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JFK Terminal 4 offers only green-certified restaurants

August 7, 2018

The 21 million annual passengers passing through Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (a.k.a. JFK) in New York can now boast they are part of the Green Revolution since officials said today that all of the terminal's 32 restaurants are officially Certified Green Restaurants. As you might have suspected, this is the first time any airport on the planet has achieved that feat. 

Exclusive Terminal 4 food and beverage provider, SSP America said some of the brands in that esteemed and green group include Shake Shack, The Palm and Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke on the Road. The achievement also yielded Terminal 4 and SSP America a third-place award for Best Green Concessions Concept the 2018 Excellence in Airport Concessions awards. 

"Our team at JFK Terminal 4 has worked with tremendous passion to bring this program to fruition, and we couldn't be more proud of them," SSP America CEO Michael Svagdis, said in the release. 

Work began last summer on the goal of the green restaurant status for the terminal. Since then, the terminal has taken the following steps on its way to becoming certified by the GRA: Near-Zero Waste program with comprehensive recycling and composting, which can divert up to 90 percent of waste from the landfill. Additionally, the terminal has progressed toward the use of unnecessary pesticides or chemicals, LED lighting, elimination of Styrofoam, water control measures and the provision of vegetarian or vegan offerings at 90 percent of the food service locations there.