economic hurdles of some changes (high-temp dish machines cost as much as cars) and industry realities (most restaurant and bar equipment is not Energy Star certified) is finding information that is free of the smell of money from interested parties. One area where we differ greatly from the conventional wisdom is carry out packaging. Personally, I don''t think any restaurant that is carry-out focused should be able to be certified green because I know first hand how much garbage they make. The second part of this is "renewable" vegetable-based packaging that may be compostable, but which requires tons of fossil fuels to produce and further entrenches the corn and soybean industries, leading genetic polluters, at the center of American agricultural production. How is it that packaging containing GMO's can be certified green? How is it that packaging that takes biomass from the field(which would otherwise return to create new topsoil) can be certified green? We began composting last year with Resource Center, and have been offered the service by two other companies. There's definitely more access at this time, but it's very expensive so I can't imagine many restaurants will participate. Ultimately it's something I think the City or County will have to take up as municipal services to make composting approachabe (and eventually required) for all businesses. As far as the industry certifications go, I think LEED is very smart in certifying construction and energy efficiency. It doesn't touch on food. The GRA and Green Seal both touch on construction (Overemphasizing it, in my opinion) chemical pollution reduction, energy and water efficiency, and waste reduction, and both do a pretty good job there, our major difference on certification of carry out packaging which I think is huge. None of the certification agencies sifficiently address food, which as restaurants carries far and away teh greatest impact. How is it that western feedlot beef that is drawing on teh Oglalla Aquifer can be certified just because it's hormone free? Why does the chicken I buy from Gunthorp Farm qualify for less points than a certified organic chicken that may never have seen the light of day? The same goes with my Slagel and Gunthorp Farm pork - the third party organic certification is given greater weight than the fact that I personally know the farmers and can attest to the fact that they raise their animals more responsibly than most certified operations. Why don't I get points because more than 75% of my grain usage is heritage heirloom crops? The Green Restaurant Association allows restaurants to claim points for construction initiatives, which is a good thing, but then the restaurant keeps them for good, regardless of the food they buy and serve which has a greater impact over the long term. That makes it difficult for me to differentiate by business in the marketplace if I have the same environmental rating as a place that did some green construction work once and the still buys all industrial food from a broad line supplier. As restaurants, I truly believe that what most sets a green business apart is the food we buy and serve and I don't think any of the green certifications reflect that, probably because they'd lose a lot of member restaurants. I do think that certifications are a good thing as they recognize restaurants for taking concrete steps to reduce their environmental footprint, but I will continue to argue for increased weight for food purchases and a recognition and reflection of how complex our food system is, and to make green certifications something that will push restaurants harder in the direction of greening their food choices.

We are Gold Level LEED certified and 3 star GRA certified. We do compost all our vegetable waste with Growing Power Farms and have been doing so for a few years. We also filter our own water in house so we can keep our carbon footprint down as well!

We are fortunate in that the town of Sonoma is quite progressive when it
comes to going green. Not only do we participate in a very sophisticated
re-cycling program, but we are also partners in the town's composting
initiative. Further, all of our take-away and box lunch packaging is
re-cycled and bio-friendly, including bio-degradable potato starch utensils.

Autre Monde Cafe is about to embark on Green Certification with a new program being launched by the GCRC, who is partnering with the University of Chicago to structure and launch the program.

Currently, our cooking oil is picked up and recycled into green cleaning products. We use a composter that is kept by the greenhouse. All of our to go containers are green certified. The majority of our furnishings were repurposed and the dining room and restrooms are painted with low VOC paints.

The main line of plates that we use is called Evolution by Dudson, an English company with the lowest carbon footprint of any hospitality china producer in the world.

Our convection oven and dish machine are energy star and we use a wood grill.

Of course the greenhouse on our patio, the patio plantings, our farm connection are almost exclusively organic /biodynamic.

Next year, we plan to install solar panels and are beginning research on that.

In a 132 year old building there is little we can do towards LEEDS certification but we try to be conscious of our footprint and are always looking for new ways to be greener. We use CFL and fluorescent bulbs whenever possible. We recycle all paper, cardboard, glass and plastic and would be interested in composting but have not found anyone who will offer the service. I have a feeling the well-funded waste haulers lobby is actively fighting any composting services.

Having a vegetarian restaurant gave us greener footprint, also using
recycled materials as much as possible. We can't compost, but we do recycle
more than we throw out. We use greener products to clean and maintain.