• Green Restaurant Association Standards
  • The Green Restaurant Association (GRA) is an international nonprofit organization promoting environmentally sustainable practices for restaurants. It uses a science-based certification standard that covers multiple categories, including energy, water, waste, and more, and is used by thousands of restaurants in 47 U.S. states and Canada to improve their sustainability. Restaurants earn GreenPoints™ in these categories to achieve one of four certification levels, each with specific point requirements. Through collaborations with restaurants, manufacturers, and distributors, the GRA aims to advance sustainability across the restaurant industry. Additionally, restaurants can also earn six badges: Near-Zero Waste, Clean Chemicals, Vegan, Vegetarian, Sustainable Seafood, and Sustaina-build. Learn more here. 

• Sustainable Restaurant Association: Food Made Good Standards 
  • The Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Food Made Good Standards take a holistic approach to sustainability efforts in the hospitality industry. This comprehensive framework prioritizes sustainability across every aspect of a foodservice business, going beyond simple metrics like carbon tracking or water use. It evaluates efforts in three main pillars: sourcing, society, and environment, focusing on key impact areas within each. This promotes integration of sustainable practices at all operational levels.

• Ann Arbor Green Business Challenge
  • The Ann Arbor Green Business Challenge is a program designed to help local businesses in Ann Arbor improve their sustainability practices. Through this initiative, businesses are awarded points for implementing environmentally friendly operations in areas such as energy efficiency, waste reduction, water conservation, and more. The challenge offers tools, resources, and support to participants, fostering a collaborative community that shares best practices. By recognizing and rewarding businesses that make significant strides in sustainability, the program aims to help businesses become more environmentally friendly and align with the city’s net zero plan. To schedule a free consultation, learn more about how to get certified, or explore further resources, go to the Green Business Challenge website here. 

• Ann Arbor SPARK 
  • Ann Arbor SPARK has compiled a list of state and local incentives, programs, and resources for commercial businesses starting, relocating, or expanding their operations. The business development team at Ann Arbor SPARK also offers personalized assistance to help businesses navigate the opportunities. 
• EGLE grants for small businesses  
  • The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) offers federal and state-level funding for various pollution prevention projects, including a food waste reduction implementation program for businesses implementing solutions from the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and a small business P2 loan program to implement projects that eliminate or reduce waste through source reduction or recycling, and includes energy and water conservation projects.
• Ann Arbor/Washtenaw 2030 District
  • The Ann Arbor/Washtenaw 2030 District helps connect local businesses with funding opportunities and resources. 
  • They also provide grants from $2500-$5000 toward Building Energy Audits or other energy saving measures. Apply for the energy audit here. 
• PACE (for building owners)
  • Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing allows property owners to fund energy-efficient and eco-friendly projects with no upfront costs. It offers long-term financing for up to 25 years or the lifespan of the project, providing immediate positive cash flow as savings typically exceed repayment costs. The financing is tied to the property, meaning it transfers to a new owner if the property is sold. Interest rates are fixed and negotiated individually. This type of financing not only upgrades local buildings and increases property values but also supports the local economy by creating jobs and making buildings more comfortable. Learn more here.

• DTE Energy Efficiency Program for Businesses
  • DTE offers a number of rebates to small businesses for new energy-efficient improvements including lighting, HVAC, equipment, process and more. 

• According to the City of Ann Arbor, “A²ZERO envisions a food system that ensures high-quality, nutritious food is accessible to all, promotes healthy communities, supports fair and sustainable production methods, remains resilient in the face of disruptions, and contributes to a more diverse and equitable society.” The City’s Sustainable Food Programs webpage describes how residents and businesses can get involved with various programs aimed at advancing this vision for a sustainable, equitable, and resilient food system.  

Remember the 4 T’s: 

Turn Off: Turn off unnecessary appliances. 

Turn Down: Turn down water faucet and dimmer lights. 

Turn Up: Make sure maintenance is completed regularly. 

Tear Out: Consider the return on investment of a retrofit that might outweigh the savings of using old equipment. 

Energy Star Product Finder: https://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/. 

20°C to 22°C is the ideal temperature in the bar. If you set the temperature too low, it will force the air conditioning system to work hard. In addition, keeping the windows clean will help you save energy on lighting. Use natural refrigerants instead of synthetic refrigerants to save about 17-38% on energy, and natural refrigerants have a longer life span. Check out this guide for more information.

Keep the fridge or freezer as full as possible, because an empty machine will have to work much harder to maintain temperature. Avoid overstocking your refrigerator or freezer, because when the items are too crowded, it becomes harder to cool them. 

Use walk-in coolers and upgrade to high-efficiency fan motors. You can also install fan speed controllers and smart defrost systems. Learn more here. 

Ann Arbor’s Example:

BLØM is an independent meadery based in Ann Arbor that specializes in mead—a type of wine made from honey. BLØM is deeply committed to sustainability. For example, they prioritize sourcing honey and other ingredients from within Michigan whenever possible. During the construction of their meadery, they opted for durable, reusable materials such as glassware and ceramic plates to minimize waste. Their sustainability efforts also extend to utility management: they reduce HVAC use during non-public hours and have invested in large-format stainless steel tanks that require less frequent cleaning. Despite these sustainability commitments, or perhaps because of them, BLØM remains profitable.

Shari’s Cafe & Pies offers another real-world example of sustainable restaurant practices in the U.S. As the largest full-service restaurant chain in the Pacific Northwest, they operate 24/7 in 100 locations across six states. Shari’s has taken significant steps to reduce energy use by retrofitting gas boilers, installing automatic door closers and LED lighting, deploying heated dipper wells, and incorporating demand-controlled ventilation systems in their kitchens. They’ve also invested in energy-efficient equipment and management systems. As a result, the company has cut gas usage by over 7%, reduced waste by 19%, and achieved water savings of more than 37% compared to its 2012 baseline—all while lowering electricity and water costs.

While Shari’s is not an independently owned business, its success with sustainable HVAC and utility systems offers valuable lessons that locally owned Ann Arbor restaurants can learn from.

The first step in conducting a water use audit is to track and analyze current water usage using tools like AquaHawk. This includes checking water meter readings, detecting leaks, and assessing the efficiency of water-using appliances. 

For more information, refer to the EPA’s WaterSense at Work resources.

Based on the results of the water use audit, you can set specific water reduction targets. Use smart meters and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to monitor water usage in real-time, set achievable short-term and long-term reduction targets based on initial audit data, and adjust these targets as technology and practices improve.

You can find some WaterSense products in the DTE marketplace (aerator, faucets, etc.)  https://www.dtemarketplace.com/collections/water.

• Try to find uses for food scraps, such as stocks. 
• Keep track of what foods are getting frequently thrown away before they can be used, and adjust your purchasing habits if possible. 
• Try using a helpful tool like the EPA’s Food Waste Logbook to track what gets thrown away. 
• Look through your trash to get a better idea of your restaurant’s food waste. Find creative uses for ingredients that are approaching their expiration.
• Always check your shipments to make sure your ingredients are properly stored and to your quality standards. 
• Ensure proper storage of ingredients.

• Ann Arbor’s  Food Gatherers accepts food donations and distributes food to a large network of organizations that feed the hungry in our community. 
  • Drop Off is available Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. at 1 Carrot Way, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. 
  • Phone: 734-761-2796. Email: info@foodgatherers.org. 
• Or you can partner with local faith based organizations to donate excess catering supplies.

• Too Good To Go is a simple app that allows you to list “surprise bags” of excess products or items near their expiration date like prepared foods, baked goods, or packaged drinks for a discounted price. You can set pick-up times and can choose to list whenever works for you!

• Leanpath is a company that provides technology solutions to help food service operations track and reduce food waste. Founded in 2004, Leanpath offers tools and software that allow kitchens in restaurants, hotels, universities, hospitals, and other food service venues to measure and analyze their food waste. The information gathered helps organizations identify key areas where waste can be minimized, leading to cost savings and improved sustainability efforts.

• If you are looking for compostable wares that are accepted by Ann Arbor’s composting program, stick to compostable products made of fiber or paper. Please follow their comprehensive list here where you also find a downloadable purchasing guide. For example, World Centric provides compostable plant fiber clamshell containers that can be composted in the Ann Arbor system.

• See the city of Ann Arbor’s commercial composting program for a monthly cost breakdown depending on the number of carts needed by your business and the frequency of pick-up. Also on the page is the form to request commercial compost collection services.

• Liquid oils and fats are not accepted by Ann Arbor composting services. Cooking oil is a valuable product that can be used by many industries after your kitchen is done with it. Thumb BioEnergy pays for used cooking oil, and local farms are also interested in picking up used cooking oil for use in feed.

• In-season produce is more likely to be grown locally, meaning that it travels a shorter distance to get to your restaurant. This reduces the greenhouse gas emissions associated with procuring food.

• Sourcing food locally can be more expensive, but it does not have to be. Often, food that is growing plentifully in-season is less expensive than purchasing the same food from the commodity market out-of-season. In addition, some consumers have expressed that they are willing to pay more for sustainably sourced food and visit restaurants that are taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• Here is a resource from Michigan State University about what is in season and when.
• You can also print this foldable guide listing seasonal produce.

• Some restaurant owners find that it takes a considerable amount of time to identify farmers, communicate orders, and then coordinate delivery. Also, local farmers are subject to seasonality and fluctuations due to weather and other factors, so menus featuring local and seasonal food need to be flexible to make the most of what is available and accommodate the natural fluctuations of the growing season.

• Organizations such as Argus Farm Stop and The Hungry Locavore can connect businesses with local farmers.
• Meet and buy directly from local farmers at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market.
• Taste the Local Difference has a directory of local farmers, distilleries, breweries, fisheries, food hubs, and wineries that is searchable by zip code and country. The organization also provides services and resources to help local food businesses. 
• Michigan Market Maker, organized by staff at the Michigan State University Product Center, is an online interactive mapping resource linking agricultural product businesses with markets across Michigan.

• Local restaurants such as Spencer, Spiedo, Echelon, the University of Michigan dining halls, and Salt Springs Brewery are procuring their food locally and sustainably in Ann Arbor. The Sustainable Food Business Coalition provides an avenue to connect with peer businesses who are seeing success with local sourcing.
• Here is a case study about Burgerville, a fast-casual chain in the Pacific Northwest that prides itself on locally sourcing 75% of all food served. They originally saw significant issues with their beef, berry, and chicken suppliers and were able to overcome them.

• Level 1 of this roadmap is a great place to send employees to become familiar with sustainability topics!  
• Encourage (or even, incentivize) employees to become a Green Restaurant Accredited Employee. Employees learn about the need for restaurant sustainability in six environmental categories and tangible actions businesses can take to reduce their environmental impact and become Green Restaurant Certified. They can help lead or execute sustainability initiatives at your business. 

• Ann Arbor Sustainable Food Business Coalition
  • The Ann Arbor Sustainable Food Business Coalition (SFBC) hosts quarterly all-member meetings to network, share best practices, brainstorm solutions to common restaurant sustainability challenges, and collaborate to build a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable local food system. 
• ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit
  • Typically happens in early summer (May-June)  
  • Hosted by ReFED, a nonprofit focused on reducing food waste in the U.S., the summit brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including businesses, policymakers, nonprofits, investors, and other leaders in the food system. The goal is to share knowledge, explore strategies, and promote scalable solutions to reduce food waste across the supply chain.
• Food + Beverage Environmental Conference 
  • FBEC is the premier and most comprehensive environmental event for the food and beverage industry in the United States. This event discovers the latest trends and innovations affecting sustainability, water resource management, supply chain, air quality, environmental compliance, professional training and many more, while priding itself on a platform that promotes networking and like-minded individuals within the industry.
• Menus of Change 
  • Over the last 12+ years, Menus of Change, jointly led by The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – Department of Nutrition, has shifted the way chefs and foodservice professionals approach public health, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility.
  • The Menus of Change Leadership Summit features over 50 presenters, including nutrition and environmental scientists, consumer insight experts, chefs and culinary entrepreneurs, CIA faculty, business leaders and investment analysts, industry sector innovators, and other food systems changemakers. The topics addressed are critically relevant to chefs and operators working to secure the financial viability of their restaurants and foodservice operations while also advancing healthy, sustainable, delicious foods and menus.
• National Restaurant Association Show 
  • Typically held in Chicago, IL in the fall. 
  • The National Restaurant Association Show is a large annual event that serves as a comprehensive trade show for the foodservice industry. It brings together restaurant owners, operators, suppliers, distributors, and other professionals from the foodservice sector and is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Past conferences have hosted over a dozen sessions about sustainability in the restaurant industry. 
• Tales of the Cocktails
  • Typically occurs in the summer in New Orleans, LA
  • This global cocktail conference, organized by the nonprofit organization Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, aims to educate, advance, and support cocktail professionals and enthusiasts. Past conference sessions have covered topics relating to sustainable ingredient procurement and zero-waste solutions. 
• Speciality Coffee Expo 
  • Speciality Coffee Expo is the largest B2B speciality coffee trade show in North America. Past workshop sessions have covered topics about sustainable coffee procurement, the impact of climate change on the industry, and operational improvements for sustainability.