News

GRA releases Earth Day List of Certified Green Restaurants

April 14, 2011

In honor of Earth Day, the Green Restaurant Association (GRA) is saluting the restaurants, chains, celebrity chefs, corporate cafes, schools, national landmarks and more that have taken environmental leadership by seeking the Certified Green Restaurant distinction. These include:

Celebrity Chefs

• Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin
• Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill & Topolobampo and XOCO
• Mario Batali, Otto, Del Posto and 12 other restaurants nationwide

Prominent Chains

• Panera Bread
• Jamba Juice
• Peet’s Coffee
• Moe’s Southwest Grill
• Garden Fresh
• Great Harvest
• Pita Pit
• Le Pain Quotidien

Corporate Cafes

• Microsoft
• The Hearst Corporation
• The Royal Bank of Scotland
• Deutsche Bank
• Qualcomm
• Morgan Stanley

Prominent Universities

• The Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Public Health
• Northeastern University
• UCLA

Government Institutions, Landmarks and National Parks

• The Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• The American Museum of Natural History
• Yellowstone National Park
• Arpeggio at Lincoln Center

Hotels

• InterContinental
• Hyatt
• Wyndham

Certified Green Restaurants have met the rigorous standards set forth by the GRA, a national non-profit organization specializing in helping restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable. Certified Green Restaurants must be Styrofoam-free, implement a full scale recycling program (compost where commercially available), conduct annual education and receive a minimum of 100 points on the GRA’s ratings scale, with a minimum of 10 points each in the following environmental categories: Energy, Sustainable Food, Water Efficiency, Waste Reduction & Recycling, Disposables and Chemicals & Pollution Reduction.

In the past two weeks alone, the following restaurants have committed to become Certified Green Restaurants:

• Tribute, Chicago, IL
• Organicoa, New York, NY
• Dodge City Distillery Olathe, KS
• Timmer’s Resort, West Bend, WI

The GRA will distribute a final list of restaurants on April 21st.