Going, Going Green! Bay Area Businesses Get Green-Certified
As Kermit the Frog lamented, “It’s not easy being green.” But local restaurant and food shop owners are finding that the effort of going green with certification is a worthwhile investment.
Being responsible stewards for the planet is part of the new ethos for some food and drink businesses with a commitment to eco-aware practices, including sourcing from local organic farms, recycling and upcycling, being water wise and finding alternatives for packaging and plastics including straws. Many are already doing good for their customers and the environment on their own, but keeping up with conservation recommendations can be challenging and a long-term investment. Partnering with the California Green Business Network (CGBN), the statewide green certification program, helps businesses track their ecological successes and improve on their practices.
CGBN realizes it takes a high level of commitment to go green, so they offer resources, funding and guidance to businesses working towards certification. Businesses must meet requirements under a set of categories designed for their sector, like water conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. For restaurants, requirements include refrigerator maintenance, transition to compostable or recyclable to-go ware, and seafood selection with the help of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide. Restaurants must offer at least one protein-rich vegan dish and one vegetarian entrée, and they have the option of joining the Meatless Monday campaign and offering a vegetarian menu special.
Giving The Greenlight to Continuous Improvement
Kerry Bitner, chef and owner of Que SeRaw SeRaw, a vegan plant-based to-go restaurant in Burlingame, acted on a glaring issue her business had before green certification. “The previous owner packaged everything in recyclable containers, but not compostable,” says Bitner. “When I ordered the packaging and saw it all stacked up, I felt uncomfortable putting all that plastic out there. So I made the switch to compostable on my own; it’s more expensive, but it mattered to me.”
As Que SeRaw SeRaw went through the green certification process, unseen issues were discovered. “I had this giant fluorescent light fixture in the ceiling. I wasn’t even aware those were not super environmental.” CGBN secured Bitner a mini-grant to pay an electrician to replace the fixture. She had a new high-efficiency LED fixture installed, which uses less electricity and should last 15 years. “Now I don’t have these nasty fluorescent tubes that are hard to dispose of,” she says.
California Green Business Network comprises 42 different county- and city-level green business programs around the state. Lawrence Nussbaum, project lead with the San Mateo County Green Business Program, notes that all programs use the same guidelines, share a central database to track the progress of businesses toward meeting certification, and collect program impact metrics. Participants receive $500 from the state to help make improvements, and the state and counties fund CGBN to provide free technical assistance, contractor referrals and additional funding resources to help businesses make changes.
The roughly seven-page green certification checklist might seem overwhelming, but CGBN doesn’t want that to be the case. Program consultants are assigned to each participant to help them digest the menu of qualifications. Consultants identify items already been met by the establishment and suggest ways to make remaining improvements.
Anne Moser, head baker and co-owner of Backhaus Bread in San Mateo, knew about the process from watching her commissary kitchen go through green certification. When she opened her own storefront, she used the guidelines to set up the location, picked energy-efficient appliances and environmentally friendly cleaning products and chose recycled paper towels. And she checked in with her consultant along the way.
“Everybody from the program has been super friendly, supportive and helpful,” says Moser.
When recertifying, businesses must adapt to new and updated requirements. Epicurean Group, a Los Altos contract food service management company dedicated to sustainable dining, has been green certified since 2006. Each renewal uncovers new ways to improve. Founder and CEO Mary Clark Bartlett says, “The certification was more stringent this time. It took us three months. There are new regulations. We’re weighing all of our trash—which we’ve done before, but now we’re weighing it and separating it a little bit differently in each of our locations because each county has different regulations.”
The Rewards of Going Green
Green-certified businesses uphold standards like buying organic ingredients and supporting local businesses, directly impacting the health and wealth of their community. Now that Backhaus Bread is certified, Moser says she wouldn’t want to lose that status. “Whenever there are new decisions to be made about equipment or packaging material, the fact that we have this certification is a reminder that we made this commitment.”
CGBN tracks the environmental impacts of certification. Between September 2020 and September 2021, the 20 certified restaurants within San Mateo County and Santa Clara County have made impressive gains. They’ve cut back on 185,300 pounds of CO2 emissions, saved enough energy to power eight homes for a year, diverted eight garbage truckfuls of waste from landfills and saved 1.4 million gallons of water.
“Whenever there are new decisions to be made about equipment or packaging material, the fact that we have this certification is a reminder that we made this commitment.”
- Anne Moser, head baker and co-owner, Backhaus Bread, San Mateo
These environmentally conscious food and drink businesses receive a window decal, a plaque from the county Board of Supervisors and listings in a database and on the Shop Green app to make it easy for customers to recognize them and show their appreciation.
“We have had a couple of customers point the sticker out or post about our green certification,” says Moser. “They say how much they appreciated it, like a little extra perk. They like us even more now because they saw that we’re green certified.”
These businesses share their zest for being green with others, encouraging people to adopt healthier habits for themselves and the planet. Que SeRaw SeRaw recently celebrated Earth Week by asking customers to ditch their cars and ride a bike over to the shop for a treat. Thanks to Epicurean Group’s school gardens, kids are chomping down on the carrots they planted and watched sprout. And green-certified businesses want more businesses to join them. Moser says, “Raising awareness will hopefully have a ripple effect and encourage even more businesses to adopt greener business practices.”
