Green Restaurant Association New Website

For those of you "greenies" out there and those of you who will convert out of necessity the Green Restaurant Association has revamped its website. The URL for the new site is: http://www.dinegreen.com/. The Green Restaurant Association (GRA) is "a national non-profit organization, provides services in research, consulting, education, marketing and community organizing. The GRA utilizes a collaborative strategy that involves restaurants, manufacturers, vendors, grassroots organizations, government, media, and restaurant customers. The GRA's model provides a convenient way for all sectors of the restaurant industry, which represents 10% of the U.S. economy, to become more environmentally sustainable. "

The aspect of the site that I like the most is the tab for certification standards. If click on it there are the key categories and actions that can be taken to make a foodservice operation more sustainable with respect to: water efficiency, waste reduction and recycling, sustainable furnishings and building materials, sustainable food, energy, disposables, and chemical pollution reduction. These can be viewed at: http://www.dinegreen.com/restaurants/standards.asp

I use this resource when teaching the module in my intro class on sustainability to give the kids a good resource to use in their career to make their future operation sustainable. I hope you find it useful, too!